Quiet Bunny

When visiting my long-distance granddaughter last spring, I found "Quiet Bunny" on her bookshelf. The story is captivating and inspirational. The illustrations of nature are amazing, and I don't think the animals could get any cuter. As a writer, nature lover, and a person who appreciates quality illustrations, I fell in love with this book. The Quiet Bunny loves the sound of the forest. In the morning, he listens to happy birds singing, and in the afternoon he hears the sound of rustling leaves going shhhhhhhhh in the breeze. However, his favorite time is when the sun goes down. He closes his eyes and spreads his ears wide to listen as a chorus of mosquitoes and bullfrogs, a cricket, an owl, a snake, and a wolf sing their night song. Quiet Bunny longs to join in but no sound comes out when he tries. The next day he goes from animal to animal trying to learn how to make sound. He attempts to imitate their sound-making techniques with no success. Along the way, with the help of an owl, Quiet Bunny learns that he can find his own sound - all he has to do is be who he is. He works to figure out who he is until without even trying he finds his own sound. This book offers peaceful bedtime reading as well as an opportunity for a child to read along making a variety of sounds. The copyright page of Quiet Bunny explains that Lisa McCue was inspired by a speech language pathologist to create this interactive story that targets sounds that are instrumental for early speech development and pre-reading/reading skills. She has done a phenomenal job of achieving what she set out to do. The sounds, the story, and the illustrations are a perfect combination to capture a child's attention and encourage interaction. Then, there is the added bonus of the wonderful message of `Be who you are.' This is a lesson that all young children and many adults can benefit from. Butterfly Kisses for Grandma and Grandpa

I got this book from the library and read it to my 2 year old son- he was a late talker and is lower-average in speech so I picked the book out because it was developed with a speech-language pathologist. My son sat through most of it and repeated many of the different sounds from the book. The illustrations are beautiful. The best thing is the main idea of the book - acceptance of bunny no matter what kinds of sounds he can make.

This is a beautifully written story and all kids should really enjoy it. The illustrations are actually reprints of paintings and are just great !!!

Quiet Bunny, an adorable new picture book by Lisa McCue, beautifully depicts sounds of animals in the forest and, yes, it includes a particularly wise owl. Quiet Bunny is just that - a quiet bunny. He desperately wants to find his own voice so that he too can join the other forest animals in singing the night song. He tries imitating his forest friends, but fails. Finally, after following some wise advice from an owl, he discovers his very own bunny sound. The colorfully illustrated forest scenes include glorious sunsets and animals filling moon-lit nights with a sweet chorus of sounds. Quiet Bunny is the first book Lisa McCue has both written and illustrated. I've loved McCue's illustrations for quite some time. A very talented and prolific illustrator, her work can be found in over 175 children's books, including quite a few recent Corduroy titles. Indeed, Quiet Bunny immediately reminded me of a book I read once during a preschool library storytime called Bunny's Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by...no surprise here...Lisa McCue. Her detailed and cutesy illustrations of animals and nature will wow you, I guarantee. My favorite illustration is the one of Quiet Bunny relaxing on his back, making a wish by moon light. My daughter loves the last, wide, fold out page showing all the forest animals making sweet melodies together. The book may be of special use to speech therapists and early childhood development specialists. McCue is no stranger to speech difficulties; she personally has struggled with a lisp issue since childhood. She joined forces with a children's speech language pathologist and developed Quiet Bunny as a tool to help children with speech-sound difficulties. My daughter especially enjoyed the interactive aspect, making all the animal sounds like "Croak" and "BzZzzz Zzzz" along with me. The book shares an important message as well. Remember that wise old owl? He encourages Quiet Bunny to "Be whooooo you are." The "be your self" message is one that should be shared with every child, every single day.

My family took one look at the cover art of Quiet Bunny and fell in love with the book almost before even opening it for the first read! As we opened the book, we found that the richness extended through each page. Quiet Bunny loves the sounds of the forest, but he is frustrated because he cannot make a sound to join in the chorus. He goes through his day trying unsuccessfully to imitate the sounds of each of the other animals, and is quite discouraged by the end of the day. A friendly owl shares a bit of advice that leads Quiet Bunny to discover that he truly can contribute - he simply needs to find his own sound rather than trying to imitate the other animals. It is a precious story that encourages children to realize that they don't have to imitate others to be special or be a part of the beauty around them. Each of my girls fell in love with different aspects of Quiet Bunny. My seven-year-old loves bunnies of all kinds, and the rich illustrations made her feel like she could just reach down and sink her hands into a mass of soft, snuggly fur. My five-year-old was delighted with the "sounds" of the book. The sound words literally jumped off each page as the various forest animals contributed their part to the chorus of the forest. The presentation of the book definitely plays to a child's imaginations in a beautiful way.