Can you believe it?
It seems like only yesterday we were bidding each other happy summer, and now here we are, back at school, and back to Perfect Picture Book Fridays!
As you all well know, I live on Blueberry Hill (i.e. The Back of Beyond, The Boonies, The Middle Of Nowhere, The Untamed Wilderness… you know 🙂 )
Here on Blueberry Hill we have all manner of wild life. Turkeys and Great Blue Herons. Bobcats and Martens. Coyotes and Black Bears. Raccoons and Opossums and Skunks. White-Tailed Deer. Snakes of all kinds. Pretty much every single member of the marmot family 🙂 You get the idea.
But what we haven’t had for years are rabbits.
No idea why.
But this year, for no discernible reason, they have made quite a comeback, proliferating as only rabbits can. Suddenly there are cottontails abounding in every little thicket.
So although none (that I know of!) are ninjas, my fall kick-off PPBF choice is all about bunnies 🙂
Title: Ninja Bunny Sister vs. Brother
Written & Illustrated By: Jennifer Gray Olson
Alfred A. Knopf Books For Young Readers, September 13 2016, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 3-7
Themes/Topics: sibling rivalry, teamwork
Opening: “Look! It’s the Golden Carrot of Awesomeness! We are the only ones super sneaky enough to find it – and unlock its powers of greatness.”
Brief Synopsis: Ninja Bunny is on a mission to get the Golden Carrot of Awesomeness, assured of success until his little sister insists on tagging along.
Links To Resources: Kid-Friendly Carrot Recipes (including carrot apple salad, creamy carrot rice, and carrot cake pancakes); Rabbit-Themed Activities And Crafts; Rabbit Coloring Pages; Facts About Ninjas; pair with other Ninja titles such as Corey Rosen Schwartz’s Ninja Red Riding Hood, The Three Ninja Pigs and Hensel And Gretel: Ninja Chicks, and Alex Latimer’s The Boy Who Cried Ninja, or with other sneaky bunny books such as Candace Fleming’s Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
Why I Like This Book: Sweetly humorous, this story perfectly embodies the struggles of older siblings everywhere who have to put up with their little sisters and brothers, and younger siblings everywhere who have to fight to be included. It also lets young readers figure out that sometimes siblings work better together and that everyone has talents, skills or attributes that can be helpful and appreciated. The illustrations are quirky, cute and appealing – a perfect complement to the spare text.
I hope you like it as much as I do 🙂
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week! (And I’m out of practice with this, so fingers crossed I set it up right! 🙂 )
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂
Susanna Leonard Hill 
It is so good to be back! I too have noticed a bunny bonanza in my travels this summer. In fact I may nab that as a picture book title!
Ooh! Bunny Bonanza! I’m ready to read it, Joanna 🙂 So lovely to see you again! 🙂
Good to be connecting again! Perhaps all the critters are munching on bunnies. You have to be aware where you live! 🙂
What a sweet book with a great theme about siblings learning to work together. Love the cover!
Hi Pat! So great to see you too! Yeah… the bunnies in my neck of the woods DO have to be on the lookout at all times – lots of hungry critters about!
Oh, I’m excited to read this one! I loved Ninja Bunny. Glad PPBF is back!
Hi Andrea! Yes, I’m glad PPBF is back too! My inside scoop for what to read next! 🙂
Thorough review and excellent pick! Can’t wait to read it. So good to be back!!!
It IS good to be back, isn’t it? So many great picture books to read, and so fun to see all our friends again! 🙂
Yay! It’s PPBF! And bunnies! I want to read that book – we’ve had rabbits all over this summer and last week I was rescuing baby bunnies from tall grass before the mower got there. Babies! This late in the season…. Well, I’m glad to be back and have a couple of fun books to share. Can’t wait to see what other folks are sharing.
