I know I have mentioned Bunny Cakes in my blog before. We are big Max and Ruby fans in this house. When I say that, I do not mean the t.v. show (which is harmless enough but rather tedious, I think) or the books that are obviously lifted from the show. We like the original books that came before t.v. (I hope, as I say this, that I have my facts right and that Bunny Cakes DID come before the show). I don't get hung up on the fact that Max and Ruby's parents aren't around the way some people do (I think it's called "willful suspension of disbelief" - it's a key to reading anything that features talking animals, I do believe). Anyone who has had a big sister or a little brother can relate to the stories about Max and Ruby and Pk is so gleefully grossed out by Max's earthworm birthday cake and never ceases to tell me that she thinks it has bugs in it. Yum!
Babar is a book that I have very mixed feelings about. I loved Babar as a child (I think I was especially taken with the elephant children in their cute outfits, Pom, Flora and Alexander, if I remember correctly). I loved the old lady and the clear French references (which, as an adult, I appreciate all the more). There is a cultural richness to this series of books that I savour. On the other hand, as a child, I was traumatized by the killing of Babar's mother and I could see from Pk's face as we read that she was, at minimum, very concerned. It didn't ruin the book for her, though, as she told me at the end that it was "her favourite" (not as significant as it might be, she lives in superlatives right now).
This is a light book, based on a song, that Pk loves. The illustrations are fun but, be warned, might just inspire creating a mural on oneself that takes hours to remove. It's fun and Pk could hear it every night.Happy reading!
I do like the Rosemary Wells Max and Ruby books, as well. And David Catrow's illustrations always have such total joy in being disgusting, they make me laugh.
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