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144th out of 2,253 books
—
3,525 voters
The Runaway Bunny
A little bunny keeps runningaway from his mother in an imaginative and imaginary game of verbal hide-and-seek; children will be profoundly comforted by this lovingly steadfast mother who finds her child every time.
The Runaway Bunny, first published in 1942 and never out of print, has indeed become a classic. Generations of readers have fallen in love with the gentle magic...more
The Runaway Bunny, first published in 1942 and never out of print, has indeed become a classic. Generations of readers have fallen in love with the gentle magic...more
Hardcover, 48 pages
Published
January 18th 2005
by HarperCollins
(first published 1942)
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everyone loves this book. everyone remembers it being lovely when they were children. but if you read it again you may find it creepy. i do. the illustrations are beautiful, and the message i s'pose is charming. but my son and i both dislike it. he becomes rigid with boredom when i try to read this to him, and he has pretty good reading stamina for a 2.5 year old. he digs all the classics, but we agree that this book is actually somewhat spooky. the bunny is not really asking mommy to rescue him...more
Jan 04, 2008
Susan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
children frustrated by boundaries and the parents who love them
Shelves:
picture-books-jp
My darling Jess decided to run away as a tot. Always the independent sort, the rules of the house were getting to her. Don't clunk your brother on the head, don't steal cookies, don't glue the cat to the floor, the usual. She packed a backpack, put on all her accessories (she was quite into a tiara and lots of beads back then) and set off. I was being the free to be you and me mom I tried to be when not hollering at my children - so I kept my distance and let her leave. With me shadowing her. It...more
It is hard to discuss children's books at length, but Margaret Wise Brown's books deserve discussion. Both the Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon are true classics. Beautifully written and illustrated, these books bring me a sense of calm (I don't know how else to describe it). These are peaceful books that are wonderful to read aloud.
2 likes · like · see review
I had forgotten about this book until I ran across it at the library. The writing and illustrations are fantastic. Even though my three-year-old may not fully grasp the concept of ever-reaching mother's love, the drawings really fire up her imagination. Being able to turn oneself into a boat or a bird is pretty cool in her eyes and having Mama Bunny there is very reassuring to her.
It's especially a great book to read while you're preparing your little one for the arrival of a new sibling.
I will...more
It's especially a great book to read while you're preparing your little one for the arrival of a new sibling.
I will...more
Jan 26, 2008
Walker
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Walker by:
Mumsy
Shelves:
eternal-favorites
The best kids book ever. If you have lost faith in mankind, are being charged by a very angry rhinoceros, can't find your car keys, or are just simply depressed, this book will renew your faith in mankind, make you realize that car keys aren't that important anyway, lift your spirits better then any anti-depressant on the market (black or otherwise), and make the rhinoceros cuddle up with you with a mug of hot apple cider instead of throwing you 50 feet to land with 19 broken ribs and one less h...more
Jan 21, 2009
booklady
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
all parents of little ones
Shelves:
1990s,
children,
all-ages,
classic,
family,
fantasy,
fiction,
poetry,
worth-reading-over-and-over,
young-children
One of my youngest daughter's favorite bunny stories. She had her own bunny that she took to bed with her every night, originally a lilac colored rabbit which quickly turned grey and shabby. So just as teddy bear stories were her sister's special stories, all the bunny books were usually hers. This one is a delightful, sweet tale about an impish bunny who keeps trying to escape mama bunny, but really only wants to be constantly reassured (as we ALL do!) that he will always be loved and mama will...more
Grade/interest level: K-2
Lexile: 600L
Reading level: 2.8
Genre: Picture Book
Main Characters: Little Bunny, Mother Bunny
Setting: Their home, and a variety of other settings.
POV: Third Person
In this tale, a young bunny rabbit tells his mother that he plans on running away. The mother relays ways in which she would prevent him from ever leaving her. When the little bunny says he will be a ship and sail away, the mother says she will be the wind that blows him back to her. For every scenario the litt...more
Lexile: 600L
Reading level: 2.8
Genre: Picture Book
Main Characters: Little Bunny, Mother Bunny
Setting: Their home, and a variety of other settings.
POV: Third Person
In this tale, a young bunny rabbit tells his mother that he plans on running away. The mother relays ways in which she would prevent him from ever leaving her. When the little bunny says he will be a ship and sail away, the mother says she will be the wind that blows him back to her. For every scenario the litt...more
ISBN 0061074292 - I'm kind of surprised to find myself mostly up the middle on this book. Largely loved, it does have good points, but it's hardly the outstanding story I'd expected. I'd give it 2 1/2 stars but can't, so 2 it is.
A nameless little bunny says he's going to run away and his mother tells him she will follow him. As he plans to become various things to hide from her, she is equally imaginative in the ways she will find him.
There is a little of the stalker-mom in the mother bunny, but...more
A nameless little bunny says he's going to run away and his mother tells him she will follow him. As he plans to become various things to hide from her, she is equally imaginative in the ways she will find him.