Oh, my goodness! What a harrowing tale! So glad you saw the babies in time to rescue them! It does seem late… but then again, we’re talking about rabbits 🙂
Welcome back – to you & the wee bunnies! I think the bunnies must have been hiding across the state line here in CT, as we certainly had our share this summer. Groundhogs, too. And chipmunks – loads of them.
This looks like a fun read. Thanks for sharing!
So lovely to see you Patricia! And YES – we have millions of chipmunks – more than we’ve ever had! Where did THEY all come from?! 🙂
Good question & possibly a picture book lurking somewhere in there, too.
I think you may be right…! Chipmunk Invasion! 🙂
The bunnies are everywhere here in Las Vegas too. We’re tripping over them.
I have just added this title to my library queue. Looks fun.
I like the image of tripping over bunnies!
I didn’t even know there WERE bunnies in Las Vegas, David! Seems like there should be prairies dogs or something 🙂 But like Cathy I love the image of tripping over them 🙂
Hurrah for bunnies! Ninja Bunny looks like a super fun take on sibling rivalry.
Just the title is so good, isn’t it? I mean, how can you not want to read a book called Ninja Bunny anything?! 🙂
Ninja’s are hot in kidlit. Sounds like a perfect combination.
Glad to be back!
So glad to see you too, Keila!!! 🙂 I just love the whole concept of a ninja bunny. It reminds me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and “that rabbit’s got a mean streak a mile wide” 🙂
Love the cover Susanna. Love bunnies I only hope nothing was eating them before. Boy am I glad you are back. As you can tell by my post I have lots to be glad about this time of year. Not the least…. summer is around the corner…whoohooo!! Sorry 😉 🙂
Glad you like it, Diane! And so lovely to see you again! ❤ I don't think anything was eating them before… I think they just figured out there were some excellent thickets that were uninhabited and moved in! 🙂 Yay for summer! I don't even mind because we have the lovely weeks of autumn to look forward to before we have to worry about winter 🙂
Goody! Comments have chosen to work for me today. This book combines the sneaky-cool of ninjas and cuteness of bunnies so that is a win-win to me.
Just know that even if I’m not commenting, I’m still trying 🙂
Hurray! Comments are working! So glad to see you Angela! ❤ How is your Chipmunk?! This book is a perfect example of how combining two awesome things can make something even awesomer 🙂
Love the disguises! Sounds a great book. Hope you had a lovely summer 💛
I know! Isn’t the whole idea of bunny disguise fun? So glad to see you again, Catherine! Hope your summer was fabulous!!! ❤
So happy to see you too! Great summer thanks
I’m not usually a fan of Ninja’s but . . . this book looks enchanting!
We had a baby cottontail bunny that has been nibbling and growing in our backyard all summer long. Great to have you back with your PPBF!!!
Yeah… I like ninjas only in the picture book sense 🙂 How cute that you have a baby bunny. It will be your own little Peter Rabbit 🙂 So great to see you again, Michelle!
YAY! IT’S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![Hi! I’m going to pause this celebratory shout to say that the book looks fabulous, and I hope the bunnies behave around your garden!]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
😉
Hellllooooooo Erik! So great to see you again! You know, oddly enough, the bunnies don’t come into my yard. I have a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with the fact that the dogs chase them mercilessly…! 🙂
Knee deep in kindergartners over here and I am here to tell you they LOVE bunnies AND ninjas! I will certainly be on the look out for this title. The cover illustration is so compelling I can’t wait to see what’s waiting inside. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hi Ingrid! I hope your Kindergarten clan likes the ninja bunnies 🙂 My granddaughter just started Kindergarten last week… such a new start kind of time, full of wonder! 🙂
Sorry it took me so long to comment – the book looks like a lot of fun, Susanna! But after mentioning all those predators on Blueberry Hill you don’t know why you didn’t see rabbits? Now they must have defensive ninja skills!
No worries, Julie! I’m taking longer to comment than you! 🙂 And rabbits are crafty! They’re supposed to avoid all the predators! They certainly don’t have any trouble outsmarting my dogs – it’s down right comical to watch those “chases” 🙂