Happy Birthday, Bunny! by Liz Garton Scanlon (review)

In rhyming verse, a little bunny asks multiple questions about her birthday celebration ("What are these and what are those?") and receives answers from her family ("Fancy shoes and party clothes!"). There's more pure sweetness than substance here, but this deconstruction of a child's birthday party may be useful for rehearsing or reviewing the events of a little one's special day, and young children will likely latch onto this opportunity to relive the glories of birthday celebrations. Some of the parental responses are confusing or pat, but others are helpful in making abstract notions more concrete: "What do you mean that time just flies?" is answered by "You're growing up before our eyes," and accompanied by an adorable, scrapbook-like spread of faux photos of the rabbit as a newborn, infant, and toddler. The warm, soft tones of Graegin's illustrations, pencil and ink digitally assembled on cream pages, evoke coziness and contentment and the little white bunny birthday girl is as cute as a button in her golden crown, saffron party dress, and beribboned shoes. The comely cast of woodland animals (including beavers, foxes, owls) resemble cuddly, plush animals, and youngsters will feel at home with the festive critters in their colorful clothing and party hats. This could be a pleasant selection for a birthday-themed storytime, a useful title to read pre-party to a birthday boy or girl, or as something to tide over kids for whom a whole year seems too long to go between birthdays.