Big Bunny and the Magic Show

by Steven Kroll, Janet Stevens (Illustrator)

Tired of being the Easter Bunny, Wilbur decides to get a new job as assistant to Morgan the Magician

Genres: Picture Books, Holiday, Animals

28 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1986

About the author

Stephen Kroll spoke at schools and conferences all over the world. He was married to the journalist, Kathleen Beckett, and they lived in New York City and an old carriage house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When he was not writing or traveling, he played a lot of tennis and walked around looking at everything.

Reviews

[Melinda Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wilbur, the big Easter Bunny, grows weary of dyeing Easter eggs, making the jelly beans and candy, plus delivering the baskets he'd woven. So he decided to do something different; to join a magic show. Thank goodness for his four little bunny friends, who saved Easter. This is an exciting, fun-to-read book for children.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea, although I do respect both the author and the illustrator. I think their later works are more my style. There is a lesson here, perhaps to be happy with what you have. It will surely appeal to others.

[James Son · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was about the Easter Bunny. His name was Wilbur. Everybody knows the Easter bunny, but do they truly know him? As Easter was coming up, Wilbur was getting ready with the eggs, and candy. Last year, he almost missed out on all the deliveries because he gotten sick. This year he was okay, but very tired and grumpy. When he woke up, he realized he hated being the Easter Bunny. As he got up to eat breakfast, he saw a an ad on the newspaper. It said that a magician needed a bunny to be his assistant. Wilbur was excited. As his four friends came, Wilbur showed them the ad, and told them he wanted a new job. The four friends panicked as Easter was coming up, and tried to stop Wilbur. However, they were too late, Wilbur was already interviewing with the magician. Wilbur got the job. The four friends were depressed, and decided that they must stop their friend. So as Wilbur and the magician went to a theater in the next town, the friends followed. As Wilbur and the magician was performing, the four friends messed up their act. They kept doing this in all the performances. So after a while, the magician fired Wilbur, and Wilbur ran back home before Easter.

I particularly did not like this book. I thought it was unique to bring up the Easter Bunny's life considering everybody knows the Easter Bunny. However, I did not like how he was portrayed. I feel like a lot children would also feel the same way. The bunny looked very depressed, and just grumpy. Also I did not like how Wilbur's friends sabotaged their friend, just for their selfish reason. I am pretty sure with the four of them, they could have delivered the Easter eggs themselves. I feel like this does not show a good moral for kids. I thought the story could have been better executed.

I also did not like the pictures of the book. It made the Easter bunny look so depressing and old. I think that could possibly ruin the image for children. The drawings in general had a very eery mood. For a story like this, I think the author could have used a different type of art and colors. However, that is just my opinion. Also at the end, when Wilbur was delivering the eggs, he did not seem happy.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can I give this one ZERO stars? I hate giving poor reviews, but this book was absolutely horrible. :(

[Brent Rogers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wilbur didn't enjoy being the Easter bunny anymore. He decided to become a magician instead. It's important to teach children they can be anything they want to be.