Mom On the Case: The Runaway Bunny (75th Anniversary Edition) by Margaret Wise Brown

ONCE THERE WAS A LITTLE BUNNY WHO WANTED TO RUN AWAY.

"IF YOU RUN AWAY," SAID HIS MOTHER, "I AM RUNNING AWAY.

FOR I AM YOUR MOTHER.

Bunny is feeling a bit adventurous--and perhaps a bit argumentative.

"I WILL BECOME A FISH," COUNTERS BUNNY.

Mother Bunny responds that she will become a fisherman and catch him in her net. Unabashed, Bunny continues, saying he will become a sailboat on the sea, and Mother Bunny's comeback is that she will become the wind. Now who's in charge here?

Bunny challenges, saying that he will run away to become a rock on the high mountain, and Mother Bunny says she will be a mountain climber.

That's a hard one to top, but Bunny tries, stating that HE will be a trapeze artist in the circus, but Mother takes it to a higher level, claiming she'll be the tightrope walker on the high wire.

Well! What if Bunny becomes a boy who runs into the house? Mother Bunny happily reports that she'll be there to give him a hug!

"SHUCKS!" SAYS BUNNY. "I MIGHT AS WELL STAY AND BE YOUR LITTLE BUNNY!"

Second only to Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny: A 75th Anniversary Retrospective (Harper, 2017) was among the first to use the character of "the little runaway," which became an oft-used picture book premise that has flourished ever since. It is fitting that this classic get a brand-new edition to delight new generations of youngsters who will respond to the calm voice and dedication of Mother Rabbit to her little rebel, and Brown's gentle illustrations are just as humorous and sweet as ever. A fine book for Easter or Mothers Day or anytime.