The ABC Bunny

by Wanda Gág

"An unfortunate accident with an Apple drives Bunny from Bunnyland to Elsewhere. Every letter in the alphabet is represented in Bunny's journey, through what he eats (Greens), to whom he meets (Insects, Jay, Kitten, Lizard), and then a little sleep (Nap), to Tripping back to town, right side Up and Up-side-down." The creation of The ABC Bunny was a Gag family affair, with sister Flavia composing the "ABC Song," included in this faithful edition; brother Howard penning the lettering; and Wanda writing and illustrating the story.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Classics, Fiction, Rabbits, Music

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

Wanda Hazel Gág (pronounced GOG) was an American author and illustrator. She was born on March 11, 1893, in New Ulm, Minnesota. Her mother, Elisabeth Biebl, and father, Anton, were of Bohemian descent. Both parents were artists who had met in Germany. They had seven children, who all acquired some level of artistic talent. Gág grew up the eldest of these, and despite their economic hardships, the family was surrounded by music, art, light, and love, making it for the most part a joyous existence.

When Gág was 15, her father died of tuberculosis; his final words to her were: "Was der Papa nicht thun konnt', muss die Wanda halt fertig machen." ("What Papa couldn't do, Wanda will have to finish.") Following Anton's death the family was on welfare, and some townspeople thought that Gág should quit high school and get a steady job to help support her family. Despite this pressure, Gág continued her studies. After graduating in 1912, she taught country school in Springfield, Minnesota, from November 1912 to June 1913.

In 1917, she illustrated A Child’s Book of Folk-Lore, following which she worked on many different projects and became a well-known artist and author. Her art exhibition in the New York Public Library in 1923 was the true beginning of her fame. She gained a reputation as an illustrator for socialist publications such as The New Masses, and she considered herself a feminist and advocate of free love in the 1920s. She did not marry her lover until later in life, for instance, although she lived with him before they wed.

She was especially esteemed for her lithographs, though today if her name is known at all it is usually from her children's books, specifically the classic Millions of Cats, which won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. Gág also received the Newbury Honor Award for this book, and the combined effects of it and her exhibition gave her the funds she needed to carry on her work without stress.

She died in New York City on June 27, 1946.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Newbery Nominated book that I finally found on Open Library. I have about 4 old books left and a few 2020 to read. Goal accomplished.

I do love Wanda Gag and this is a very simple book for beginners learning their alphabet. The bunny is cute in the story and there isn't much more too it. It's bunnies and gardens and what they like to eat basically. It is inventive how she goes through the letters, but there are many newer ABC books today doing a more exciting job.

Wanda has a way with words. I'm glad I got to read this. Thank you Open Library.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEW OF THE KINDLE EDITION

So yes indeed, I really did very much (and with a smile on my face) enjoy Wanda Gág's 1933 The ABC Bunny and certainly do much appreciate how Gág's poetic and rollickingly joyful presented A to Z text works so incredibly well with her equally engaging and delightfully movement-based accompanying illustrations (as well as also and indeed very much importantly that while The ABC Bunny is of course a picture book from the early 1930s, it is in every way still totally suitable and relevant for sharing with young children today, and with no problematic issues, with no political incorrectness or datedness whatsoever to be found either), I do have say that in particular for reading The ABC Bunny aloud with or to children, I would definitely and strongly suggest the traditional paper format and not so much the Kindle edition I have just encountered.

For while thankfully, the Kindle version of The ABC Bunny has actually been rendered into a generally reader-friendly enough format (with Wanda Gág's written words not only bolded but also and appreciatively being presented as large enough for easy perusal) the accompanying drawings do sometimes appear as a bit too wishy-washy and blurry (and I believe that this is likely because Wanda Gág's book illustration artwork is generally black and white, which does seem to make a few of her smaller drawings with many details not all that visually expressive when rendered digitally). And thus, while I do in all ways highly recommend The ABC Bunny as a fun and engaging alphabet book (and indeed, also as a generally pretty decent introduction to twenty-six diverse English language words, both nouns and verbs, both adjectives and adverbs), the traditional paper picture book format for The ABC Bunny is in my opinion definitely to be preferred to the Kindle edition (even if for an e-book, the Kindle version of The ABC Bunny is actually and in fact pretty good).

