Dorothy Kunhardt (1901–1979)

This book was printed the same year I was born, and I grew up looking at the pictures over and over before I could even read. So even if the stories are weird, the nostalgia rush of seeing the upside-down acrobat or the stick-thin singing cowboy just fills me with warm fuzzies.

Little Peewee, a tiny Dalmatian dog, is the star attraction of a circus, until he has a growth spurt and becomes "the same size as any other plain dog that you would see anywhere." Despite being beloved by everyone in show more the circus, he must now leave for being so ordinary, because that's what circus folk do? Thankfully, another growth spurt saves the day.

Sylvester, on the other hand, is a victim of suburban sprawl. He learns to appreciate the music of nature in his peaceful little meadow, but soon it is engulfed by new construction and he takes refuge in a music shop guitar display. He learns to plink out the sounds of the meadow on the guitar, and when the tune is overheard the guitar is assumed to be haunted and unsellable until a brave singing cowboy shows up who apparently has no patience for guitar lessons and would rather the guitar just play on its own.

My daughter enjoyed this when I read it to her back when she was three. My wife, not so much this week . . . show less

This book is definitely one of a kind for its time period. It was published in 1940. The market for children's books was not as big as it is now. Especially interactive books like this one. Dorothy Kunhardt did a wonderful job making sure the targeted readers(kids) have a way to keep their attention on the book. The readers can play peek-a-boo, pet the bunny, touch the scratchy beard, look in the mirror, and my favorite one is smelling the flowers. To this day I still remember what the show more flowers smelt like the first time I got the book. After reading it recently I realized Kunhardt made sure the book interacted with almost all the senses. Looking in the mirror uses your sight, smelling the flowers uses your smell, touching the bunny or beard uses your touching sense, and hearing someone read the book or reading it out loud uses your ears. The only thing that was missed was taste. Overall this book is phenomenal for this time period and is wonderful for kids that are still finding their love of literature. show less

Introducing two children - Paul and Judy - the narrator of this simple interactive book for young children invites the reader to join them in various activities, from patting a furry white bunny to playing peekaboo with a towel. Feeling Daddy's scratchy face, and reading a story (about a bunny, of course!) are also included in the delights here...

Originally published in 1940, Pat the Bunny is an established classic of American children's literature, and was quite ground-breaking in its day, show more offering an interactive experience to young child reader/listeners that was quite unique. Well-conceived and well-designed, it has stood the test of time, even though plenty of other interactive books for toddlers have surfaced in the intervening years. Somehow I missed this one, when a child myself, but I can see why it is so popular, and have frequently recommended it to patrons of the various bookstores where I have worked. show less

The "Can YOU pat the bunny? Can YOU look in the mirror?" stuff will always be too regimented and Dick-and-Jane for me, but the book-within-a-book is adorable and SO POSTMODERN (ha ha), and when Luisa pats the bunny and says "So sooooft" she'll melt your heart.