BIB ON, BUNNY!

This interactive board book features
a finger-puppet bunny enjoying a meal at the table.

Even bunnies have to learn how to
eat, as evidenced by the mess made at the end of the meal in this board book.
The story encourages a conversational tone, with the main character—a
bespectacled white child with features characteristic of Down syndrome—talking
to the bunny while having a meal. The child’s dialogue appears on the left with
the stuffed animal’s responses on the right. The finger-puppet bunny head is
absolutely adorable: well done in three dimensions, complete with ears that
stand up and a pink nose. The illustrations themselves are appropriately basic,
all taking place at the same table with little variation in the child’s facial
expressions and only minor changes to food and drink from page to page. The
uncredited rhyming text is lackluster: child: “Carrot, Bunny? / All for you!”
Bunny: “Crunch, crunch, crunch! / It’s good to chew!” The three other books in
the series (Dive In, Ducky!, Play
Time, Puppy!, and Sleep Tight, Teddy!) feature the same
structure, successes, and struggles. It’s refreshing to see such inclusive
treatment of disability. Teddy
features a black-presenting child with a cochlear implant, and Puppy’s Asian-presenting protagonist
wears a safety helmet, suggesting seizures. (Ducky’s
protagonist presents white and has no evident disability.) The finger puppets
remain adorable across the series.

As inclusive, adorable puppet
playthings, this book and its companions succeed—but not so much on literary
merit. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)