Big Bad Bun by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross

Big Bad Bun by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
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Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
Summary: Don't mess with a Hell Bunny or he'll run over your tail with his motorbike. Big Bad Bun has run away from home and is up to all sorts of naughtiness. His adventures are a real treat. You'll love it!
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: August 2010
Publisher: Andersen Press
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1842709450
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Big Bad Bun (formerly known as Fluff) has run away from home to join the Hell Bunnies. He passed the initiation ceremony of being buried up to his nose in cowpats, and has since gone on to do all sorts of baaaaad things, like getting his ear pierced and never washing his whiskers. What on Earth will Big Bad Bun's parents make of all this? ...It IS true, right? He REALLY has joined the Hell Bunnies, right? ...Right?

There are laughs a-plenty in Big Bad Bun. As soon as you see Fluff... Sorry, Big Bad Bun, loitering with intent by a large carrot on the front cover, you know you're in for a treat. He's quite the rapscallion, and kids will be doubled up laughing at all the bad things he gets up to. Y'know, he doesn't even wear a crash helmet when riding his motorbike over Mr Bull's tail, but he doesn't give a flying furball. (He apologises for saying rude words, but that IS what Hell Bunnies do). Too funny!

The plot is light-hearted, silly and is loosely based around a classic joke (but I won't give away which one). The writing is snappy, exciting and full of energy. To fully appreciate the humour, kids will need to be on the elder (and cheekier) side of picture book readers, but the quality is such that littler ones will still find it very funny. Even older brothers and sisters will have a good chuckle if they sneak a peek, and parents will love the naughtiness - it's naughty enough to be naughty, but there's nothing inappropriate that'll be copied at home.

Tony Ross' illustrations work brilliantly with a wild and energetic tale like this. As I'm sure you know from his Little Princess books, they have a cartoony pen and ink style all of his own. This sits perfectly alongside the text. I imagine it was a dream to draw page after page of naughtiness - it's an opportunity to ramp up the excitement, let loose and have fun. It really pays off, as you'll want to read Big Bad Bun time and again.

It is, quite simply, a quirky, silly, naughty picture book. There's also plenty of underlying quality to warrant a place on any bookshelf. Superb!

My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross also worked together on Old Dog, which is lots of fun too. For more wild excitement, check out Mr Chicken Goes To Paris by Leigh Hobbs and Unfortunately by Alan Durant and Simon Rickerty. If rabbits are your thing, then The Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravett, Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld and What Small Rabbit Heard by Sheryl Webster and Tim Warnes are great choices.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Big Bad Bun by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Big Bad Bun by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross at Amazon.com.

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