My Blue Bunny, Bubbit

A new sibling, the child-grandmother bond, attachment to a stuffed animal, and the rewards of crafting all play into Smith’s (Pigs in Pajamas) cheering, if slightly saccharine story. When the young narrator learns that a baby will soon join the family, she admits that she and Bubbit—the wool bunny her grandmother Nonni made for her when she was born—“weren’t sure we wanted a new baby.” However, her resistance to the idea melts immediately, and she draws a picture of a yellow elephant “to welcome the new baby.” When Nonni arrives to care for the girl during her brother’s birth, that picture serves as the model for the stuffed animal that the two of them make for the newborn. The details about the sewing process that Smith, who designs stuffed toys in addition to creating children’s books, interjects may prove somewhat slow-moving for less craft-oriented readers, but parents should be warned: requests to haul out the family sewing machine are likely to follow readings. Incorporating scraps of fabric themselves, Smith’s mixed-media pictures reinforce the story’s wholesomeness and crafting theme. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)