Chloe is the middle child in a rather small family of bunnies who share a close-knit and zealous bond for “Family Fun Time,” that is until dad brings home the T.V. 21 of the 23 family members, save Chloe and Little Bridget find themselves glued and hushing for silence the first night the T.V. is unveiled, creating a mission for Chloe to save their harmonious brood from becoming couch potatoes.
Chloe is drawn in typical McCarty style with little more background than necessary to keep the child focuses on the subject rather than overwhelming their eyes with busy art. The palate is soft and pastel, hence the bunny nature. If you are familiar with McCarty’s work you will recognize Chloe from Henry in Love and I am still convinced she is the inspirational design as seen in a much earlier work of The Monster Returns because no two bunnies have that saggy ear as the Chloe family trait.
The weight on this paper is something I would never usually mention but it is thick and therefore great for kid-assisted page turning. The other beauty is the short and concise page narrative that makes it easy to follow and a great night-time book. We have checked it out from the library at least a dozen times with renewals included putting the book in our home about 20 weeks of the year or so and our son asks for it night after night. At this point we have stopped reading the book and he recites the book verbatim from memory. At four he is picking up some word recognition, hopefully this gives him a bit more confidence to have the feeling of reading to move his learning along.
This is a must read for children boys and girls alike and in my opinion the best new book of 2012 for pre-school age children.
Not Dad of the Year 