There is a little of the stalker-mom in the mother bunny, but...more
Both my children loved this book and I repeatedly read it to them when they were younger. But I haven't read it recently. This week, I re-watched the 2001 movie "Wit" (starring Emma Thompson) - an HBO production of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Wit by Margaret Edson. In one of the final scenes (which always makes me cry), Professor Ashford lays on the hospital bed with terminally-ill and near-death Professor Vivian Bearing and reads her The Runaway Bunny. Both are English professors. Dr....more
1 like · like · see review
This is one case where, when I first read this book, it wasn't a favorite. I probably would have given it a 3 at most b/c it just bugged me that the bunny wanted to run away. That said, I've gained a whole new appreciation for this sweet story as a multi-purpose lesson platform--AND a sweet story. I piggybacked this lesson onto a previous lesson where I shared Goodnight Moon (also by the Brown and Hurd team) and Goodnight Goon (by Michael Rex). Runaway Bunny was originally copyrighted in 1942, a...more
Aug 29, 2009
Shanna Gonzalez
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-04-08
This is a delightfully comforting story of a little bunny who decides to run away from his mother. When she informs him that she intends to follow him, he invents many imaginary scenes in which he is transformed into something else and escapes. His mother enters each scene to complete it with an image of reunification: she becomes a fisherman to catch her trout, a gardener to find the hidden crocus in a garden, a tree for the bird to fly home to, and so on. The illustrations change pleasingly pa...more
This is a classic story about a little bunny who thinks he wants to get away from his mom. The bunny to leave his home to become a fish in the water then the mama will be a fishman to pick you up. The bunny becomes a rock so the mother will climb the mountain to find the bunny, then the bunny will hide in a crocus, so mama will be a gardener, bunny will be a bird, so the mama become a tree that you come home too. The bunny wasn't happy about that either. The bunny had another idea to become a sa...more
Oct 29, 2011
Jeffrey
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s-books,
read-in-2011
Another board book my son picked out to read with me. He picks more challenging books with my wife, not sure why I get the easy ones.
Anyway, a fun story about a child who wants to get away from his mother and the lengths she will go to, in discussion, to find him. It can be interpreted as creepy and controlling, much like Rainbow Fish can be viewed as bribe people to become your friends, but there's a quality to the art that makes it endearing.
The format of the story is repetitive, son's move a...more
Anyway, a fun story about a child who wants to get away from his mother and the lengths she will go to, in discussion, to find him. It can be interpreted as creepy and controlling, much like Rainbow Fish can be viewed as bribe people to become your friends, but there's a quality to the art that makes it endearing.
The format of the story is repetitive, son's move a...more
From the same author that wrote the popular Goodnight Moon, Margret Wise Brown, does a fantastic job telling another great story. The book starts with a young bunny telling his mother that he is going to run away. The mother informs him that if he ran away from her she wouldn't be too far behind. The little bunny creates several different situations but the mother proves to him that her love for the bunny can't keep her away from him. In the end the little bunny learns that he's actually just ha...more
The little bunny wants to run away from home, but his mother tells him that she will follow him. The little bunny tells his mother all the ways that he will hide from her, and she answers by telling him how she will find him.
During the conversations between the little bunny and his mother the illustrator has black and white sketches on the page. The next two page spread is in full color showing exactly what would happen if the bunny hid from his mother. To me the black and white illustrations th...more
During the conversations between the little bunny and his mother the illustrator has black and white sketches on the page. The next two page spread is in full color showing exactly what would happen if the bunny hid from his mother. To me the black and white illustrations th...more
This is one of my favorite books. I remember my parents reading it to me when I was little. The moral to this story is that someday you have to gain some Independence, but no matter what your mother will always be there with you mentally and physically. I feel like Margaret Wise Brown does a great job in making the reader feel bubbly and warm inside. She lets her baby bunny know that no matter how far away he is from home he will always be safe and tucked away in her heart.
The way I would incor...more
The way I would incor...more
A lovely tale of a young bunny who wants to escape his mother's boundaries and a mother who is determined to outwit her son.
'The Runaway Bunny' has a beautiful message about the efforts somebody will go to for a loved one. It is clearly illustrated by Clement Hurd, making the message very clear for Nursery stage children onwards, probably as a reading to the class. The use of imagery in the language also makes it a useful short text for inspiring creative writing for up to Year 2. The way in wh...more
'The Runaway Bunny' has a beautiful message about the efforts somebody will go to for a loved one. It is clearly illustrated by Clement Hurd, making the message very clear for Nursery stage children onwards, probably as a reading to the class. The use of imagery in the language also makes it a useful short text for inspiring creative writing for up to Year 2. The way in wh...more
This book is definitely for parents and educators. It clearly emphasizes guidance and positive approach towards answering children. The book also brings out feelings of a child and his or her way of expressing them. Children do not have words for emotions and so they associate their feelings with what they do know just like the bunny. The mother of the bunny answers the bunny very patiently and makes him realize that no matter what he does she will love him and always be there for him.
