"I always wanted a pet to love and cuddle but..."
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A Bunny Named Boo by Kristen Belmont Mancini Trafford Publishing
book review by Linda Mae Wolter
Mancini skillfully shows us an alternative way for a young girl named Julie to fulfill her desire for a cuddly pet. She and her parents live in an apartment in a "perfect" location that doesn't allow dogs (too noisy) or cats (too smelly). Once Julie gets her unique pet, a bunny named Boo, she learns the challenges and benefits of being a pet owner. She adapts to her pet, and the rabbit adjusts and becomes comfortable in its new home. At the end of the book the child refuses to give up her now cuddly bunny, even though her parents move to a "more perfect" location where she could have a cat or a dog. As Julie says, "... I have all that (love and cuddliness) from a bunny named Boo."
In this short, illustrated children's book about pets, Mancini uses a simple plot to demonstrate how change can often be a good thing, or even a better thing. Mancini sounds knowledgeable about pet rabbits, advocating rabbit adoption, but in the book the bunny is purchased from a pet shop. She cautionsreaders to visit The House-Rabbit Society website before deciding on a rabbit as a pet.
A Bunny Named Boo is a great book for a child who wants a pet that's cuddly but who cannot have a cat or dog. The book would be quick to read to a child and a fairly easy read for an early reader.