Bunny and Me

Softly colored photographs of a baby and a lop-eared rabbit depict a tale of companions separated and reunited from a mother-daughter team. Using mirrored poses and activities (""Baby touches Bunny's nose. Bunny touches Baby's toes""), Greenspun (Daddies) effectively establishes a rapport between baby and bunny in the first several spreads. But when Bunny hops off, the compositions of the lone baby look askew and forlorn after the symmetry of the previous pairings; a close-up of the baby's crying face, with only text on the facing page--""Come back, Bunny!""--borders on melodrama. Before long, however, the two are back together: ""Funny buddies. Baby and Bunny."" Schwarz tints the photos and creates detail and texture for the images' misty, leaf-strewn backgrounds; she also adds borders that layer patterns resembling lace, carved picture frames, ribbons, beading and neoclassical motifs. The combined effect is overwrought and overly formal; the ornate treatment is at odds with the disarmingly plain outlines of this pleasing friendship. Ages 6 mos.-5 yrs. (Mar.)