Author: Andrea J. Loney
Illustrator: Carmen Saldana
Publisher and Year: Albert Whitman company, 2017
Number of pages: 32
Tags: K-1, 2-3, 4-5 Fiction, Amy Sanchez
Analysis: This story’s protagonist is a bear. All this bear wants to be is a bunny. He went by the name of BunnyBear. Although he looked like a bear, he wiggled his nose, nibbled on strawberries, and bounced through the forest just like a bunny. All the other bears thought he was odd because he didn’t do things that bears did and he didn’t belong. He follows a bunny and tries everything he can think of to be accepted by the bunnies, but nothing works. As he is bouncing through the forest, he meets Grizzlybun. Grizzly bun is a bunny who feels and acts like a bear. They find happiness and belonging in the friendship they create by accepting each other.
This book can serve as window for children to understand and discuss self-identity. This book’s characters go on a journey to find acceptance as they are embracing who they feel they truly are. This book can also serve as a mirror children who might feel as though they don’t belong. As previously mentioned, the book portrays the struggle of a bear who feels like a bunny and a bunny who feels like a bear. They find one another and create a friendship that allows them to feel accepted. This book can also be a door to discuss how it is ok to look one way on the outside and feel differently on the outside.
The ideology this book explores is the idea that it is ok to look on way on the outside but feel differently on the outside. This book is all about finding acceptance and staying true to who you are, Bunnybear and Grizzlybun learn to be true to themselves and together as friends eventually win over the forest.
The illustrations used in this book use an open frame, so our view is from the outside. We get to witness Bunnybear on his adventure through the forest. The illustrations are bold and use dark colors. Dark colors typically mean confinement. Bunnybear and Grizzlybun felt confined. They help illustrate the differences the animals feel in regards to who they are and how they act. For some of the illustrations Grizzlybun takes up the whole page meaning Grizzlybun is strong. The illustrations help capture the emotions Grizzlybun and Bunnybear are feeling throughout their journey to acceptance.