Bunny Money

Those rambunctious rabbit siblings, Max and Ruby, embark on another mishap-filled adventure in Wells's typically funny new book. In a story line similar to that of Bunny Cakes, Ruby hatches a well-intentioned plan to do something nice for her grandmother. In this case, Ruby takes her little brother along to buy Grandma a dazzling birthday present. But Max has ideas of his own, which include stopping for lunch and purchasing vampire teeth ""with oozing cherry syrup inside"" for Grandma. By excursion's end, Ruby's wallet is empty, Max's tummy is full and Grandma receives not one but two spectacular birthday surprises. Economical sentences consistently pack a humorous punch as well as propel the action. (One quibble: the title may lead some readers to expect that the text includes factual information about currency. All Max and Ruby learn is that spending stops when the money runs out.) Wells's jolly paintings are simultaneously crisp and cozy, depicting Max and Ruby in their characteristically bright outfits, and spot illustrations of Ruby's wallet and bills allow kids to perform some simple subtraction as they read along. A set of instructions for ""making money"" explains how kids can photocopy the book's endpapers and construct their own bunny bucks; adults won't want to miss Wells's bunnified portraits of the real-life heroes that adorn her comic currency. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)