A Bunny Goes for a Nighttime Stroll in Goodnight, Thumper!

One of my favorite classic picture books is The Poky Little Puppy, a Little Golden Book about a pup whose curiosity causes him to lag behind his siblings and explore the countryside, getting himself rather lost in the process. Another well-worn picture book, though one that I never actually read for myself until adulthood despite my familiarity with the title, is Goodnight Moon, a pretty much plotless book in which a youth bids goodnight to everything within view. That charming youngster happens to be a rabbit, which is the species of the main character in Goodnight, Thumper, a board book that reminds me of both classics.

Goodnight Thumper, written by Kitty Richards and illustrated by Lori Tyminski and Dean Gordon, is a part of the Disney Bunnies series of books for toddlers. Bambi has not appeared in any of the three Disney Bunnies books I’ve read, and my guess is that he is not a part of the series, though I can’t say for sure since there are a few I haven’t perused yet. The focus of the books, however, is Thumper, Bambi’s rambunctious best friend, and to a lesser extent his little sisters. Thumper is distinguishable from his sisters because he is larger and has gray fur, while their fur is brown and they have lashes on their eyes.

Thumper’s four sisters appear in two illustrations in this sturdy square board book. Before that, Thumper encounters a variety of wildlife, while he gets the first and final pages to himself. All but two of the pictures are two-page spreads, for a total of 14 pages. That’s pretty short, but it’s not bad for a book of this type, which is designed for very young pre-readers. The look of the book is a bit muted, since it takes place at night, but the colors still shine through effectively, and the animals depicted in it are adorable. There’s a fullness to the illustrations, particularly the characters, that distinguishes this from the movie; it has more of the artistic computer animated look of Tangled. I especially like the way that we can see all the hairs on Thumper and the other animals.

In my favorite illustration, Thumper gazes up into a tree, where a gray squirrel reclines on a branch, fast asleep and possibly unaware that a chipmunk has turned his tail into a bed. These furry fellows, too, are very lifelike while still retaining the basic look they were given in Bambi. Other animals depicted include a mouse and a family of ducks. The story is short but shows Thumper’s friendliness and yearning to explore as he comes upon various woodlanders and bids them goodnight.

One concern that some may have is that Thumper’s parents don’t seem to have any objection to his wandering the forest on his own. However, he does immediately come running when he is called. What’s more, he is considerably older than his sisters, so a little more independence seems warranted, especially in such a tranquil setting. Still, if children are old enough to understand what is happening in the story, parents might want to caution them against wandering off alone like Thumper does here.

That aside, Goodnight, Thumper is an adorable and well-constructed book with appealing illustrations and simple sentences that make for good naptime or bedtime reading for the very young. Given the choice between Goodnight Moon and Goodnight, Thumper, I think many might just find Bambi’s bestest buddy a little more engaging.