Picture Books About Bunnies
I love books about bunnies and am amazed at how many we have read over the years and these aren’t even all of them. Whether the Easter bunny visits your house or not you can find something for your home library here. This book list includes classic children’s books, Easter themed books, and just plain rad books with bunnies as characters. All our book lists contain affiliate links.
by Alan Baker is a classic in my mind and if you have never read it you must. It’s not a complicated story, instead it’s a brilliant book and lesson about color mixing . The cover illustration of the bunny in the paint always makes me think of dying Easter eggs which is another great opportunity to teach about color mixing. Kids love this book and adults reading it will enjoy the fun and dynamic language used to describe the vibrant colors that the bunny plunges into.
by Barbara Helen Berger was a big hit with my son although I think I over analyzed it or maybe just didn’t get it. I kept trying to turn it into a metaphor and really the only way to look at it and its magical illustrations is how my son did with wide eyes and acceptance. Thunder Bunny is a different kind of bunny but he is magnificent , kind of like this book. The text is melodic and the illustrations will keep the interest of a wide range of ages.
by Sean Bryan is magical. It’s absurd and playful and struck a chord with the goofiness that we are often partaking in at our house these days. The text is filled with dry humor but even if your child is too young to grab its subtlety they will still love how silly it is that this boy has a bunny on his head! The best part is the end and I don’t want to give it away but I will say a bunny isn’t the worst thing you can have on your head.
by Margaret Wise Brown is a sweet book about a little bunny and all the sounds he hears throughout his day. As the little bunny hops from sun up to sun down you travel with him to experience the sounds and sights of a perfect spring day. The illustrations by Lisa McCue are rich and the bunnies are so cute . My son loved the pictures but wasn’t too into the story, I think that is just a matter of age ( he was 2 at the time of reading), but I would recommend this book for sure.
by Margaret Wise Brown isn’t an innovative choice but I make babies who love this book. My son could be “Goodnight Mooned ” to sleep as a baby if we simply recited the words and while my daughter isn’t at that point yet she sits happily listening to our voices as we read it to her. I will be the first to admit I didn’t always love this book but as a mom it’s been more than a book, it’s been a signal to my son that it’s bedtime and I hope that it becomes part of my daughter’s routine soon too. The story is simple , it’s not even really a story so much as a baby bunny saying goodnight to all the objects in his room including the moon peeking in the window.
by Margaret Wise Brown. I am trying to find the right way to say how much I dislike this book. I know many love it but I just can’t get on board. A few years ago my assistant teacher and I referred to it as “Run bunny run!” because this poor bunny is just trying to get some space from his mom. I know that some people adore this book and think that the sentiment of security is the one to focus on but I can’t write that I love a book when I don’t.
by Wanda Gag was first published in 1933 and is delicious! Readers follow along with a little bunny all the way from a to z ! The rhyming text is bouncy and my son was fully engaged. I thought the black and white pictures may throw him off but he loved them and didn’t seem to notice that there was no color, they were beautifully done and that was all that mattered. I love the language used like the words dash, gale and jaunty. Good books are good books no matter when they were written, and readers will always love them, I loved this book.
by Virginia Grossman is a really beautiful and cozy counting book. The reader follows Native American rabbits from 1 who is traveling on the plains to 10 all asleep in their tee pees . My son loved the illustrations by Sylvia Long and after reading it he wanted to play hide and seek just like the rabbits in the book.
by Grace Maccarone is an interesting tale about how Peter Rabbit became the Easter Bunny. The book has a few loose ends I really wish would be tied up but before I get to that let me give you a quick taste of the book. The story is how Peter wants to make his mom forgive him for being naughty so he steals ( although he doesn’t see it that way) eggs from neighboring farms to give her as a gift. Before he gives them to her paint falls on them and they get colored all different beautiful colors. His mom tells him not to steal and so he returns them at night becoming the Easter Bunny. Ok here are my issues…I don’t mind naughty characters, in fact I usually really enjoy them but sneaking back to return something you stole without apologizing left a bad taste. I know why the author wrote it like that to turn him into the Easter Bunny but it still didn’t sit well with me. The illustrations by David McPhail really stole the show , I thought they were beautiful.
by Sam McBratney is a modern classic. I am not sure that any book that has inspired a generation or two of parents to tell their kids that they love them “To the moon and back.” can be anything but. My daughter loves this book and the unconditional love that it portrays. I am not as big a fan. Please don’t hate me. I get that a child can never know how much a parent loves them , just thinking about how much I love my kids brings tears to my eyes ( seriously I am tearing up writing this) but Big Nut Brown Hare just won’t let the little bunny win. My opinion doesn’t matter though because my kids love it so much that I have read it more times than I can count!
by Eric Rohmann is a cute book with award winning illustrations that follows a mouse and a rabbit who remain friends despite the rabbit’s uncanny ability to get into trouble. The little rabbit means well and his heart is true, the limited text and descriptive illustrations make this book great for a wide range of age groups and my son loved the Rhino!
by Carol Roth is a sweet story of an only child bunny who wants to share a room and go to sleep with someone else. He ventures out to a series of friend’s houses before eventually realizing that maybe sleeping alone in his own bed is what he really wants. My son loved it , he thought the skunk who sprayed by accident promoting the bunny to leave was hilarious and suggested that bunny should just climb into his mom’s bed. I like it because the bunny learns that he isn’t missing out on anything by not having someone to share a bedroom with , that he has the perfect spot for him after all.
