School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-This bunny version of the old game "telephone" centers on plans for a surprise birthday party. Sunny makes a list of party preparations, but as she calls her friends to spread the word, the messages keep getting mixed up. "Yummy-Plummy Tan Cake" becomes "Yummy-Tummy Pancakes," "big blanket" turns into "big banquet," and so on. By the time the party finally comes off (at six in the morning instead of the evening), everything is mixed up, but the bunnies still have a great time. Engaging cut-paper illustrations printed on glossy paper draw viewers' eyes with bright colors and distinct shapes. Colored square frames against white backgrounds effectively highlight the rabbit figures and their actions. With minimal facial features, it's hard to differentiate the personalities, but by showing the bunnies engaged in various activities while on the phone, readers get a sense of their hobbies. Mugsey plays the drums, for example, while Libby sits at a computer, crunching on potato chips. Still, the characters take a back seat to the gently amusing mixed-up messages. Whether or not kids are familiar with "telephone," they'll recognize the humorous confusion that miscommunication can bring.-Steven Engelfried, Deschutes County Library, Bend, OR (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
À la the game Telephone, a surprise party goes awry as planning information gets passed from one bunny to another. Luckily for all--thanks to some rather obvious missteps--the sunrise surprise works out just as well as the evening picnic originally planned. Oddly, WallaceÆs bright cut-paper illustrations are printed with a distracting high gloss coating. From HORN BOOK Fall 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 3^-6. The favorite old children's game Telephone is given a new spin in this delightful story about a surprise birthday party that doesn't quite turn out as originally planned. Sunny phones Gloria to tell her about the surprise picnic for Earl and asks her to phone the other friends to tell them what to bring. By the time the message is relayed from friend to friend, "surprise" has become "sunrise," "soccer ball" has become "socks and balls," "big blanket" has become "big banquet," and so on, until Sunny is as surprised as Earl when the friends arrive at 6:00 a.m. ready for a party. The characters, all depicted as bunnies, are beautifully portrayed in glossy collages of various textured papers. The humor of the twisted telephone conversations is sure to please even slightly older readers, and the illustrations might inspire budding artists. --Helen Rosenberg
