A Very Big Bunny Read online

  Copyright © 2010 by Marisabina Russo

  All rights reserved. Published by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York Schwartz & Wade Books and the colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc. Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/kids Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Russo, Marisabina. A very big bunny / Marisabina Russo.—1st ed. p. cm.

  Summary: Amelia is so big that she is always last in line at school and none of the other students will play with her, but a special new classmate teaches her that size is not always the most important thing.

  ISBN: 978-0-375-84463-8

  eISBN: 978-0-375-98276-7

  [1. Size—Fiction. 2. Individuality—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction. 4. Friendship—Fiction. 5. Rabbits—Fiction.] I. Title. PZ7.R9192Ver 2010 [E]—dc22

  2008039924 The illustrations are rendered in gouache. Book design by Rachael Cole

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.1

  For Judy and David

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  First Page

  About the Author and Illustrator

  Amelia was a bunny.

  A very big bunny.

  “You really stand out in the crowd,” said Mama.

  “You’re always the star of the show,” said Daddy.

  But Amelia didn’t want to stand out in the crowd or be the star of the show.

  She wanted to be a bunny. A not-so-big bunny.

  In school, Amelia was the biggest bunny in her class.

  Miss Arugula liked to line up the class in size order.

  That’s why Amelia was always last.

  Going to the gym.

  Going to the library.

  Going to the cafeteria.

  At recess, none of the other bunnies wanted to play with Amelia.

  “We can’t turn the jump rope high enough for you,” said Lavinia.

  “Your feet are too big for hopscotch,” added Daphne.

  And the seesaw was out of the question.

  So Amelia stood by the fence and kept herself busy.

  Counting the clouds in the sky.

  Listening to the wind in the trees.

  Thinking about important things.

  After school, Amelia walked home by herself.

  Along the way she practiced ballet twirls.

  She sang “I’m a Little Teapot.”

  She picked dandelions and made herself a crown.

  On her walk home, Amelia never felt big.

  One day, the door to the classroom opened, and in walked the principal, Mrs. Radish.

  “I would like you to welcome your new classmate, Susannah,” she said.

  “What a pip-squeak,” whispered Lavinia.

  “What a peanut,” whispered Justine.

  “What a shrimp,” whispered Daphne.

  Susannah was a bunny.

  A very small bunny.

  At recess, none of the bunnies wanted to play with Susannah.

  “We can’t turn the jump rope that low,” said Lavinia.

  “Your feet are too small for hopscotch,” added Daphne.

  And the seesaw was out of the question.

  Susannah raised her ears as high as they could go and walked over to the fence.

  “Hi,” she said to Amelia. “What are you doing?”

  “Counting the clouds in the sky.” Looking down at little Susannah, Amelia felt enormous.

  “The clouds are fluffy and puffy today, just like giant cotton candy,” said Susannah. “I love cotton candy.”

  Amelia just kept counting.

  “Don’t you wish we could hop up to the sky and ride on the clouds?” said Susannah.

  Amelia did not answer.

  “Maybe I can help you.”

  “No, thank you,” said Amelia. “I’m a lot closer to the sky than you are.”

  The next day at recess, Susannah walked right up to Amelia.

  “Hi,” said Susannah. “Are you counting the clouds today?”

  “No, I’m listening to the wind in the trees,” said Amelia.

  “If we had umbrellas, we could sail on the wind,” said Susannah. “And fly all around the world, and visit India and Egypt and China.”

  “Shhh,” said Amelia.

  “Can I listen to the wind with you?” asked Susannah. “I don’t think so,” said Amelia. “You need really big ears to hear the wind.”

  And so it went. Every day at recess, Susannah came over to the fence and asked Amelia what she was doing.

  And every day, Amelia had an answer.

  “Spelling words that start with a P.”

  Or “Making dandelion crowns.”

  Or “Practicing pliés.”

  But Amelia never invited Susannah to join in.

  One afternoon, Miss Arugula announced that picture day was coming up.

  “I expect you all to look your very best!” she added.

  “Don’t forget to wear one of your dumb dandelion crowns,” Lavinia whispered to Amelia.

  Some of the other bunnies started to laugh.

  All the way home, Amelia thought about the class picture. It was very possible that she would have a tummyache or a bad cold on picture day and have to stay home from school.

  At recess the next day, Susannah looked different. There was a mysterious bulge under her jacket.

  “Meet me on the other side of the playground behind the bench,” Susannah whispered to Amelia. “I have a top-secret plan for picture day.”

  Amelia stared up at the sky. There were no clouds today.

  She raised her ears and listened. There was no wind blowing through the trees.

  She tried to think of something very important, but nothing came into her head.

  With a big bunny sigh, Amelia stood up and followed Susannah across the playground.

  Susannah and Amelia sat on the ground behind the bench. “Dandelion crowns are okay,” Susannah said, “but they droop too fast.”

  And then Susannah showed Amelia what was under her jacket.

  “We’d better get busy,” said Susannah. “We want to be the stars of the show!”

  “We do?” said Amelia.

  On picture day, Amelia didn’t have a tummyache or a bad cold. She raised her ears as high as they could go and put on her favorite dress, her purple tights, and her party shoes.

  Susannah was waiting for Amelia by the schoolyard. The two bunnies finished getting ready for the class picture. Then they hurried into school.

  “Oh, my!” said Miss Arugula.

  “I don’t think you’re allowed to wear tiaras for the class picture,” said Lavinia.

  “Tiaras are fine,” said Miss Arugula. “And quite original.”

  Amelia was a very big bunny and Susannah was very small, but from then on, it didn’t seem to matter.

  Together they counted the clouds in the sky and listened to the wind in the trees.

  They made jewelry and practiced spelling words.

  They twirled and sang, and one day they even discovered . .

  that the seesaw was not out of the question.

  Marisabina Russo is the author and illustrator of numerous books for children, including The Bunnies Are Not in Their Beds; The Line Up Book, winner of an IRA Children’s Book Award; and Come Back, Hannah!, a Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Book. She is also the author of Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War II, based on the experiences of her grandmother’s family during the Holocau
st, which was named an American Library Association–ALSC Notable Book. Ms. Russo lives in Westchester County, New York.

 

 

  Marisabina Russo, A Very Big Bunny

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