Pat the Bunny

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, 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 show more 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

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 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 show more 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

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.

This book is particularly dear to us because we received it as a baby shower gift from a 101 years old lady by the name of ... Dorothy. We read it together many times a week when my son was in infancy (and he still brings it out to read every so often). It's sweet and unpretentious, and it's interactive providing the following activities: you can pat the bunny's fur, touch daddy's scratchy unshaved face, look in the mirror, play peek-a-boo, smell the flowers, read a book, try a ring on. It's so simple, yet so educational for the infant. It's my very favorite touch-and-feel book, so cute. Originally published in 1940, I'd say it still holds appeal for infants. In short, it's a classic that won't go out of date.

(The light plastic binding show more of this book is somewhat delicate, unless you get a board book edition. It's not really sturdy or baby-proof. We stored it out of reach until my son was old enough to handle it gently ...) show less

This concept book, where baby and pat the bunny, play peekaboo, touch daddy's bread, etc. is lovely, and very of its time. I thought is was dated and would appeal more to me than to baby Liam, but he loves it! Alas, it is very flimsy, and won't last a few weeks of his tender playing. Oh, and the flowers - whoa smelly!

First sentence: Here are Paul and Judy. They can do lots of things. You can do lots of things, too.

Premise/plot: Pat the Bunny is an interactive book for very young children. It was originally released in 1940. I don't know how many other books for VERY young children existed at the time. (Certainly not as many as there are in recent decades). But this is one of the books from 1940 that has lived on, if you will, from its original publication and become somewhat iconic. (Though perhaps less so these days? I know it was iconic in my own childhood.)

Judy and Paul do "lots" of things. "Judy can pat the bunny. Now YOU pat the bunny." Judy can play peek-a-boo with Paul. Now YOU play peek-a-boo with Paul. Paul can smell the flowers. Now YOU show more smell the flowers."

My thoughts: Pat the Bunny is one of the books I remember my mom reading to me. I could NOT find my own copy--perhaps long destroyed????--for the purposes of review. Though it has been decades since I last read Pat the Bunny, I remembered more than half the activities. I think, for some generations at least, this book is iconic. I'm not sure it is *still* iconic for the past few generations. Is this still being bought and read today? Has it been replaced with other board books, other interactive books in the past fifteen to twenty years? Perhaps. I don't know. I know that Guess How Much I Love You and Love You Forever are certainly become icons. Goodnight Moon--an older title--is still an ever-present icon.

This one is a spiral bound interactive, "activity" book. I haven't heard any outlandish stories about it being canceled, but, honestly it wouldn't shock me if there was someone out there somehow, somewhere who could find reasons to take offense at this one. show less

Pat the Bunny is my favorite board book. It is interactive in the best and most simple way with a kind tone, sweet illustrations, and a gentle encouragement to explore the wonderful world. I always include this book in my gift for baby showers. While I decided to put this title under "Board book", that fact is arguable - to my knowledge, it is only spiral bound, still, will relatively (for a toddler) delicate pages. This is a book that will be well worn if it is well loved.