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book by this talented illustrator. This ABC book follows a rabbit on a walk, the illustrations are in black and white but they are so beautiful and engaging. There is some sheet music in the end papers for an ABC song.

Read on openlibrary

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just another alphabet book. It starts strong, almost telling a story as the bunny travels through the alphabet, but then it just becomes a string of animals the bunny meets that serve only to fulfill the next letter. And then it really stumbles in the XYZ section, as so many alphabet books do.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence:

A for Apple, big and red
B for Bunny snug a-bed
C for Crash!
D for Dash!
E for Elsewhere in a flash
F for Frog--he's fat and funny
"Looks like rain," says he to Bunny

Premise/plot: Readers get to spend the day with Bunny. The alphabet guides the adventures certainly. But it isn't as straightforward as it might have been. There is some story added in.

My thoughts: I love, love, love the illustrations. I really adore the porcupine, the squirrel, and the bunny, for example. The text was okay for me. I didn't love it, but, I didn't dislike it in any way either. It's just that as I was turning the pages, it's the illustrations that caught my interest and not the text.

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I really loved about this ABC book is how each letter told another piece of a story, and wasn't just a letter standing for an object. That gave the story depth, and an actual plot which made this really enjoyable to read. I love the style of these old vintage children's picture books - they're quite different from what you see today. Overall, this was a joy to find, and I'm glad that my library had a copy (though I was quite surprised by the age of the copy I was allowed to check out!)

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably my favorite of Gag's books simply because I actually liked the text for once! Moving through the alphabet, we follow the story, in rhyme (song, if you can read music!), of a bunny's adventures. The rhymes don't "fudge" and the story is cohesive--the illustrations, though B&W, are adorable and vibrant.

[Jason Rossi]

This is a terrific book by a well-known, highly accomplished, award winning author best known for her book Millions of Cats. She is a Newbery Honor winner and was an important author in the development of children's books. The ABC Bunny was originally published in 1933, which is an indication of its quality and creativity. This book was a collaboration between the author and he siblings, each member contributed a part of the book. As soon as I opened it, I knew I was going to like it. I immediately found the pictures attractive and innovative, each picture looks like a wood carving or charcoal drawing. The book follows the bunny along the alphabet road, with each letter in the alphabet having a word associated with it. Each letter helps tell the story of the bunny's journey. The story is told in the form of a song, the ABC song. The sheet music is included in this edition of the book. The illustrations and hand drawn text are all black with the representative letter in an orange red. The wonderful illustrations and story stand the test of time. The words the author uses to tell the story are thought-provoking and will help young readers learn the alphabet and help them develop a rich vocabulary. The book is large, well made with thick high-quality paper that does a great job displaying the images and text, everything about this book is a work of art. I highly recommend this book for all children learning their ABC's and learning how to read because this is an excellent educational book that is designed by artists to inspire learning in all aspects.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of those early alphabet books that I was fortunate to get my hands on. For the most part just basically looking at the cover it looks interesting but then you turn the page to find it is all in black-and-white, which was a true rotten deal for a young reader. Fortunately the story makes up for it even though I still wanted some color to the telling.

First of all the story has been made into a song for those who don't mind sharing their voices whether they are good or bad. And if you are lucky then you can probably get young readers to help you as turn the page and move the story along.

The story itself is very easy and in rhyme. As such the plot itself can be seen as lacking in most aspects and so it is those very same illustrations that help to bring it to life. Although in black-and-white the pictures are nicely detailed and full of care as they help to move the story forward. True attention to details is the catalyst that allows the reader to be able to read between the drawings.

All in all it is a fun alphabet book and one that isn't so clearly on teaching children as providing them a way of recognizing their letters while also making a creative story from them.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this particular Newbery Honor book falls solidly into the category if-only-there'd-been-the-Caldecott-before-1938. It's a perfectly pleasant book, but I just can't agree that it works with the text alone. Because it has the song printed at the front of my edition, I was able to read the text (plus some tra-la-la's) by itself before I read the text in the context of the pictures, and I must say that the "story" being told is significantly enhanced by the illustrations. I didn't even realize that there was a "plot" as such until I saw the pictures. As a whole, the book is nice enough, but I don't think it would have even the ghost of a chance to win today. There are so many alphabet books. This one barely even stands above the rest of the field, never mind up against longer works. Perhaps I'm missing something in context though. This was 1933 after all, so it's possible that while I see the book as a fairly standard abecedarian, this may have been the breakthrough work that all subsequent such books are based upon.

