Bunny Swap: Knuffle Bunny, Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems

For those of you who have become toddler-literate since Caldecott Award winner Mo Willems' wonderful Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, was published, you may want to find a copy of this acclaimed book before going on to his equally on-target piece on parenting preschoolers, the forthcoming sequel, Knuffle Bunny, Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity.

For those new to preschool parenting, the first experience with a lost "lovey" is traumatic--for the child, whose comfort zone has suddenly been shattered, and for the parent, who has to figure out the problem and solve it--quick.

In the first book, pre-verbal tot Trixie sets out merrily with Dad to visit the laundromat--Dad loaded with dirty duds and Trixie proudly carrying her beloved Knuffle Bunny. Absorbed with getting this chore out of the way and finding coins for Trixie to stick in the machines, Dad absentmindedly stuffs Knuffle into the washer. Poor Trixie's face switches instantly from delight to despair, and when her best toddler talk ("gaggle, flaggle, glabble") fails to communicate the reason for her sudden emotional meltdown, she begins to wail and flail limply on the ground.

Poor Dad is bedraggled and still clueless by the time he drags Trixie back home, but luckily Mommy notices what's amiss immediately. The three race back to the laundromat, where the soggy but safe lovey is returned to the tearful Trixie. The trauma turns into triumph, however, when Trixie is inspired to come out with her very first words, "KNUFFLE BUNNY!"

In the sequel, an older and more fluent Trixie gleefully sets off with her beloved bunny to show him off at preschool. Abashed, Trixie discovers that a classmate, Sonja, has another bunny just like hers! Suddenly Knuffle Bunny doesn't seem so special anymore, and Trixie takes her disappointment out on Sonja and her impostor bunny. In true teacher fashion, Ms. Greenglove confiscates both bunnies until it's time for the girls to go home.

Only at bedtime does the crestfallen Trixie discover that Ms. Greenglove has given her the wrong bunny. Never mind that the bunnies are identical; Trixie can't possible fall asleep with, of all people, Sonja's bunny!

Nothing will do but that the two long-suffering dads arrange a midnight bunny swap. Knuffle and his doppelganger are sorted out, and the two little girls realize that loving and losing their beloved bunnies has given them something major in common. Trixie finds that she's made another major breakthrough with Knuffle--she has found her first real friend.

Willem's illustrations use a cartoon-style toddler superimposed upon a black-and-white photographic background of his own Brooklyn neighborhood, and the contrast puts the child-centered story up front and personal. Reviewers have called these books "heartfelt and hilarious," and that's exactly what they are!