The personification on the cover of What’s For Dinner? drives its interest. The morbid curiosity of what could possibly happen helps also. The rabbit is so lightweight that it’s fluttering around like a kite in the wind. The wolf, who is carrying the rabbit by the hand, has a row of white, razor-sharp teeth. In his other hand, there’s a sheet of paper, probably a recipe for how to cook dinner. It’s a moonlit night, and the question of What’s For Dinner? can’t possibly be the long-eared critter. They also look so friendly that they could be my neighbor.
This is a children’s illustrated book, so we know that the wolf isn’t going to eat the rabbit. Plus, wolves have rules. When Big Gray walks away from the pack to practice howling and sees a rabbit, all by itself crying, he knows what he’s got to do. He grabs the rabbit by its freakishly long ears and attempts to drop it into his wide-open mouth. The bunny’s tail tickles the wolf’s nose, and the resulting sneeze causes them to recoil, which shakes a letter free from the bunny’s pocket.
The letter is from the bunny’s mother. This bunny likes to wander. The letter states that in return for bringing the bunny back to their warren, the entity that assists will receive some delicious, home-cooked food. Since this bunny is very tiny and not much of a meal, the wolf decides to channel its inner college student and do anything for a proper meal. Unfortunately, all of the bunny’s crying has drawn the attention of the pack of wolves that our protagonist belongs to. He explains to the pack that this little guy is lost. If they were a kid and lost, they would surely want to be reunited with their family. The pack agrees to his quick logic, admits that the little bunny is very cute, and the two exit stage left before they can ask any more questions.
Back on the road, the bunny does everything it can to slow the trip’s progress. It’s not sure which way through the forest is home. It goes through a sticker bush. It wants to play in the stream. The terrain is sometimes mountainous, and it wants to be carried before promptly falling asleep on the wolf’s head. When daylight comes, the two see the bunny’s warren. At the door, they greet the bunny by his name, Bunkins, Big Gray is given a hero’s welcome and provided with the (vegetarian) feast that he was promised. The other bunnies are eating, playing and drawing pictures of their new wolf friend.
The cartoonish style of the illustrations are real, but not too real. It’s not the rounded, softer illustrations that you see with illustrated books for the very young. If the wolf were too rounded, too friendly looking then his desire to help Bunkins wouldn’t have been as funny. Because Big Gray is a wolf who is true to his nature in trying to eat the rabbit first, the book works. The look of disbelief on his face, as well as the frustration when Bunkins asks for things, makes the payoff when they reach the rabbit house all the more rewarding.
There are sublime details that you need to look for in What’s For Dinner? to add to its fun. When it shows a group of wolves one of them is wearing a cap, as if waiting for Little Red Riding Hood. Big Gray is all too serious when practicing his howling. He checks his pocket watch to confirm that it’s after midnight, which means he must eat anything that’s out alone. Big Gray has pockets (for the aforementioned watch) and produces a bib as he’s about to eat the bunny. Some of the wolves have a knife and fork as they corner Big Gray and Bunkins.
There are lots of illustrated laughs in addition to the cute, fish out of water, text that will be read to young audiences. The text is about 50% conversation and 50% narrative. This allows those mystery readers, or the story time narrators, ample opportunity to have fun with the voices. If they have lots of time they can ham it up, if they’re short on time, they can burn through it quickly. What’s For Dinner? is short enough to be read once, you can stretch it out to kill some time or kids will want to look at the art and replay the story in their heads. Any way you slice it, this is an illustrated book that will produce wide grins for those pre-k through second grade kids who want a story that’s left of center, but still right on target.
What’s For Dinner? is by Larysa Maliush and is available on NorthSouth Books.
There are affiliate links in this post.
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube