"And all the best words together couldn't hold the happiness."

"She was old and round like the world. She was sun-toasted." This is an example of
the beautiful language in Emmaline and the Bunny by Katherine Hannigan. There is something special about this story. From the language to the story to the watercolor illustrations, all of it, every little crumb will find its' way pressed into the tines of your fork, satisfying.

Emmaline lives on Shipshape Street in Neatasapin. In Neatasapin children must be quiet and careful. All houses are required to be spic-and-span. Emmaline,jumping through puddles and shouting silly phrases, does her thing, alone mostly. She is not an ideal candidate for Neatasapin. To complicate matters, what Emmaline wants more than anything is a bunny. When she finds one in a wild space called Untidy, she learns, through a mystical character called The Old One, just what the bunny might require if it were to come to live with her in her limiting world of concrete and containment. The reader will be delighted with the way Emmaline's wish changes not only her lonely state, but her parents, and the whole town.

Themes of nature, loneliness, control, and happiness pervade this gentle children's tale. Dig into it and enjoy.