Module 2: Bunnicula

Summary

Harold (a dog) lives with the Monroe family and his friend Chester the cat. One rainy evening, the Monroe family come home from seeing  a movie (Dracula, to be exact) with a bunny that they found in a box in the theater. When vegetables start to appear drained of their juices, Chester the cat, who has a penchant for scary stories and superstition, decides that the rabbit, Bunnicula, must be a vampire and attempts to get rid of him.

                 Citation

Howe, D. , & Howe, J (1989). Bunnicula, a rabbit-tale of mystery. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

                  Impression

This book is very funny, and the writing is much more sophisticated than in a lot of books for this age group--something I didn't really pick up on until I got to the glossary at the back of the book and noticed some of the vocabulary there. I thought the depictions of Harold and Chester as a dog and cat respectively were pretty spot on. I was a little bit horrified at the description of Harold eating chocolate cupcakes--he's a dog! Dogs can't eat chocolate! But other than that I didn't really have any complaints. I think the idea of a vampire bunny is just so funny that it is obvious why this book remains popular.


Review

A talking-dog's story of a vampire rabbit. Uhuh, and this is not one of those madcap affairs that has no natural bounds. Dog Harold and his buddy, cat Chester, pride themselves on being ""rather special pets""; after all, Mr. Monroe is a college English professor and Mrs. M. is a lawyer and so everybody is treated with respect for their intelligence. Which isn't, truth to say, always in evidence. Mrs. M., for instance, wants to call every new animal Fluffy--including the bunny found in a shoebox in the movie theater when the family goes to see Dracula. But, voted down, she comes up with ""Bunny-cula. Bunnicula!"" And he not only bears a note in ""an obscure dialect of the Carpathian mountain region"" (intelligible only to Harold), he turns tomatoes, lettuce, even zucchini--white!!! Well, he must be sucking their juices out, Chester decides, ergo a vampire. Chester's efforts to starve poor Bunnicula--after his other attempts to alert the Monroes fail--give these goings-on some semblance of a plot. But it's a pretty feeble bit of foolishness (except, briefly, for the zucchini bit) which winds up with Bunnicula on a liquid diet that leaves no tell-tale signs. Was he or wasn't he? Your guess is as good as ours."--Kirkus

Kirkus Reviews. [Review of the book Bunnicula, by Deborah and James Howe]. Retrieved from Bowker's books in print http://www.bowker.com.


Uses

      This book could be used to highlight animal welfare and discuss the problem of abandoned pets (and how dogs don't get chocolate! Gah!). This could be part of a week long event in conjunction with the local humane society. 

Module 1: The Rainbow Fish

Summary

The rainbow fish is the most beautiful fish in the ocean, but he is very stuck up and has no friends. Another fish asks the rainbow fish to share his scales, but he says no. Eventually, after getting advice from an octopus, the rainbow fish shares his scales with all the other fish, and gains them as friends.

Citation

Pfister, M. (2004). The rainbow fish. New York, NY: North-South Books.

Impression

I think this is a book to buy for its sparkly illustrations, not the story. The pictures are pretty watercolors, and the iridescent foil scales would, I'm sure, be captivating for little kids. The story is simple, and apparently quite controversial, as I learned when I scrolled through some Amazon reviews. While I'm certainly not of the "OMG! THE SOCIALISMS!" camp, I can see how the people who castigate this book for promoting conformity and anti-individualism got to their view. I don't really agree with it, but I can see where the got it.

Review


Despite some jazzy special effects achieved with shimmery holographs, this cautionary tale about selfishness and vanity has trouble staying afloat. Rainbow Fish, ``the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean,'' refuses to share his prized iridescent scales--which, indeed, flash and sparkle like prisms as each page is turned. When his greed leaves him without friends or admirers, the lonely fish seeks advice from the wise octopus, who counsels him to give away his beauty and ``discover how to be happy.'' The translation from the original German text doesn't enhance the story's predictable plot, and lapses into somewhat vague descriptions: after sharing a single scale, ``a rather peculiar feeling came over Rainbow Fish.'' Deep purples, blues and greens bleed together in Pfister's liquid watercolors; unfortunately, the watery effect is abruptly interrupted by a few stark white, text-only pages. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)

Children's Review. (1999, January 25).[Review of the book The Rainbow Fish]. Publisher's Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-55858-009-1


Uses

This book could be part of a children's display about the senses, as it is very interesting visually. It could also be used to talk about sharing, or, as some people on the internet suggest, to teach children to sell their limbs in return for friends.

Blag

This blog was created for SLIS 5420. Nothing else to see here.