School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-After a big snowfall, Bunny heads outside to play with Red, but her friend isn't being very nice, as he throws a snowball at her, steals her hat, and pushes her off the sled. After each incident, Bunny remarks, "That's not funny," and Red replies, "It's just a joke." The tables are turned at the skating rink when Red falls and Bunny remarks, "That's a good joke." However, Bunny shows forgiveness when she invites Red in for a cup of hot cocoa at the end of the story, and readers will learn important lessons about friendship and forgiveness. All of the bunny friends are dressed in full winter attire, with their hats, scarves, coats, and gloves lending lots of color to the pages. Bunny's facial expressions show her sadness, anger, and frustration at the way Red is treating her. The illustrations enhance the story, adding lots of details about the bunnies' winter day. Text is minimal, with one large-type sentence per page, making this a good choice for the very earliest readers.-Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga Public Library System, OH (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Red, a squirrel, organizes snowy-day games to play with Bunny, but each game ends abruptly when Red plays a "joke." Red eventually learns his lesson, but not before his jokes approach needless bullying. Bright, wintry illustrations divulge Red's antics and Bunny's growing fury and fill in gaps left by a text that meticulously follows easy-reader conventions in word choice and layout. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Anti-social high jinks deliver a lesson in kindness and in learning to read. Bunny wants to play in the snow, but her fun is undermined when Red plays jokes on her that are only funny to him. He hits her with a snowball, steals her hat, makes her snow angel into a snow devil and pushes her off a sled. Other friends come to her defense at the last offense, but Red is unmoved. He then pushes her and two others while skating, but he ends up falling, too. Schadenfreude is apparent as Red cries on the ground while the others laugh and Bunny declares, "That's a good joke!" This sentiment soon slips away, however, when Red sits sulking on the porch while Bunny and her friends enjoy hot cocoa indoors. Not wanting to be a bully herself, Bunny brings Red a mug and they make amends. A quick (perhaps too quick?) resolution follows with Red telling a good joke to everyone, which they all like. Readers can find that joke on the rear endpapers and will recognize part of its punch line in the title itself. Degen's cartoonish illustrations center on expressive, endearing, anthropomorphic animal characters. Pleasing, painterly backgrounds avoid cluttering the pages to allow easy decoding of the controlled text. A snow book that deserves a warm reception from new readers. (Early reader. 5-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
From the illustrator that helped bring Ms. Frizzle's adventures to life in Joanna Cole's Magic School Bus series comes a quiet picture book about navigating friendship. Bunny wakes up to a beautifully snowy morning, and she is excited to get outside and play. As soon as she steps outside, however, a snowball smacks her in the head. That's not funny, she says to Red, who replies, It's just a joke. Red keeps putting a damper on the day by making jokes that hurt Bunny's feelings and aren't quite funny. But once the joke is on Red and he slips on the ice, he is the one who doesn't think it's funny. Can Red and Bunny mend their hurt feelings and still be friends? Making great use of simple diction and concepts, a repetitive refrain (that's not funny), and clearly drawn illustrations built for visual learning, Degen presents a story that's not only perfect for budding readers but also one that teaches kindness and etiquette at an early age.--Miller, Annie Copyright 2014 Booklist
