Here Comes the Big, Mean Dust Bunny!

December 7, 2009
In this follow-up to Rhyming Dust Bunnies
, the effervescent dust bunnies interact with the aptly named title character, who's gray, sharp-toothed, and very grumpy. When they invite him to rhyme a word with “fit,” he volunteers “sit” and flattens them. Next, the meanie takes a turn, demanding, “What rhymes with face?” (the apprehensive bunnies learn he has “chase” in mind). All is finally set right with a hug, and readers should find the dust bunnies as magnetic as ever. Ages 3–5.

November 1, 2009
PreS-Gr 2-Even though they ended up inside a vacuum cleaner in "Rhyming Dust Bunnies" (S & S, 2009), the brightly colored creatures are back, this time getting bullied by a big, gray, self-proclaimed mean dust bunny. He turns their rhyming games into an ordeal by sitting on them and chasing them around until the large cat from Thomas's "What Will Fat Cat Sit On?" (Harcourt, 2007) sits on the meanie and smashes him flat. The bunnies pull and tug until the big guy is back to regular size. They call him a thug and he responds with a hug, showing his change of heart. The digital illustrations in flat hues are outlined in thick black lines. The style and colors are the same as in the author's previous works. The pages are clean and crisp. The text is part of the action. Some words are big, some are small, some black, some red, but always inside a white word bubble. This is simplicity at its best, a tale of bullying told with humor by some familiar friends. It is sure to be a favorite of the picture-book crowd."Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2010
A party-pooping bully offers obnoxious commentary about the other dust bunnies' (Rhyming Dust Bunnies) language games. He's all smiles, however, after they save him from a fat cat. With some practice, the energetic text has great read-aloud potential (lots of back-and-forth shouting!). Thomas's goofy characters, composed of solid, bright colors and thick black lines, will delight preschoolers.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)