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Rating: 
Summary: Head in the Sand
Review: I bought this book packaged along with 2 other Dr. Suess books I wanted. When I read Honey Bunny Funnybunny to my 5 yr old daughter, I quickly decided we would not be keeping the book. Honey Bunny is teased unmercifully by her older brother. When she objects her parents intervene. They tell her brother to stop teasing her, but do not explain to her brother that there are better ways to show love, and that teasing is cruel and benefits no one. So brother withdraws his attention from Honey Bunny and she decides teasing is better than no attention at all. I feel this is a very bad message that teasing is OK. Teasing is not OK. Teasing is cruel. Perhaps a different sort of book would model for young boys how to really show love instead of reinforcing that they can just act mean instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book!
Review: This book and the others like it that have the Funnybunny characters in them are awesome! This is a special series shared between my husband and 4-year-old daughter. He even recorded them for her to listen to while he is away on business trips! They are funny, entertaining, educational, and yet so simple to enjoy. I hope more of them come back in print soon!
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This book and the others like it that have the Funnybunny characters in them are awesome! This is a special series shared between my husband and 4-year-old daughter. He even recorded them for her to listen to while he is away on business trips! They are funny, entertaining, educational, and yet so simple to enjoy. I hope more of them come back in print soon!
Rating:
Summary: This does NOT belong under the Dr Seuss imprint
Review: This book does not send a message in line with other Seuss books such as Horton Hears a Who and The Lorax. The stories written by Dr Seuss were either nonsensical fun, or morality stories wrapped in made-up language that appeals to children. The story of Hunnybunny Funnybunny by Margaret Sadler is neither. While on the surface it is a tale of sibling rivalry, it really is more about preferring negative attention rather than none at all. PJ Funnybunny's "teasing" of his sister Hunnybunny is sometimes silly, but sometimes legitimately punishable offenses. How many parents would laugh if their child "poured mashed carrots" on his or her sibling's head "everynight" as PJ does to Hunnybunny? Or if one sibling painting the others' face during the night? And the Funnybunny parents do nothing until Hunnybunny finally complains? It is very sad when in the end Hunnybunny translates this persistent torture into "love", preferring it to PJ's disregard, and her mother reinforces this. We can only assume that after Hunnybunny hugs her brother for painting her face bright blue while she slept, he goes back to humiliating her in various ways. The parents who laugh this off as a funny, harmless story are forgetting that self-esteem is built when children are very young. How they are treated by their parents and siblings shapes how they allow others in their lives to treat them. My husband bought this (without reading it first, as we usually do) because my daughter asked for it (because the cover is pink). He was horrified when he read it, as was I. We have removed it from our children's book collection, because this story reinforces negative behavior and reactions to that behavior. I not only do not recommend it, I steer people away from it at every opportunity.
Rating:
Summary: This does NOT belong under the Dr Seuss imprint
Review: This book does not send a message in line with other Seuss books such as Horton Hears a Who and The Lorax. The stories written by Dr Seuss were either nonsensical fun, or morality stories wrapped in made-up language that appeals to children. The story of Hunnybunny Funnybunny by Margaret Sadler is neither. While on the surface it is a tale of sibling rivalry, it really is more about preferring negative attention rather than none at all. PJ Funnybunny's "teasing" of his sister Hunnybunny is sometimes silly, but sometimes legitimately punishable offenses. How many parents would laugh if their child "poured mashed carrots" on his or her sibling's head "everynight" as PJ does to Hunnybunny? Or if one sibling painting the others' face during the night? And the Funnybunny parents do nothing until Hunnybunny finally complains? It is very sad when in the end Hunnybunny translates this persistent torture into "love", preferring it to PJ's disregard, and her mother reinforces this. We can only assume that after Hunnybunny hugs her brother for painting her face bright blue while she slept, he goes back to humiliating her in various ways. The parents who laugh this off as a funny, harmless story are forgetting that self-esteem is built when children are very young. How they are treated by their parents and siblings shapes how they allow others in their lives to treat them. My husband bought this (without reading it first, as we usually do) because my daughter asked for it (because the cover is pink). He was horrified when he read it, as was I. We have removed it from our children's book collection, because this story reinforces negative behavior and reactions to that behavior. I not only do not recommend it, I steer people away from it at every opportunity.