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A falling apple sends Bunny on a thrilling alphabetical adventure.

I liked the heavily shaded b & w illustrations, though sadly I'm guessing they have little appeal to today's children.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ABC book is illustrated in black & white and tells a short story as it progresses through the alphabet with a sentence or two relating to each letter. I sent it to my granddaughter, who is finishing up pre-K, as the first book that I suggested she could begin actually reading herself (rather than having someone read it to her). She is very proud to read it to me!

It has some vocabulary that is a little archaic (it was published in 1933) and some words that are certainly too big for a beginning reader to figure out alone, but that seems to just make it more interactive for us as she recognizes words she is beginning to know on sight and figures out how to sound out unfamiliar ones.

[Kim Novak (The Reading Rx) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winner of the 1934 Newbery Honor, The ABC Bunny is a simplistic book intended to help young ones learn the alphabet. Two things make this book stand out… 1) the illustrations are just beautiful… perhaps perceived as a little “dark” in today’s world, but exactly the type that turned me on to reading as a child… if bunnies and the alphabet were a little haunting, this would be it! 2) the accompanying ABC Bunny song. The sheet music is included in the book, but a quick Google search will find a recording you can listen and sing along to. Much more catchy and exciting than the typical (or new) ABC song… I can just see a group of preschoolers acting out the entire story as they sing.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This alphabet-teaching book is different from most others of its type in three major ways. First, the illustrations by Wanda Gág are clearly a cut or two (or more) above what one would expect to see in such a basic book. These drawings are deep and beautiful in every way; in fact, I could imagine individual pictures from the book as paintings hanging in an art gallery. That's how good they are. Of course, that is just what I have come to expect from an artist such as Wanda Gág.

The second difference is the song that accompanies the text, composed by Flavia Gág, the author's sister. I don't know enough about reading sheet music myself to be able to get a grasp on how the tune sounds, but my mother was able to play part of the melody on the family keyboard, so I now have the general gist of it. It's a lively song that seems to fit the words well, and in any case it's not the kind of addition that one is likely to find in another alphabet book!

The third main difference is the fact that The ABC Bunny reads for the most part like a standard story. Instead of a bunch of basically unrelated objects being introduced to show the alphabet, many of the letter words are actions performed on the part of the bunny or the other animals. I like this approach, and the overall methods that Wanda Gág used in the creation of this book. I would give it one and a half stars.

[Linda Lipko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my, but the Newbery honor has come a long, long way since bestowing the honor in 1934...

Nothing in depth, and sorely lacking, this is a fluffy little children's book.

I only read it because I'm on a quest to read all the Newbery honor and medal books.

[Tricia Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little ABC book that I read for our GR Newbery group. Written in 1933 this book has wonderful illustrations and a story to help make the ABC's interesting. Something from 'long ago' to have in your children's book collection!

[Sydney Ossege · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way that the alphabet guides the reader throughout this book. The letters are not just thrown onto a page without context. However, A leads to the discussion for B and then B leads to C and so on. The text itself is very well written to detail the day of the bunny and all it encounters, but then the imagery that is used in the book as well is why this book can be considered a classic! I remember having this book read to me when I was little and I am proud to see it still be using used today!

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second of the author's books to be awarded the Newbery Honor and the second picture book. This one is a rather unique abcdiary that in addition to teaching the abcs (complete with piano sheet music and lyrics) tells the story of a bunny who is surprised by an apple's fall and travels from bunny land to elsewhere. I preferred it over the author's "Millions of Cats". I read this for my 2018 Reading Challenge and my Newbery Challenge.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mentioned as one of the books taken into the hollers of Kentucky by The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, this was a fun "historical" (1933) look at an "old-fashioned" children's books--not so different from contemporary ones except all the illustrations are black-and-white. The lilting rhymes, the captivating images and the song (with musical score) at the back add a lot to this delightful book!

