My Bunny Lies Over the Ocean

Written by Bill Richardson

Illustrated by Bill Pechet

Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides

978-1-998802098

40 pp.

Ages 4-8

May 2024 

 

With a mondegreen play of words on the traditional Scottish folk song "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," Bill Richardson and Bill Pechet have given us another bunny story of a legendary incident. Like their earlier book Hare B & B (2021), readers are treated to a silly but playful adventure, this time one in which a stuffed rabbit endeavours to make its way home with a lot of help from a menagerie of animals. And it's all to the accompaniment of some talented singing seagulls.

From My Bunny Lies Over the Ocean, written by Bill Richardson, illustrated by Bill Pechet

When a bow-tied and sunglass-wearing bunny is abandoned at the beach and a seagull falls in love, a global escapade ensues. With a seagull bemoaning the stuffie's plight of being dragged out to sea, My Bunny Lies Over the Ocean becomes a lament.

My Bunny was wet and bedraggled,

My Bunny was dashed by the waves,

My Bunny was found by a starfish,

And that's how my Bunny was saved.

The words may not all be as we may have learned them but they certainly sound like they were made for a story about an errant bunny.

From My Bunny Lies Over the Ocean, written by Bill Richardson, illustrated by Bill Pechet

And, boy, does this bunny travel, and with the help of everything from a starfish and a whale, a tallship and a kangaroo, and more. Still when Bunny finally gets back to the family–who should be chastised for abandoning Bunny in the first place–there will still be someone lamenting Bunny's absence.

From My Bunny Lies Over the Ocean, written by Bill Richardson, illustrated by Bill Pechet

I defy you to read this story and not sing it to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean." It's so easy to do with words that rhyme and flow, especially with a repetitive chorus. The story may be different and homophones used, but Bill Richardson, who does clever very well, keeps the rhythm and the momentum of the original and gives it the humour and cheekiness that will delight readers of all ages. Kids may sympathize with a lost stuffie, but adults will chuckle at the lovestruck seagull and the astonishing path of the bunny to its home.

From My Bunny Lies Over the Ocean, written by Bill Richardson, illustrated by Bill Pechet

That cheekiness is seen in Bill Pechet's sketch art, from Bunny relaxing on a bed inside the whale's belly to seagulls singing atop the "Bunnilator" plane heading between signposts "Here" and "There." Sticking with his palette of pale turquoise, light lime green, and pale orange, Bill Pechet keeps us on that ocean, on the land, and in the air as Bunny finds its way home. And he makes us laugh.

 

Bunny may make it home via a prolonged path, but they will be prepared for another such eventuality. (Come on, it wasn't Bunny's fault that they were left behind.) And with a seagull singing its yearning for Bunny still, I suspect Bunny will never be alone again.

Hare B & B

Written by Bill Richardson

Illustrated by Bill Pechet

Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides Inc.

978-1-927917381

72 pp.

Ages 4-8

April 2021

If the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood was a coyote and the rabbits in Watership Down were hares, then Hare B & B would be a cross between these two stories. Sort of. Hare B & B is actually its very own story of a clever hare family that runs a bed-and-breakfast and works to thwart a wily coyote. A little dark, a whole lot of clever and completely charming.

From Hare B & B by Bill Richardson, illus. by Bill Pechet

Harriet, called Harry by all, is delighted to help out when her mother has identical septuplets who are named Barry, Perry, Mary, Larry, Jerry, Carrie and Terry. One day after taking the young ones out for a long walk in their pram, Harry returns home to find it encircled with police tape and the sad news from Officer Goose (They/Them) that their parents had opened their door to a coyote disguised as an encyclopedia salesman.

From Hare B & B by Bill Richardson, illus. by Bill Pechet

Determined to keep their family together, Harry devises a plan to rent out their parents' room. Assigning tasks to each of her siblings, Harry gets them dusting and vacuuming, washing and preparing for their guests, including sending out ads via twitter i.e., their bird friends.

From Hare B & B by Bill Richardson, illus. by Bill Pechet

The reviews about the breakfast, bed and entertainment (Terry plays the harp) are glowing. But then an odd guest, claiming to be a hare, arrives, ostensibly before the wedding of her sister. Harry is a clever hare and she knows this is not one, maybe not even a rabbit. After a little spying, Harry discovers the animal's true nature and she puts a new plan in action with her siblings.

From Hare B & B by Bill Richardson, illus. by Bill Pechet

 

With some cleaver manoeuvres involving tickles, molasses and harp strings, the coyote is begging to be taken to jail.

 

From fun wordplay and silliness all around, Bill Richardson will give young readers more than a few chuckles and their parents and teachers smiles. Not unlike the original fairy tale of a wolf disguising itself to deceive a red-caped little girl, Hare B & B has a lesson about trust and caution but Bill Richardson does it with such charm that it's just fun to learn. Still he makes sure not to scare children, unlike so many fairy tales. The parents' death is never explicit, and Harry makes sure to remind her seven siblings that...

...there is nothing a smart hare with a good plan cannot accomplish. We must move forward. We must love each other as much as we can. We cannot be fearful every time someone comes to the door. 

That lightness of touch is carried through by designer Bill Pechet's ink and watercolour illustrations. The art is delicate in colour and line, with splashes of blue, green, turquoise and pink. Everything is soft, except for the sharpness of the deceptive coyote, and the reader is charmed by Harry and her septuplet siblings, rooting for them to succeed in their bed-and-breakfast endeavour and find justice for their parents. They do.

 

At 72 pages, Hare B & B is an extended picture book that gives the reader lots of opportunities to learn about the difference between hares and rabbits, appreciate the puns and look for hidden details in the illustrations, as well as discover that it's okay to be both open and cautious. With love, anything is possible.