Extension
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Extension
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The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown is about a little bunny who wanted to run away. “If you run away,” said his mother,“ I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.” In the story, the bunny proclaims that he will become different objects or animals in order to hide from his mother. The mother then proclaims how she will change into objects or other animals in order for the bunny to return to her. One of the pictures is reminiscent of Goodnight Moon; the little bunny in his pajamas, t...more
My all-time favorite children's book. A beautiful picture of love, as well as a beautiful "allegory of the soul." For the adults, watch the movie "Wit" - the book is read in one of the most moving scenes on film. As Augustine said, "Our hearts are restless until we find our rest in Thee."
This was another childhood favorite book of mine that I need to re-read. Plus, I found this great review of the book on an online blog that I really liked, so I'm copying here with italics - as it's not my words, but I liked them none the less.
Natural disasters, partisan rancor, unspeakable acts of violence around the world — what's not to worry about? It may sound silly, but this children's classic will offer you a sliver of comfort in this scary world. The bunny's mother, who will "walk across...more
Natural disasters, partisan rancor, unspeakable acts of violence around the world — what's not to worry about? It may sound silly, but this children's classic will offer you a sliver of comfort in this scary world. The bunny's mother, who will "walk across...more
A cute children's story of a little bunny testing the boundaries of his mother. He finds that being near mom is really the best option of all.
One of my children for a while was fixated on the idea of being lost and getting found. My child's worry was that after having been in the dyetsky dom (orphanage) for a long long time until I finally arrived for the adoption, what if my child got lost now? I said over and over again: “No matter where you go, I will always find you.” Needless to say, I liked this book from the first moment I saw it! The theme here is that no matter where the little bunny goes and no matter what the little becomes...more
I enjoyed reading this book. It expresses how much a mother loves her child even if he turns away from her. There's some opportunity to teach children new vocabulary words for fields of occupation, such as "fisherman" and "mountain climber". I like how the illustrations are in black and white until you turn the page and there is a colorful picture showing how the mother would dress and what her work environment would look like if she worked in the field that she mentioned on the previous page.
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I remember this book from my childhood (who doesn't?), but the illustrations stayed with me much more than the story. I still think the illustrations are beautiful, but the story strikes me as a little odd now that I am an adult. I guess it is supposed to be reassuring that the mother continues to seek out her baby bunny no matter where he goes, but she seems a bit overbearing following her child everywhere when he didn't actually ask for her help. Rather than a "mom will always be there for you...more
The Runaway Bunny is a classic story about a bunny and his conversation with his mother about running away. Trying to outwit her he leads her through several situation in which he would go out of her reach and to which she always has a loving solution in which she is still able to express her love for him.
This book is special to me and my son because of the circumstances that led to our owning it. I had a c-section with my son and was just recovering when the nurses told me that if I could walk...more
This book is special to me and my son because of the circumstances that led to our owning it. I had a c-section with my son and was just recovering when the nurses told me that if I could walk...more
The Runaway Bunny is a picturebook for Nursery-age children.
A sweet story reflecting a mother's absolute love for her child. No matter what situation the baby bunny encounters his mother assures him she will be there to love and protect him.
The book was first published in 1942 and the pictures are very simple and reflect the time period. The pictures alternate between pen and ink drawings and more detailed paintings done in color. The characters in the book are very simple, a mother bunny and h...more
A sweet story reflecting a mother's absolute love for her child. No matter what situation the baby bunny encounters his mother assures him she will be there to love and protect him.
The book was first published in 1942 and the pictures are very simple and reflect the time period. The pictures alternate between pen and ink drawings and more detailed paintings done in color. The characters in the book are very simple, a mother bunny and h...more
Another great book by M.W. Brown! How many of us threatened to run away as kids? The bunny in this book has the same idea to teach his mother a lesson, but she's the persevering kind and always has a loving comeback to his threats to runaway to the mountains or the circus or a trout stream or to turn himself into a boy and run into a house. The story ends with the boy knowing he's defeated by his mother's love, and they snuggle down into their rabbit hole and she hands him a carrot as a treat.
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so, ummm, the runaway bunny tries to set boundaries over and over to take some space in this story and basically their parent, tramples them over and over.. kinda creepy.
The Runaway Bunny was first published in 1942 and tells the story of a little bunny who decides to run away. The bunny tells his mom his plan, and she responds be telling him that she will follow him. This results in him coming up with creative ways to avoid his mother, but she always counteracts with how she will follow and find him. All of this is done with the use of “what ifs.” This story shows the everlasting love of a mother and how comforting and reassuring moms are. Children will enjoy t...more
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Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died nearly 60 years ago, her books still sell very well.
Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem....more
More about Margaret Wise Brown...
Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem....more
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