The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration - Twenty-Seven

When I was a little girl, the counting books I used were, to be honest, horribly boring. They were bland, totally uninteresting, and I learned to count as quickly as I could so that I wouldn't have to use them any more. Thankfully, authors and illustrators have since come up with wonderfully creative ways to help children practice their counting. In today's picture book, Marion Dane Bauer gives children a story to enjoy, and she helps them practice their counting skills as well.

One Brown Bunny

Marion Dane Bauer

Illustrated by Ivan Bates

Picture Book

Ages 4 to 6

Scholastic, 2009, 978-0-439-68010-3

   One sunny day, a little brown bunny goes outside to find a friend to play with. He invites two red birds to fly down from their tree to “Come play with me,” but the birds fly away. Next, the little bunny came across three bears who “crunched their lunch.” Bunny asks if he can join them, but the bears growl at him and walk off. Later still, the bunny sees five little mice playing hide-and-seek. The bunny so much wants to join their game, but the mice are not interested in playing with the bunny. Will no one play with a lonely little bunny?

   Little children will immediately sympathize with the little rabbit in this story. They know what it feels like when no one will play with you. Thankfully, this little story has a happy ending. The story has an engaging rhyming text and cunning illustrations, and it also helps children to practice their counting.