cover image This Little Bunny Can Bake

This Little Bunny Can Bake

Janet Stein, . . Random/Schwartz & Wade, $15.99 (40pp) ISBN 978-0-375-84313-6

This promising if rocky debut lets readers eavesdrop on a class at a world-famous “School of Dessertology,” where Chef George, an imperious owl instructor, is whipping both egg whites and his hapless anthropomorphized students into shape (“What’s an ingredient?” whispers one student, after the chef unveils a chalkboard with a whirlwind of information for them to absorb). There’s a retro-chic sensibility, visual wit and good sense of character in Stein’s gray-toned brush-and-ink drawings (a vain poodle is shown weighing herself on a digital scale when George commands, “Take the time to measure carefully”). But despite these strengths the story falls short. The titular bunny, distinguished by her diligence and rose-hued skin (nearly the only use of color in the book), never emerges as a character worth following. And the story feels more like a series of similar incidents strung together—the common thread being the contrast between the teacher’s instructions and the students’ incompetence—rather than a truly satisfying narrative arc. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)