[Meg McGregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bunny must find his way back to Bunnyland and visits every letter of the alphabet on his way back home.

The black and white pictures are exquisite!

A really good way to teach little ones their ABC's.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my quest to read all of the Caldecott award winners and honor books, I've read a lot of ABC books. This one (though it falls on the Newbery shelf) is by far my favorite. Such a cute story, with strong literacy value and Gag's amazing illustrations.

[Bruce Dinsman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unabashedly a fan. This book taught my kids the ABC to a song, my daughter uses this in her sign language classes, we have gifted this book to godchildren and church friends alike. No amount of praise is enough for such a wonderful, simple book.

[Meg McGregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bunny must find his way back to Bunnyland and visits every letter of the alphabet on his way back home. A really good way to teach little ones their ABC's.

[Wetdryvac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good fun read, and with a song!

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a sweet little book, but I have no idea why it's a Newbery book- there is no story at all. The pictures are very cute, but that's all there is to it.

[Kaylynn Johnsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun rhyming ABC book. A classic.

[Jessica Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Newbery Honor picture book intended for children ages two to four years of age. This is an alphabet book that follows the journey of Bunny. Bunny is awoken by a falling apple and heads Elsewhere. He meets other animals along the way, and gets stuck in a gale. Every page shows an illustration of Bunny doing or experiencing something new. The letters that are the focus of each page are large and red, for example an "A for Apple, big and red". The letter "A" is shown in red. Not only is the intended reader learning the alphabet, they are learning how words rhyme. The last word of each sentence rhymes with the one before, such as "red" and "bed", "Dash!" and "flash". The lettering uniquely done by hand. The illustrations are black and white but are still detailed. The lack of coloring in the illustrations gives them a dramatic feel. Lines in the grass give it texture and portray movement. When the gale comes, the wind is evident by lines showing motion. Bunny's facial expressions are realistic; without words to describe how he's feeling you can tell Bunny is scared, sleepy, or wary. It's interesting how the author incorporated words with letters. "W" is for "We welcome you!" and there is "X for eXit-off, away!" The last two letters of the alphabet , Y and Z, have nothing to do with Bunny. The focus there is on the reader taking one last glance at the book and then closing it. The ABC song is written down musically in the front and back of the book. Perfect for helping young children memorize and recognize the alphabet.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book using the alphabet as the framework for a tale about a small bunny rabbit who after an apple drops near it and scares it, it must run making an adventure eventually returning home to Bunny Town. Each letter either advances the bunny’s journey or describes something the bunny sees on its journey. The illustrations on each page are in black and white and are well drawn, but as the book is an older book, many of them seem dated. This issue may not cause issues with younger children, such as the target audience of a book like this. The illustrations are detailed and will excite many younger children to follow the story even if they do not understand all the words. As with many ABC books, this book can be used to improve children’s vocabulary with the added bonus of having an interesting story to go along with it. The illustrations give context to the word used throughout the book allowing children to learn new words with visual context clues that an adult can point to if they are struggling to figure it out on their own. There may be better ABC books out there, but if you find this book and the time to read it, I doubt younger children will be disappointed as they follow the adventures of The ABC Bunny. As an added bonus for children who are musically inclined or for parents and educators looking to add music to their children's’ lives, at the beginning and end of the book there is sheet music with the text of the book used as the lyrics. This can be a fun activity for children turning the learning of the alphabet and new vocabulary words into a song.

[Brook Donatelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, this book wasn’t one of my favorites. I typically enjoy picture books for children, but there are so many more to date ones than this. Other than that, I thought it was pretty good. I really liked that each letter of the alphabet told a different part of the story rather than just a different or random object. Most picture books don’t have much of a plot, but this one was able to tie in the ABC’s with the plot and the pictures. That made this book a good read to me. I also like that the copy I had, had the story in the form of a song as well!

[Adele · Rating 2 out of 5]

How exactly did this get nominated for a Newbery? It's really a song and the song is printed with music both before and after the "story" that consists of the song words with pictures. It gets off to a bad start: "A for Apple, big and red" below a black and white picture of what I guess is supposed to be an apple though it is too round and is black with some grey and white highlights. You can hear the song here if you don't want to miss out on the tra la tra la's: https://youtu.be/leiXQbqAVME?si=__GcT...