Bunnybear

by Andrea J. Loney, Carmen Saldaña (Illustrator)

Overview

2018 Storytelling World Resource Award Winner - Stories for Young Listeners
2018 Rainbow Book List

Bunnybear is more than a bear.

Although Bunnybear was born a bear, he feels more like a bunny. He prefers bouncing in the thicket to tramping in the forest, and in his heart he's fluffy and tiny, like a rabbit, instead of burly and loud, like a bear. The other bears don’t understand him, and neither do the bunnies. Will Bunnybear ever find a friend who likes him just the way he is?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807509395
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	01/31/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD530L (what's this?)
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Andrea J. Loney is an award-winning children's author whose books celebrate diversity, joy, and kindness. She holds an MFA from New York University and, in addition to the Abby in Orbit series, has published several acclaimed picture books, including Bunnybear and Double Bass Blues, which won a Caldecott Honor. Andrea lives in Los Angeles, California, with her family and their incredibly spoiled pets.

Carmen Saldaña always wanted to work in a candy store and have a dog. Now that she is older, she has two dogs and a cat and is an illustrator—a job she likes second only to candy. Carmen lives on the northern coast of Spain.

Editorial Reviews

11/07/2016
In a story about sticking to what you know to be true, even if it goes against social norms, debut author Loney introduces a bear who feels most like himself when he’s doing the sorts of things that bunnies do: “He loved to bounce through the forest, wiggle his nose, and nibble on strawberries. It made him feel free and light and happy.” Bunnybear’s fellow bears don’t understand him, nor do a warren of bunnies—except for one named Grizzlybun, who declares herself a bear. “I’m burly and loud and I eat whatever I want,” she tells Bunnybear, who responds, “That certainly sounds like a bear to me.” Working in what looks like a combination of painting and digital techniques, newcomer Saldaña creates an appealing cast of wild animals and an equally inviting woodland landscape, and she doesn’t ignore the humorousness of a bear who prefers hopping to stomping or a bunny whose inner ferociousness outstrips her small size. But despite the lighthearted tone, Loney’s story has important things to say about identity and acceptance, and is valuable both as entertainment and a conversation-starter. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Jill Corcoran, Jill Corcoran Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

2018 Storytelling World Resource Award Winner - Stories for Young Listeners
2018 Rainbow Book List

"Despite the lighthearted tone, Loney's story has important things to say about identity and acceptance, and is valuable both as entertainment and a conversation-starter."—Publishers Weekly

"A sweet story of friendship and acceptance…the message of being true to one's nature is one many children need to hear."—Kirkus Reviews

"An engaging read…Bunnybear will be sure to endear himself to children, and teachers and parents will appreciate the sensitivity with which the book expresses the discord between internal and external identity to young readers."—School Library Journal


"While there are many stories of mixed-up animals, this offers an assuring message of individuality: 'You just look one way on the outside and feel another way on the inside. That's okay,' Bunnybear tells Grizzlybun."—Booklist


"The tone is gentle and hopeful. This is a good friendship story to have for young kids who may have identity issues or those who just need a little boost to stand up for who they are."—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

03/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—Bunnybear may have been born in the shape of a bear, but he knows what he really is: a cute, fluffy, hopping bunny. He likes to sniff the air like a bunny, and he loves the way bunnies whisper and giggle… until they giggle at him. Bunnybear feels perplexed by their dismissal of his bunnyness, until he finds a bunny who is as "burly and loud" as Bunnybear is bouncy, fluffy, and tiny inside. Together, Grizzlybun and Bunnybear inspire the other animals of the forest to discover their true inner animals. Painted in natural hues in their natural habitats, the animals' faces and postures express their strong individual personalities without completely anthropomorphizing them. VERDICT An engaging read suitable for one-on-one and small group sharing. Bunnybear will be sure to endear himself to children, and teachers and parents will appreciate the sensitivity with which the book expresses the discord between internal and external identity to young readers.—Anna Stover, Poughkeepsie Day School, NY

School Library Journal

2016-12-06
A sweet story of friendship and acceptance. Whimsical, cheery illustrations tell the story of a bear who looks like most bears. But when he is alone, he bounces, wiggles his nose, and nibbles on strawberries. He calls himself Bunnybear. The other bears don't understand him and deem him odd. So he leaves home and eventually finds himself looking down a rabbit hole. Even though they are "tiny and fluffy and bouncy, like Bunnybear's heart," the rabbits find him as odd as the bears did and tell him to leave. Alone and bewildered—he doesn't feel like a bear, but he doesn't look like a rabbit—he is at a loss. Then he meets a rabbit. Only this rabbit is more than a rabbit: she looks like a rabbit but feels like a bear—she is Grizzlybun! And so starts a friendship of two who look one way on the outside but feel another way on the inside. Unlike many stories of differentness in which the characters just want to fit in, here the characters are happy to be who they are—it is others who must come to accept them. The book has a strong beginning but a weak ending that peters out and turns both didactic and puzzling; still the message of being true to one's nature is one many children need to hear. A nice addition to the identity and acceptance bookshelf. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews