The bunny's name is Amelia! ( )

Too tall to play jump-rope with the other bunnies, too heavy to use the see-saw, and too large-footed to join in the playground games of hop-scotch, Amelia was one very big, and very unhappy bunny. Inventing ways to keep herself occupied during recess (and to keep her mind off her social isolation), she took to watching the clouds, listening to the wind, and thinking important thoughts. And then one day, a very small bunny named Suzanne came to school, and was likewise ostracized by the other bunnies, because of her unusual size. Would Amelia and Suzanne bond over their common isolation? Or would their differences in size - even greater than that between the general class population, and either of them - keep them apart...?

A story about learning to accept and celebrate one's own unique body - its size and shape, its differences from the bodies of others - A Very Big Bunny delivers a very important and much-needed message in an entertaining and non-didactic way. I don't know that I found it a particularly brilliant example of the picture-book genre, or that I was terribly thrilled with the solution Suzanne dreams up, to the "issue" of class picture day, but I appreciated the general direction of the story, and thought the gouache artwork was colorful and engaging. All in all, a sweet little book, one I would recommend to young readers who feel embarrassed by their bodies (which, in our image obsessed culture, is probably quite a few of them), or mourn the fact that they don't "fit in." ( )

Amelia is a very big bunny and is teased for being so. Then Susannah, a very small bunny, moves into town. Susannah wants to be friends with Amelia but Amelia is so shy. When picture day comes up Amelia wants to stay at home but Susannah comes up with a plan to make it a special picture. The two bunnies end up being great friends.

A great read-aloud for the classroom that hits a bunch of different, important life lessons. ( )

Okay read aloud, a very big bunny makes friends with a very small bunny. They both got picked on because of their size, and even though they are different they can still be friends. ( )

Amelia is very big and Susannah is very small. The only thing they have in common is that the other bunnies in the class exclude them because of their size. When it is time for school pictures, Susannah and Amelia make themselves necklaces and tiaras to wear for the photo and become friends. ( )