Ribbit Rabbit

PreS-Gr 1—Frog and Bunny are best friends. They do everything together. "But they don't always get along." They fight, it escalates, and they are sad. Ultimately, each one takes the part of the toy they were fighting over, wraps it, and gives it as a gift, and the rift is mended. The story is nothing new. What makes Ryan's text unique is its simplicity. No page has more than two sentences, usually including "ribbit rabbit," along with another set of matched rhyming words describing the action. This economy of language makes it ideal for reading aloud or for beginning readers. However, the illustrations marry well with the text, and fill in the narrative where the writing leaves it open. The artwork is done in a simple, childlike fashion reminiscent of Bob Shea's work. The characters have round heads, square bodies, and simple limbs, with dot-eyes for Rabbit and googly ones for Frog. The digitally enhanced pencil, screen printed, and print gocco art has a soft, slightly dark palette leaning heavily on grays, blues, and greens. The text looks hand-lettered, with a lot of variety in style and size. The childlike artwork, common scenario, and minimalistic text are likely to appeal to a wide audience.—Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT