In the thoroughly charming mixed-media Caldecott Honor picture book Knuffle Bunny,
Mo Willems introduces readers to a fictionalized version of his family,
at the heart of which is Trixie, a little blond-haired girl with a
beloved stuffed bunny. In that book, she is a mere toddler too young to
form thoughts into coherent words, which drives the minor disaster
around which the plot revolves. In Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity,
Trixie is older and fully capable of comprehensible speech. She’s old
enough to attend preschool, where a new Knuffle kerfuffle is about to
unfold…
Trixie loves her Knuffle Bunny as much as she ever did.
She is exceedingly proud of this well-worn toy that is beginning to look
a bit like the Velveteen Rabbit. When she is allowed to bring him to
school for Show and Tell, she can scarcely contain her excitement. Then
disaster strikes. A classmate arrives with the exact same bunny! This is
grounds for instant hatred. And you thought it was bad when two seniors
wore the same dress to the prom! Trixie and Sonja are so incensed with
each other that their teacher confiscates both bunnies, returning them
later. The feud dissipates. But later that night, when Trixie is alone
in her bed trying to snuggle her way into dreamland, she makes a
traumatic discovery. She has the wrong bunny.
While
accidental toy-switching is not something I have experienced, it seems
like a very believable scenario, as does the fierce sense of jealousy
and hurt pride that set up the circumstances under which the switch took
place. Trixie is our protagonist, and most kids reading this book will
probably have read the first installment already, so we see Sonja
largely through her eyes. This means that initially, she doesn’t come
across so well. In fact, she looks downright mean as she argues with
Trixie about the correct pronunciation of “Knuffle” – perhaps a sly nod
to existing debate by readers on this very topic.
As before, the
backgrounds in the book are black-and-white photographs with occasional
hand-drawn elements and color highlights. Set against a pale blue
backdrop, the boxes pop on the pages, sometimes one large illustration,
sometimes as many as three. They are populated with figures that have a
flat look to them but nonetheless feel vibrant and full of personality.
This is especially true of Knuffle Bunny himself, with his big black
nose, buggy eyes and rotund middle, as well as Trixie and Sonja and
their frazzled fathers.
In both books, we get a scene of
Trixie’s dad frantically running somewhere to save the day for his
darling daughter; in this book, it may be even funnier because Sonja and
Trixie have more than just a bunny in common. Each girl has a dad who
is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to restore
tranquility to his daughter. That’s not to say they rush into superhero
mode without some grumbling, but the realization that both dads are
undergoing major inconvenience only makes their actions more endearing.
One
defining trait of Willems’ work is his minimalism. While the
illustrations here are busier than in some of his books, capturing the
hustle and bustle of New York City life, the story remains very simple,
and he uses as few words as possible to tell it. Sometimes the picture
does the talking all by itself, rendering the narration scarcely
necessary, as when we first see Sonja with her bunny in a series of
panels that zoom further in on him each time. As I look at these pages, I
imagine a series of suspenseful violin shrieks such as one might find
in a thriller. Meanwhile, placing Trixie directly upon the blue page
instead of inside an illustration box accentuates the way her world has
just been shaken.
As wonderful as the original book is, I would argue that Knuffle Bunny Too
is even funnier and sweeter than the first, and while it’s loaded with
kid appeal, much of the humor will probably resonate most strongly with
parents. While a child might take away from the book a desire to use
commonalities as a way to build friendships instead of rivalries, adults
will also see it as a tribute to the crazy things parents will do for
their kids – sacrifices that, in many cases, will sail right over the
kids’ heads.
It’s odd to think of a book of this length having
an epilogue, but setting the final two-page spread slightly apart from
the rest just increases the impact of what’s probably my favorite bit of
the story. It’s one of the parts that adults will probably appreciate
most. They may also be quicker to pick up on Willems’ references to his
own work throughout the book, including nods to Pigeon, star of several
acclaimed tales, and Leonardo the Terrible Monster. But children who
loved Knuffle Bunny will definitely want to pick up Knuffle Bunny Too,
which is probably the most relatable of the trilogy, since the
protagonist is old enough to be a peer this time and since it occurs
under much more normal circumstances than the third book, which is
equally entrancing. The presence of two Knuffle Bunnies may be
problematic for Trixie and Sonja, but it sure is a treat for us.
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