by Natalie Russel is a calm, beautiful book about two rabbits who find each other and become great friends even thought they are from different places. White Rabbit is a city rabbit and loves her urban home but is called away by the longing for company. She finds it in a park with Brown Rabbit who is wonderful and plays beautiful music. There is just one glitch White Rabbit misses the city. I loved this book, my son liked it too but it almost made me cry. My husband and I are from different countries and long distance relationships are so hard , I wanted to jump in the book and tell White Rabbit that . I had to restrain myself from saying ” The pressure will be too much , the limited time will make them argue and fight.” when my son pointed out that I shouldn’t be sad that White Rabbit leaves the park and goes home because he comes for a visit in the end. But if ever I have projected my on experience onto a book this was it , wow. It really is a sweet tale about friends who can be friends despite physical distance. Oh and the illustrations , they are the very definition of springtime. Lovely.
by Marisabina Russo is a nice book about two bunnies that don’t fit in at school. This book opened a good dialogue between my son and I as we were reading about how both the tallest and the shortest bunny in the class got picked on. The students in their class were mean but not purposefully bullying, they excluded these bunnies because they simply didn’t fit. The part that hit me the most was when the teacher lined the kids up by height, and Amelia the tall bunny was always last. It just made me think of how adults so often single kids out without trying to be terrible, but really hurting them. All that aside, the book itself comes to a nice conclusion and I think it’s worth grabbing for any child tall or short or in between.
by Richard Scarry is one of my very favorite children’s books. My daughter loves it too so we read it a lot. The story is about a little baby bunny and his family’s hopes and reams for him. Each family member has a dream for the little baby bunny from lion tamer to postal worker. Everyone has their opinion but baby bunny knows what he wants to be , a daddy. I love that this book makes being a daddy something to be when you grow up.
by Jerry Smath is a cute Easter book . The story follows the Easter bunny and his three young assistant bunnies as they prepare for their big day. The Easter Bunny is getting tired and a little bored of his polka dot design for the eggs and decides to send out his assistants in search of new designs. The little bunnies head out with one egg and paints to all different places to find inspiration. When one of the little bunnies is captivated by the night sky she doesn’t notice how dark it is and how lost she has gotten. The Easter Bunny and his other assistants find her and in the morning the new designs are celebrated. My son loves an inside look at any sort of secret place like the Easter Bunny’s or Santa’s workshop so he was drawn into this book immediately. I liked the illustrations and how detailed they were , it certainly got me excited about Easter.
by Lauren Thompson is such a sweet little book that just oozes spring! Readers get to follow along with the wee little bunny as it frolics around with other animals and plays the day away. After a long day the bunny returns to it’s happy place to snuggle with it’s mama. Toddlers will connect with the bunny and this sweet little story. The illustrations by John Butler will make you want to reach into the pictures and try to pet the bunny’s soft fur, they are that vibrant!
by Daniel Wakeman is free of text but easily qualifies as an epic story. No young adventurer would be board by this book about Ben who is searching for the right planet for his bunnies. This is a great “quiet time”or ” independent reading ” book for kids who aren’t yet readers since the pages are filled with comic book like illustrations by Dirk Van Stratlen with amazing detail. This is one of those books that each time you open it you notice something new. It is however way too long for most toddlers in its entirety , though still fun to hunt and peck a page here or there.
by Rick Walton is awesome … with one little detail that drives me bananas. OK so the book is great , I loved the traveling theme and the text that had a page turning rhyme that revealed the next mode of transportation that the bunnies would be taking. See if you can read it before your little detectives yell it out! After a time or two you will loose with every turn of the page. That little detail I didn’t like was the bunnies riding in the bed of a pick up truck. Yes the author said it was dangerous but I just wish it wasn’t in the book at all. I still read it and yes I think it ended up being a teachable opportunity but it left me wondering what the author was thinking besides looking for a rhyme. Check this one out for yourself , the great way outweighs the bad and I imagine we will be renewing this one for a few weeks!
by Fiona Watt is a simple book that will have your toddler exploring textures while giggling about what is and isn’t a bunny.
by Rosemary Wells is a simple little book that reminds parents to read to their children with adorable bunny illustrations. This is not a story , it’s a collection of reminders with great illustrations. My daughter LOVES bunnies and consequently she also loves Max & Ruby the cartoon based on this author/illustrator’s works so this book was an instant classic at our house. I liked it because it showed bunnies reading in all different settings and I could ask my daughter if she’d read here or there and suggest we read in new places. This book does a great job at promoting reading.
by Mo Willems is hilarious and heartwarming all at the same time. The story is about a lost stuffed bunny, and a dad that can’t quite understand what his toddler is trying to say to him. Luckily the mom speaks “toddler” and dad gets to be a hero by reuniting his daughter with her beloved bunny.
by Harriet Ziefert and Fred Ehrlich is a good book but not really funny like the cover claimed, perhaps quirky. It is still a wonderful book and not so much about bunnies, instead it about a lot of animals and the odd details about them that make them “funny”. The illustrations are bold and the rhyming text is natural and written in a way that will keep a wide range of ages interested in this quirky look at familiar animals that we nonchalantly accept despite their unusual features.
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