Birthday Bunny Battle Bunny

written by Jon Scieszka and Mac Burnett
illustrated by Matthew Myers

Ages: 5-9 years (approximately grades kindergarten - 3)

Alex has just received Birthday Bunny as a gift from his well-intentioned Gran Gran.  It’s a sweet picture book about a gentle bunny and his forest friends who are planning a surprise birthday party for him.  This saccharine story gets a total rework when Alex uses his pencil to transform Birthday Bunny into Battle Bunny, a no-nonsense, eye-patch-wearing, villainous rabbit with his sights set on world domination. 

 

Hand-drawn sketches and doodles over the original, oil-painted artwork, as well as penciled-over text make Alex’s version of Battle Bunny an action-packed tale full of humor, wit, and creativity.  After waking up with special powers on his birthday, Battle Bunny heads into the forest to set his evil plan into motion.  He chops down trees, makes things explode, and challenges various woodland creatures to fights in his war against the world.  It looks like he might be unstoppable until Alex, our fearless author and illustrator, swoops in to save the day.

 

This book would be a fun read aloud or as a starting activity for a writing program.  Even with the cross outs and added words, the original text can still be read and both kids and adults will get a kick out of comparing the ho-hum story with Alex’s “improvements.”  While the idea of writing in a book may feel taboo, this book will inspire readers to re-imagine and recreate their own stories from beloved and not-so-beloved tales.

 

This title is suitable for ages 5 – 9 and grades K-3. The book’s publishers have also created a website www.mybirthdaybunny.com where readers can download and print the original Birthday Bunny story to create a custom version and upload it via tumblr.  Here are some of the unique and creative results!

Find Battle Bunny in our catalog.