The Bunny Band

by Bill Richardson, Roxanna Bikadoroff (Illustrator)

Overview

A rhyming romp of a tale about a badger and a band of bunnies.

Lavinia the badger loves vegetables and tends her garden with care, but one morning she discovers that her lettuce has been nibbled and her potatoes and beans have disappeared! She decides to set a snare for the culprit, who turns out to be a frightened bunny. When Lavinia threatens to turn him into stew, the bunny pleads for his life, promising a rich reward if she lets him go.

The next night, when the moon rises, Lavinia is amazed to see dozens and dozens of bunnies in her garden, carrying banjos, bassoons, harps, ukuleles, trumpets, bagpipes, fifes and drums. Night after night, the bunnies play enchanting music, and Lavinia’s vegetables grow and grow and grow. At the end of the season, Lavinia lays her table with a wonderful vegetable feast for the bunny band, who promise they’ll return in the spring.

Once again, Bill Richardson and Roxanna Bikadoroff bring us a story full of old-fashioned charm and humor — a pure delight.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781773060934
Publisher:	Groundwood Books
Publication date:	09/06/2018
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

BILL RICHARDSON, winner of Canada’s Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, and former radio host, has written several highly acclaimed books for children. They include The Aunts Come Marching, illustrated by Cynthia Nugent, winner of the Time to Read Award; After Hamelin, winner of the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award; and The Alphabet Thief, illustrated by Roxanna Bikadoroff, named among New York Library's Best Books for Kids. Bill lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

ROXANNA BIKADOROFF’s illustrations have been published internationally for more than twenty-five years. She has won numerous awards, many of them National Magazine Awards, including Best Illustration (Gold). She recently collaborated with Bill Richardson on a collection of poems for adults as well as on her first children’s book, The Alphabet Thief. Roxanna lives in Vancouver.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

The Bunny Band:

". . . plenty of small details for children to study. Singsong-y and sweet." — Kirkus Reviews

"[A] rhyming story of theft, mercy and enchantment illustrated with quirky good humor by Roxanna Bikadoroff." — Wall Street Journal

The Alphabet Thief:

“A smart pick for language lovers of any age.” Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A fun romp that lends itself to both quietly amused solo reading and boisterous read-aloud sessions.” Quill & Quire, starred review

“Sure to delight wordsmiths of all ages. A fun read-aloud that lends itself to curricular application.” School Library Journal

“A small and hilarious picture book … Pictures and verses seem to tumble over one another …” Wall Street Journal

Editorial Reviews

[A] rhyming story of theft, mercy and enchantment illustrated with quirky good humor by Roxanna Bikadoroff.

Wall Street Journal

08/01/2018
PreS-Gr 1—In this rhyming story, Lavinia, a badger, loves her garden. Tending it with care, she is upset when she discovers that someone has eaten her vegetables during the night. She sets a trap for the culprit and catches the white bunny who is responsible for the theft. Reminiscent of the Aesop fable "The Lion and the Mouse," the culprit begs to be released and tells Lavinia that he will reward her if he's let go. The adorably illustrated bunny band shows up in the garden and the music has an amazing effect on the crops. Due to the bunny serenade, the vegetables grow extraordinarily large. "The onions were huge, like moose. Zucchinis, far from weeny, were the size of a caboose." Lavinia is happy, the band plays, and everyone shares the enormous vegetables at the Autumn Harvest Fair. VERDICT This fun rhyming text is a great read-aloud choice that can connect to various content areas.—Susan Small, Salve Regina University Library, Newport, RI

School Library Journal

2018-05-14
After Lavinia the badger snares and releases a veggie-stealing bunny in her garden, the thief promises to return with a musical band to help her garden grow.The bunnies do arrive, "by the dozen, by the score— / cream and tan and black and brown, / and more and more and more." They play all sorts of instruments—Bikadoroff depicts everything from banjos to bongos, pan pipes to a xylophone. The music is magical indeed. "Their serenade, enchanted, made / her onions huge, like moose. / Zucchinis, far from weeny, / were the size of a caboose." Just two nights of music-making seem to produce the gigantic yields, as a page turn later, Lavinia's veggies capture the ribbons at the "autumn harvest fair." Lavinia whips up a splendid feast to thank the bunnies, who promise to return again to jam next spring. Richardson's rhymes scan reasonably well, propelling the tale along. Bikadoroff's pleasant watercolors winsomely depict Lavinia's woodland garden, cozy tree-hollow home, and prizewinning produce, providing plenty of small details for children to study.Singsong-y and sweet. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews