  | Full Text Reviews: Bulletin for the Center... - 06/01/2011 When young Betty Bunny discovers the glory of chocolate cake, she goes overboard in a big way: she declares she’s going to marry it when she grows up, she eats mud in the playground hoping it’ll taste just like her beloved dessert, and, when thwarted in her ambition to have it for dinner, she starts a food fight in the family kitchen. Her mother tries to help Betty learn patience, but is Betty Bunny really ready for delayed gratification? Though there are a few flaws-the text is a little lengthy and the conclusion deviates from the story’s earlier psychological realism-the text combines apt, authentic observation (Betty’s switch from fierce rejection of the untried chocolate cake to whole-souled adoration) and effortlessly funny dialogue (“You’re going to have really weird-looking kids” is her older brother’s response to Betty’s marital plans). Betty Bunny’s oh-so-tasty monomania will have youngsters nodding in sympathetic agreement, and they’ll fully understand her inability to leave a slice of cake untouched in the fridge. Jorisch’s art is a treat: he employs delicate, slender lines and soft watercolor and gouache tints, occasionally textured with pencil, while imbuing his anthropomorphized rabbits (and lions, pigs, mice, and birds) with an endearing individuality and exuberance. The Bunny tribe is particularly winsome (oldest brother Bill is clearly a teenager, slouching with a backward baseball cap perched between his rabbity lop ears), and their kitchen gathering has authentic busyness tempered with fanciful charm. The dilemma of being unable to resist a favorite treat or pastime is one with which many kids are familiar, and they’ll yearn along with Betty. DS - Copyright 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. School Library Journal - 06/01/2011 PreS-Gr 1—Betty Bunny is, according to her parents, a handful. This includes being a picky eater. Still, the first time she's coaxed into trying chocolate cake, it's love at first bite. She loves it so much, she wants to marry it. She can't wait for her next piece, which leads to a host of very funny misadventures. This is the tale of a child who needs to learn patience but can't quite get the hang of it. Kaplan fills the book with exuberance and laugh-out-loud dialogue. The text tends to be wordy and repetitive, though, and the net result is a book that may be too long for its intended audience. This problem is largely alleviated by Jorisch's adorable watercolor-gouache illustrations, which add loads of kid appeal. Postures, facial expressions, and situations are depicted with skill and humor—and the chocolate cake looks pretty good, too. A fun, surprise ending will leave readers smiling.—Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY - Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 06/01/2011 Oh, the perils of obsession. After her first taste of chocolate cake, little Betty not only wants no other food but she literally thinks and speaks of nothing else for the rest of the day. A dinnertime tantrum amid flying veggies and mashed potatoes gets her sent to her room with no dessert at all, though her mother leaves her a piece of cake in the fridge. Next morning, Betty sneaks it into her pocket, carries it all day, and is shocked when it turns into a gooey mess. Does she learn patience or anything else from the experience? Well, no, as it turns out. Depicting a multisibling family of flop-eared bunnies in casual modern dress and settings, Jorisch’s freely brushed watercolors capture Betty’s fixation as well as her outsize personality. Rather than force a lesson or even try for a resolution, TV writer Kaplan simply invites readers to share, or at least enjoy, her rapture in this exuberant debut. - Copyright 2011 Booklist. Loading...
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