How Do You Read to a Rabbit?
illustrated by Andrea Wayne von Konigslow
Have you ever tried reading to an alligator?
Probably not. After all, he would most likely eat your book. How about a bat? Maybe that's not such a good idea either -- you'd have to read upside down and in the dark!
Youngsters will laugh out loud at the antics of the 13 animals -- and the child who tries to read to them -- in this delightful picture book. From bats to boas and camels to kangaroos, the animals demonstrate the many challenges of reading to them: a boa might want to hug you a little too tight, and you'd have to jump pretty fast to keep up with a kangaroo. All ends well, however, as we see the child reading to his parents. Now that's something easy to do!
The comical characters and repetitive text make this an ideal book for preschoolers, who will be only too happy to come up with a host of other animals and the reasons why it would be difficult to read to them.
close this panelAndrea Wayne von Königslöw is the popular author and illustrator of several books for young children, including the recently revised, bestselling Toilet Tales. She lives with her family in Toronto, Ontario.
close this panelHow do you read to a rabbit? Or a boa constrictor? Or a kangaroo? Andrea Wayne Von Konigslow's playful book for preschool and kindergarteners...contemplates the challenges of reading to a variety of animals.
Everyone likes a bedtime story. But have you ever tried to read to an animal?" With his cat scratching at the book in his lap, a young boy imagines what would happen if he read aloud to 13 different animals. Von Königslöw's pictures are literal and hilarious visualizations. With each wild scenario, a whimsical full-page watercolor painting shows the smiling preschooler in pajamas attempting to read aloud to dolphins (the pages are getting wet), to owls (he is perched on a branch, and they keep asking "whooo???"), to a kangaroo (who jumps around far too much), to giraffes (who are too tall to see the pages). The play on words is part of the fun, including an alligator eating the pages ("Don't let him get a taste for the story"). Ultimately, the usual reader-listener roles are reversed, and the boy is shown reading to Mom and Dad, with his toy animals on the bed, seemingly enthralled. Everyone likes a bedtime story. But have you ever tried to read to an animal? With his cat scratching at the book in his lap, a young boy imagines what would happen if he read aloud to 13 different animals. Von Konigslow's pictures are literal and hilarious visualizations. With each wild scenario, a whimsical full-page watercolor painting shows the smiling preschooler in pajamas attempting to read aloud to dolphins (the pages are getting wet), to owls (he is perched on a branch and they keep asking "whooo???"), to a kangaroo (who jumps around far too much), to giraffes who are too tall to see the pages. The play on words is part of the fun, including an alligator eating the pages ("Don't let him get a taste for the story"). Ultimately, the usual reader-listener roles are reversed, and the boy is shown reading to Mom and Dad, with his toy animals on the bed, seemingly enthralled.
The humour is charming and sweet, as are the whimsical watercolour illustrations throughout the book.
