Little Bunny on the Move

""It was time for a little bunny/ to be on the move./ From here to there,/ a bunny goes where a bunny must,"" begins this reassuring yet enigmatic tale. An unseen narrator periodically asks questions of the charming title character--""Bunny, Bunny aren't you turning back?/ Where are you going, Little Bunny?""--and then answers them. This bunny moves ""past five fat sheep"" and ""over train tracks."" McCarty's (Night Driving) haunting pencil and watercolor illustrations of Bunny's journey emulate silver point, with drawings that seem to be etched and only the barest hint of pale color. He combines modern and timeless sensibilities, as in a breathtaking view of Bunny descending a hillside, a plane in the distance juxtaposed with a Japanese cherry blossom that might have been featured in an ancient silk screen; in another illustration, a little girl who could easily have stepped from a Renoir painting offers Bunny shelter. The counterpoint of modern and timeless phrases in the text occasionally has a jarring effect, but the artwork more than compensates for these few missteps. Light shimmers through delicate grass and tree leaves seem to be lit from within, as the tiny white bunny finally reaches its destination: home. Subtly compelling, McCarty's mysterious, almost black-and-white compositions possess a quiet dignity. Ages 3-6. (Oct.)