Rating: 
Summary: A good opportunity to discuss teasing
Review: This book is not a dissertation of sibling relationships, which are a bit too complicated to discuss in an EZ Reader children's book.... It's the story of a little girl and her brother. Like many siblings, PJ teases Honeybunny. He teases her a lot. For a little boy bunny, teasing is the way he shows his affection towards his sister. Probably not the way most parents would want their children to show affection towards each other, but it is highly accurate. My own sister would tease me mercilessly. But if anyone else tried to tease me? She'd jump to my defense in a heartbeat. This is a story reflecting that reality, not encouraging it. And it's also a nice way for parents to discuss with their children the consequences of teasing.... I thought this was a sweet book about the problems with siblings. A good way to open up the lines of communication between siblings.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny Memories
Review: This is a terrible book. I purchased this as part of a series of books for beginner readers in the Dr. Seuss series. Four adults have read this book and we all agree that this is really sick stuff. The little sister bunny is the subject of verbal teasing and physical tricks such as "smashing carrots" on her head at the dinner table. (Real lovely and funny, huh?) More tricks and nasty deeds follow. They go noticed by the parents until one final act and little sister tattles on her brother. Only then do the parents tell the older brother to leave her alone. They don't explain why what he is doing is bad. They don't ask him to apologize and he does not apologize. He chooses to abandon her and go play with other friends and basically ignore her for a while. Mother explains that "he is playing with friends" instead of spending time with her. She gets lonely and tells her mother that his lack of abuse on her is a sign of his not loving her anymore. The mother says that he does love her and shows her that he has resumed his abuse on her by painting her face with paint again. Little sister is happy and gives her brother a hug. Mother must also be happy as she disappears at that point and mother does not. This is the most negative children's book that I have ever read to date, and the only book that I have ever read that approves of verbal and even physical abuse. This is an illustration of how a sibling relationship should not be. And especially a relationship between older brother and younger sister. I have no idea why this book was allowed to be published. This is definitely one for the trash heap. I will not donate this copy to the library or even sell it to a used book store as I don't want this terrible message taught to preschool aged children (the audience it is written for). I am a mother who wants to raise her boys not to be violent, that teasing is not all right, name-calling does hurt, and physical abuse of other humans is not permitted and is not allowed by our society. I am raising my boys to learn to communicate well with others, admit their mistakes, and apologize when they are wrong. I am sensitive to the messages that we give our children through books, television, and also by viewing how adults interact with each other. There are better books out there to teach the lessons that tormenting others is not alright-I do not feel that this book is a good springboard for discussion even if the discussion is to address abuse and what constitutes a healthy relationship. And some wonder where our children learn violence and that dysfunctional relationships are the norm....this is one book that young children learn it from.
Rating:
Summary: A very questionable message for young children
Review: To excuse the bizarre and inappropriate storyline of this book as the product of deranged and PC minds is ridiculous. I actually read the stroy several times to my young son before I actually thought about what it was saying. Basically the young female only feels that her brother loves her if he mistreats her! The amount of abuse he seems to heap on her seems excessive and cruel. Even more so, in fact than painting her face. That she misses this attention seems disturbing to say the least. I have passed this book around to several adult acquaintances and simply asked them to take a look at it and most have had the same reaction. I also thought of writing to the publisher - but am contenting myself with this.
Rating:
Summary: Honey Bunny Funnybunny made the whole family laugh!
Review: What a humorous take on the brother/sister relationship. My daughter and I as well as her father really get a laugh out of this book. Honey Bunny Funnybunny's brother plays several tricks on his sister, but it is His way of showing that he really loves her. Fairly typical of brother/sister relationships based on my experience. A good tool to show there are better ways of showing love for each other, but shows some of the reality of children's pranks.
Rating:
Summary: One Funny Bunny
Review: Yet another delightful story about life being a Funnybunny, this creation by Marilyn Sadler is one of my favorites to read to kids and adults alike. Although not as charming as "It's Not Easy Being A Bunny", it has the same wonderfully flowing storyline that young ones will appreciate and the extremely imaginative illustrations that bring smiles to the adults who read along. Playful, entertaining, and a joy to read again and again. (End of review for the book.) Now I'd like to address the negative review. The reviewer in question gives the book a bad review because it appears that the story promotes sibling abuse, namely, that it is okay to "abuse" your sister. While I agree that the book can be construed in that manner, it is only the adults who are so pre-occupied with being PC, to which this truely applies. If you are simple-minded enough to think that a child watching an "adult situation" on TV will cause him/her to act in such a fashion or that seeing something violent will cause him/her to act out in the same manner, by all means, don't get this book. However, if you want to get a colorful book for your child who can appreciate the more subtle nuances of the ties within a family, then please consider this book (and "It's Not Easy Being A Bunny".
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