The cutest pesky bunnies EVER!

Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
by Candace Fleming
illus. by G. Brian Karas
Atheneum, 2002


Did you know April is National Garden Month? In celebration, I wanted to share this book with you, because I'm not likely to plant an actual garden.
Candace Fleming is a prolific writer, having done picture books to chapter books to biographies, and I'm a fan of everything of hers I've read. I also adore the illustrations of G. Brian Karas! This book, I think, is the perfect pairing of writer and illustrator.

Mr. McGreely has always wanted a garden, and this spring he finally decides to plant one. He plants lettuce, carrots, peas and tomatoes, and can't wait to eat them. But, as he's watching his garden grow, so are three little bunnies. And one night, these little bunnies go "Tippy-Tippy-Tippy, Pat!" into the garden and then "Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!" as they help themselves to the veggies. Mr. McGreely is not happy. He builds a wire fence around the garden. It does not keep the bunnies out. He builds a wooden wall and digs a trench, and still the bunnies make their way into his garden. He eventually ends up with locked fortress around his garden. The bunnies can't get past the lock and cement and other barriers Mr. McGreely has put in place, and when he arrives to check his garden the next morning, he is very happy. So happy, he does a victory dance...but does he really manage to outsmart the bunnies?

I tend to use the term favorite very loosely when it comes to picture books. After about ten years of being a children's librarian, I can just tell you there are A LOT of fabulous picture books out there. But this book? It's at the top of the list. It's so fun to read aloud (although I think it works best with a small audience so everyone can really see the pictures). It's got lots of laughs, a perfect ending, and is a wonderful pairing of words and pictures.

Want more bunny fun? Fleming and Karas teamed up to revisit Mr. McGreely and these bunnies in Tippy-tippy-tippy-hide!

Reviewed from library copy