Curious Mary and Esme the Bunny (Too Clever III)
By: Julia Antoine
ISBN: 9780983602903
Published 2011 by ENVISION
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
This is a children’s book recommended for ages 7 and up.
Curious Mary is heading to her Aunty’s farm in the country for an Easter vacation. She loves spending time with her uncle, aunt, cousins, and her favorite spotted bunny rabbit, Esme. Shortly after Mary arrives in the country, she learns a terrible fate is planned for Esme on Easter Sunday. It is up to Mary to save her best bunny pal.
I received a copy of this book for review.
This really is a charming little read. The story about Esme is truly the perfect focus of the tale, with the other little details about the island, the farm, and Mary’s family surrounding it. I learned so much about the Caribbean country and life on the farm as well as in the larger capital city.
While the writing style is fairly simple, for a children’s book, it was completely acceptable. I would certainly expect it to be less complicated than a young adult or adult book, and my children really liked hearing the story just the way it is written.
Overall, I truly enjoyed the story of Curious Mary as she visits her family on their secluded Caribbean farm. Life is so simple and fun on the farm, and it reminded me a lot of my own childhood and my grandparents’ small homestead. What a blessing to have grown up with such beautiful and peaceful surroundings. There are times I miss it terribly!
All the photos that coincide with the story were stunning. I appreciate the fact that the author included actual photos rather than sketched illustrations. It certainly helps the reader picture themselves in the story with the characters.
I definitely recommend you check out this lovely story with your children and enjoy a nice island country escape…
