Bunny’s Staycation (Mama’s Business Trip)

Mommy can’t take her little Bunny on her weeklong business trip. When Bunny’s ideas for getting rid of her suitcase (his imagined scenarios include flushing it down the toilet and stuffing it into a mailbox) and accompanying her don’t pan out, Papa saves the day. Every day that Mommy is gone, he and Bunny pack up a car made from a cardboard box and pretend they’re at a different destination. On Monday, they turn the bathroom into a tropical island (complete with a spoof of a Jimmy Buffett concert poster). On Wednesday, they create big animal cutouts and go on a “safari adventure.” The distractions aren’t entirely effective (“sometimes even the bravest adventurer misses Mama”), but they provide enough fun to sustain Bunny until the family has a joyous reunion, which involves one more fantasy locale. Richmond’s rabbits have an odd biomorphic blobbiness that makes them look a bit like the cardboard cutouts Bunny and Papa are so fond of. But the artwork’s emotional directness is never in question: when Bunny is mad, sad, or glad, there’s no softening or sugarcoating it. Every expression hits home. Ages 3–5. Agent: Lori Kilkelly, Rodeen Literary Management. (Jan.)