Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Unlike Tacky the Penguin, who revels in his individuality, Krensky's (Big Bad Wolves at School) Milo, a giant rabbit, wants to fit in. On the copyright page, Suber's (The Lily) splashy acrylic painting portrays the hero next to a row of normal rabbits: Milo is so comically enormous that only his body fits on the page, like a family photo with the tallest person's head lopped off. The hero resembles a cavorting purple walrus; even on Milo's buck-toothed face, one eye or the other changes size from page to page. When the Easter Bunny advertises a contest to find a helper, Milo enters with good intentions and plenty of enthusiasm. Children will identify with huge Milo's unintentional clumsiness as the other bunnies appear shocked by his spattered Easter eggs and get trapped within Milo's lopsided basket. But when the holiday arrives on a rainy Sunday morning, the Easter Bunny satisfyingly chooses Milo to help him wade through puddles to deliver the eggs. Krensky's text begins well enough but hammers home the message using therapeutic language. At the day's conclusion, Milo "felt a lot better about himself" and although he "ate as much as before,... none of that mattered anymore... because Milo had found his place at last." Ages 4-6. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Milo, whose large size keeps him from hopping quickly and quietly like other bunnies, wishes he fit in better. To prove his worth, he decides to enter a contest to be the Easter Bunny's new helper, but he does not have the necessary egg-dyeing and basket-weaving skills. Then, on a rainy and blustery Easter morning, he is enlisted to help. Using his towering stature to shield the Easter Bunny from the elements, Milo aids him in making his rounds through torrential downpours and treacherous floodwaters. In the end, he has found his place. Krensky's narrative, though lighthearted, is slight; Suber's animated acrylic paintings tell most of the story. With its darker and bolder color palette in the endearingly goofy, full-page cartoons, this humorous "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"-like offering is a welcome change from the sugarcoated plots and pastel hues of many Easter Bunny tales.-Rachel G. Payne, Brooklyn Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
To impress the other, smaller bunnies, clumsy jumbo-rabbit Milo enters a contest in hopes of becoming the Easter Bunny's helper. His egg-decorating skills are abysmal, but his size ultimately works to his advantage. The story's arc is entirely familiar, but the illustrations, which show Milo to be basically a giant eggplant with ears, are worth the ride. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This tale of a clumsy, oversized rabbit who comes through in the clutch is a flop from start to finish. Towering over his white, fluffy fellow rodents, misshapen, purple Milo can't hop, burrow or even nibble properly. An enthusiastic tryout for Easter Bunny Assistant also ends in disaster--until a storm descends, and the Easter Bunny comes to the door, asking for help. Krensky's laconic text leaves it to the brash, splashy illustrations to fill in details. But even uncritical readers will come away wondering just what it is about Milo's hopping, or his heaps of exuberantly colored eggs, that doesn't make the grade, or, for that matter, why the lifting and carrying that the Easter Bunny has him doing in the pictures should only be helpful in bad weather. For a clearer take on the same theme, there are any number of other choices. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
