Bunny and Clyde

December 11, 2023
Best friends Bunny and Clyde—a beret-wearing yellow rabbit and a chipmunk sporting a green blazer—are tired of being good. Determined to be “bad to the bone,” but at a loss for how to achieve this, they head to the library seeking inspiration. “Bad books” such as Interrupting Chicken and Bad Kitty prompt their first unruly endeavor: messing up Bunny’s room. Though Bunny’s mother insists they clean up their act, the flame of rebellion has been lit, and the duo embark on further ne’er-do-well antics. Still, they can’t help but spread positivity, even in their struggles to spark chaos: an attempt to ruin a neighbor’s cheerful flower bed by pulling up dandelions and their TPing of another neighbor’s rose bushes conjures unexpectedly helpful results and thanks from the unsuspecting victims. A lack of remorse and missing consequences for the pair’s unkind intentions sometimes dampens the effect of this entertaining series kickoff. Nevertheless, Bunny and Clyde’s schemes—facilitated by bouncy, fast-paced plotting from McDonald (the Judy Moody series) and boldly expressive art from Nash (I’m Afraid Your Teddy Is in the Principal’s Office)—prove amusing, and the characters’ independence, alongside their sassy banter, will appeal to young readers. Ages 5–8.

January 15, 2024
An anthropomorphic bunny and chipmunk set out to be bad. Bunny and Clyde are tired of being good, tired of "saying please and thank you," tired of "keeping burps to themselves." They ask the librarian, a robin named Rowena, to show them the "bad section"; she points them to the tornadoes and hurricanes books--not quite what they were looking for. But then they discover the picture books Interrupting Chicken and Bad Kitty--now here's bad! Inspired, they mess up Bunny's tidy room, putting her books in "un-alphabetical order" and coloring on the walls. Undaunted--even after Bunny's Maw-Maw makes them clean up--they hole up in their shed hideout, thinking up more ways to be bad. But when they pull up the flowers in Darby the squirrel's yard, she thanks them for getting rid of her pesky dandelions. And after, under cover of darkness, they wrap toilet paper all around Thornton the possum's prize roses, he tells them how grateful he is that they've saved his flowers from the unexpected frost. And when they scheme to take the pennies out of Rowena's piggy bank...well, readers will just have to find out for themselves how that goes down. The clever plot is anchored by Bunny and Clyde's Hollywood gangster-speak, tongue-in-cheek dialogue, and groan-worthy puns, all of which will charm young readers. The illustrations are well placed for visual interest. Final art not seen. Being bad is work. Delightful. (Chapter book. 5-9)

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February 15, 2024
Grades 1-3 Bunny (a bunny) and Clyde (a chipmunk) are fed up with being good and decide it's time to be bad--rotten to the core, in fact. As lifelong rule-followers, they know they'll need some pointers, so they head to the library ("there must be books with bad stuff somewhere in this joint"). They hit the jackpot with the likes of Hamster Gangsters, Bad Kitty, Interrupting Chicken, and The Tale of Two Bad Mice and finally feel ready to embark on their new life of crime. Aside from messing up Bunny's room (which Maw-maw has them clean right up), the friends quickly proves themselves to be terrible outlaws, as all their "misdeeds" accidentally help others in the neighborhood. McDonald, of Judy Moody and Stink fame, is clearly having fun in her new chapter-book series, which is packed with humorous situations, puns, and old-timey gangster slang. The black-and-white illustrations lean into the overarching joke that the friends are "goodniks" in spite of themselves. A criminally charming new series for fans of Kara LaReau's Infamous Ratsos books.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2024
Best friends Bunny and Clyde learn that it can be hard to be bad in this early chapter book. The rabbit and chipmunk duo are tired of being good and decide to put their energy into being bad, but each of their misdeeds ends up aiding the intended victim in comically unintentional ways. In one instance, Bunny and Clyde toilet paper a neighbor's rose bushes, which, it turns out, protects the flowers from an unexpected frost. Never ones to give up, the two move on to more and more daring attempts at villainy, all of which lead to disappointment. McDonald's short chapters, simple sentences, and snappy dialogue are perfect for newly emerging readers looking to take their first steps beyond early readers. Nash's frequent full- and partial-page black-and-white illustrations (final art not seen) provide lots of breaks in the text and ably capture the hijinks of these two fundamentally goodhearted critters. Bunny and Clyde can't help but fail to live up to their infamous namesakes. Eric Carpenter

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2024
Best friends Bunny and Clyde learn that it can be hard to be bad in this early chapter book. The rabbit and chipmunk duo are tired of being good and decide to put their energy into being bad, but each of their misdeeds ends up aiding the intended victim in comically unintentional ways. In one instance, Bunny and Clyde toilet paper a neighbor's rose bushes, which, it turns out, protects the flowers from an unexpected frost. Never ones to give up, the two move on to more and more daring attempts at villainy, all of which lead to disappointment. McDonald's short chapters, simple sentences, and snappy dialogue are perfect for newly emerging readers looking to take their first steps beyond early readers. Nash's frequent full- and partial-page black-and-white illustrations (final art not seen) provide lots of breaks in the text and ably capture the hijinks of these two fundamentally goodhearted critters. Bunny and Clyde can't help but fail to live up to their infamous namesakes.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)