Little Bunny Foo Foo: The Real Story

What if Little Bunny Foo Foo was really the victim, driven to head-bopping by larcenous field mice (and some coconspirators from other species) who keep stealing her cupcakes? The Good Fairy would look pretty clueless, wouldn’t she? It’s a funny conceit, and the right pieces are in place: the contrast between the idyllic forest setting, painted in cheery pastel colors, and Little Bunny’s growing anger; the satisfying comeuppance for the sanctimonious fairy (spoiler alert: recall that Little Bunny Foo Foo is changed into a monster—and in these pages, she’s a ravenous one). For the most part, Doerrfeld (Penny Loves Pink) sticks to the poem’s familiar language, turning it into a story of misplaced blame. But the flattened rendering style tends to blunt the characters’ comic edge, and the single, stage-like perspective that dominates the compositions actually makes it harder to take in all the action. While readers will empathize with Little Bunny Foo Foo’s frustration, all of the characters are pretty unpleasant in one way or another, and the fractured fairy tale sensibility never really takes off. Ages 3–5. (Jan.)