by Moe Zilla

Created on: December 03, 2010

"It was December 24th, and the Dumb Bunnies were getting ready for Easter."

No! You're supposed to get ready for Christmas in December! And that's not the only mistake the family is making. On the front of their house, there's a sign that says "Merry Halloween."  And they've decorated it with shamrocks...

Everyone else in the neighborhood is celebrating Christmas, and Baby Bunny even gives eggnog to a merry group of carolers. (Unfortunately, he just splashes a spectacular wave of egg nog onto the terrified group of singers, as his dumb parents look on approvingly.) For "Easter," Momma Bunny is shown stuffing a turkey - through a basketball hoop - while Poppa Bunny is busy nailing up valentines. But he's trying to nail them to the glass panes of a window...and he's even nailing them upside-down.

Illustrator Dav Pilkey also created the Captain Underpants series of books, according to Wikipedia, and he's definitely got a sense of humor. He lists himself as the illustrator of the "Dumb Bunnies" books, though there's something funny about how he identifies the book's author. On the book's jacket, "Sue Denim" is shown wearing rabbit ears, and she looks suspiciously like Dav Pilkey himself, in drag. And your public library will probably find no trace of the other books she's supposedly written, which include a story called "Furious George," plus a classic called "Billy, the Tap-Dancing Dental Hygienist."

It was Pilkey's first sequel to "The Dumb Bunnies," but the family still can't get anything right. And it's all building up to a catastrophic conclusion, when a burly pink bunny flies through the night to deliver their gifts. He's flying in a shiny red sleigh - no wait, make that a shiny red mini-van - and it's pulled by eight flying....pilgrims. Unfortunately, instead of dropping toys down the family's chimney, it's the Easter Bunny, and he's dropping down eggs. "Ho, ho, ho - look out below!" he yelled. And the next morning the family awakes to a fireplace that's filled with dozens of colorful broken egg shells - and a lot of yolk.

The cover of this book has a round, gold sticker, which looks a little like a Caldecott honor medal - but read the imprint, and you'll realize it's not. Instead, it's simple providing readers with a self-disparaging public service announcement. "This book is too dumb to win an award." But don't let that stop you from enjoying it - because a lot of the jokes are very funny.

And there's a biography of "Sue Denim" on Pilkey's web site - but you probably don't want to take it too seriously...

Learn more about this author, Moe Zilla.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.