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It was the first day of spring, and that meant one thing: it was time for all the bunnies to gather outside and show off their “shiny spring tails.” Fern, not having such a big, fluffy tail like the others, knew that meant she would be teased. Hopping out the door, she was determined to find herself a new tail. Young readers of Sager’s bright, colorful children’s picture book will meet other animals along Fern’s search: Red and Cisco, two horses running a roadside stand; Hashtag, owner of the brand new store in town; Spice, a feline pharmacist; and three delightful puppy hairdressers. And the makeshift tails with which her new friends attempt to outfit Fern include such impractical items as a stinky onion, a head of cauliflower secured with bailing twine, a plastic sea urchin and fake coral from fish tank décor accessories, and a cotton ball that turns to “squelchy mush” during a thundery downpour.
Of course, the real message (and life lesson) imparted beyond such silly ideas from silly friends arrives in the last few pages of Sager’s fun and charming book. Recalling her “inspiring day” and how wonderful all of her friends are, it strikes Fern like a lightning bolt that she already has the perfect tail for herself—her own, naturally cottony one. Parents and grandparents who read this book and are of the Christian faith will especially enjoy the final page’s quotation of Psalm 139:14: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” And really, for any loving adult and child who share Sager’s story together, the all-important notion that people, like bunny rabbits, are “wonderfully made,” just as humans are, will surely reinforce the significance of embracing oneself precisely as one already is.