Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 10/01/2010 PreS-K—Knuffle Bunny goes international when Trixie and her family fly to Holland to see Oma and Opa. Trixie, excited and slightly sleepy, leaves her toy rabbit behind and doesn't miss him until the plane is on the way to China. Although the grown-ups encourage her to be brave because she's "getting bigger," Trixie remains in a funk until she dreams about her special toy and all the children he encounters on his travels. Soon the visit ends, and Trixie is back on the plane where Knuffle Bunny is waiting in the seat pocket. Just when the story might end, Trixie shows just how brave (and grown up) she is. She gives him to a crying baby and becomes Knuffle Bunny free. At the end, Daddy includes a note to his daughter with the hope that the toy might return years later when she has her own child. Willems once again conveys a range of emotions through limited text and outstanding illustrations. His sensitivity to children's needs allows the humor to come through without devaluing the feelings. The familiar style of photographs with original drawings takes readers along on the journey from New York to Holland, but also from babyhood to childhood. Friends and fans of Knuffle Bunny will readily notice the passage of time since the lovable bunny made his first appearance. Mommy and Daddy have new hairdos, and Trixie is a big girl now. This one is a must-have.—Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County - Copyright 2010 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 07/01/2010 *Starred Review* The saga of Knuffle Bunny concludes in this droll, observant, and seriously heartbreaking ode to growing up. Trixie’s a little older now, sporting a shorter haircut, a backpack, and, of course, ratty old Knuffle Bunny. Destination: Holland, the home of beloved grandparents Oma and Opa. Riding in a plane is exciting (watching Knuffle Bunny go through the X-ray machine is a little scary, though), and soon Trixie is sipping chocolate milk with her extended family. Well, you can guess what readers discover next: Knuffle Bunny has been left on the plane. What you might not guess is the poignancy and nuance of everything that follows. The plane, off to China, isn’t coming back. There’s no hysterics this time, just a wide-eyed Trixie dealing with the tension of knowing she is at a milestone of maturation yet afraid to fully commit. Her tour of Holland is alternately happy and sad (the replacement robot bunny that says, Ik Kan Spreken! doesn’t help much) until a gorgeous four-page foldout dream of Knuffle Bunny’s life in the wider world puts Trixie at ease. The denouement is enough to give you goose bumps, and young children may be wiping the tears from their parents’ cheeks. Good night, Knuffle Bunny. - Copyright 2010 Booklist.

Bulletin for the Center... - 12/01/2010 We’ve tracked Knuffle Bunny through harrowing trips to the laundromat and clandestine middle-of-the-night exchanges, and we’ve felt the connection between Trixie and her plush friend through the intensity of our own experiences; her departure from Trixie’s life is no less poignant. On a trip to Holland to visit her grandparents, a travel-weary Trixie leaves Knuffle Bunny on the plane. Her expression when she realizes her beloved friend is missing is stunning in its silent eloquence-there isn’t a viewer anywhere whose heart hasn’t made that face. Though her sorrow is great, her imagination does its wise work, and she dreams that Knuffle Bunny is bringing happiness to children all over the world. Then, in the kind of miracle only storytelling can provide, she finds Knuffle Bunny in the seat pocket on her return flight; having worked through her loss, however, she is able to pass it to a fellow traveler with greater need. As in the previous books, familiar emotions here are conveyed with the slightest shift in the shape of an eye, the sag of a shoulder, the position of a pin-dot pupil or tiny dimple. The photographic black-and-white backgrounds behind the figures, featuring many international scenes, are fun to explore, and the interiors feature family pictures that remind readers of Trixie’s infancy even as she is leaving it behind. This isn’t going to appeal to the same age group as the other two, since the sense of loss is too distressing, but for slightly older listeners or readers who are ready to set aside their first comfort objects, Trixie’s passage will feel just right. KC - Copyright 2010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.