Quill & Quire
This cheerful picture book by Toronto author/illustrator Andrea Wayne von Konigslow plays with the characteristics of various animals and the imagined difficulties of trying to read to them. In each spread a little girl is struggling with this humorously puzzling situation, trying to read to an alligator who eats the book, giraffes who are too tall to see the pictures, or owls who keep asking “whooo..?” In the final image, the problem of whom to read to is solved, as mum and dad cuddled in bed on either side prove an appreciative and attentive audience for the child’s story. The animal friends who were so hard to read to reappear as stuffed toys around the family in bed.
How Do You Read to a Rabbit? is a pleasant book and will doubtless amuse many pre-schoolers as they learn that chameleons blend into the background, cheetahs run fast, and bunnies reproduce at a great rate (requiring a lot of books). Others may find it somewhat bland, as, despite some attempts at wordplay, the text is flat, and the pastel pictures merely depict what has been said rather than adding new elements.
Review
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. (Hazel Rochman
Booklist 201011)
How 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. (
Open Book Toronto 20101220)
The humour is charming and sweet, as are the whimsical watercolour illustrations throughout the book. (Patricia Storms
Canadian Bookshelf.com 20111210)
