Review - Fear the Bunny

Fear the Bunny
by Richard T. Morris
illustrated by Priscilla Burris
Date: 2019
Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

Bunnies—not tigers—rule the forest in this adorable take on William Blake’s classic poem.

Bunnies, bunnies, burning bright
In the forests of the night—

Wait, bunnies?! Yes, bunnies.

Tigers may be the most feared animal in some forests, but in this one, they fear the bunny. One hapless tiger finds this idea preposterous—what are they going to do? Nibble on his tail? Bop him on the head? Cute him to death? Fear the bunny—HA! Make no mistake, though: Richard Morris’ reimagining of William Blake’s famous poem turns the tables, and teaches one testy tiger a little rabbit-respect!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is a cute introduction to William Blake's poem "The Tyger". In the story, a tiger overhears the other woodland creatures reciting the poem, but in their version, it's bunnies, not tigers, that are to be feared. The tiger thinks this is ridiculous, and scoffs as the rest of the creatures hide from the approaching leporine monsters. He soon learns his lesson and finds out why it's wise to "fear the bunny".

To be honest, I'm still not sure why we're supposed to fear the bunnies; that part isn't really explained. The fun part of this book, however, is the lead-up to the appearance of the bunnies and the tiger's disbelief at the other animals' reactions.

The original poem is included at the back, which is helpful (especially for kids, who may not have read it before). The illustrations are simple, but rather cute. They work well enough here to illustrate the events of the story.

Overall, I liked this, but didn't love it. It's an amusing introduction to Blake's poem, though, which uses the unexpected to make a funny narrative.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.33 out of 5