"Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpexted Diversion"

Willems, M. (2010). Knuffle Bunny free: An unexpected diversion. New York: Balzer Bray.

Readability Lexile: AD530L

Intended Audience: Ages 5-8

Setting: A Bustling City

Theme: A little girl grows up and learns how to share

Characters: Trixie, her parents, her Grandparents, and a screaming baby

Summary: In this installment of the Knuffle Bunny series, Trixie her bunny, and her parents take a trip to Holland to visit Trixie's Grandparents. After a bus ride and a long plane ride, everyone arrives in Holland except for Knuffle Bunny. They search everywhere, but the bunny is nowhere to be found. Trixie is pretty upset and cannot stop worrying about her bunny. Even a new toy cannot quell Trixie's angst. 

Realizing that she left her bunny on the plane, she finally falls asleep and her dreams are filled with wonder as to where her bunny is traveling. She dreams of the different countries her bunny may be experiencing. Their visit ends and back on a bus, back to the airport and back on the plane they go.

Surely the bunny is lost forever. Trixie glances into the seat back in front of her and to her surprise, there is her bunny. She tucked it in on the way to Holland and forgot to grab it as she got off the plane. As they settle in for the long plane ride home, they find themselves seated in front of a screaming baby. Trixie decides that she has outgrown her bunny and offers it to the screaming baby. Everyone is taken back by her decision to give up her bunny, but it does the trick for the screaming baby. Quiet and happy are Trixie, the screaming baby, and every other passenger on the plane. 

The message in this book is just when you think you know how a child will react in a situation, they do something contrary to what you thought they would. The illustrations are wonderful and the real life pictures add a nice twist to the book. The over riding theme is learning how to give up something you cherish for the betterment of another. It is a beautiful book and sends a very positive message, but it does not meet the requirements of high quality literature set forth by Norton (2011).