The Bunny Play

The Dragon ABC Hunt and The Dragon Halloween Party are among Leedy's memorable earlier works; in this new book she gives bunnies the same bug-eyed looks of bewilderment that characterized her dragons. The bunnies put on a play, first finding a script (Little Red Riding Hood) and then picking a director, casting the play (try-outs are truly terrible, but some talent emerges) and assigning the jobs of building the set and making costumes. Leedy delves into the behind-the-scenes information with exuberance, letting the bunnies have the run of the book but including a glossary at the end. And the bunnies are a buoyant bunch; they put on the performance of a lifetime. Details galore pepper each page, from a small rabbit begging for a script to the classic masks of comedy and tragedy, slightly modified they have long ears. Ages 4-8. (April)