Review: Rhyming Dust Bunnies

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Title: Rhyming Dust Bunnies

Author/Illustrator: Jan Thomas (website)Publisher: Beach Lane Books
Year: 2009
ISBN: 978-1416979760
Format: Hardcover, also available in Paperback
Pages: 40
Age Range: Toddler, Preschooler, Early Reader
Kid Love Factor: 4/5
Adult Sanity Factor: 3/5

Unsurprisingly, Rhyming Dust Bunnies is about dust bunnies that rhyme.  Well, three of them (Ed, Ned, and Ted) rhyme.  The fourth, Bob, doesn’t seem to be in tune with the others:

Ted: Hey! What rhymes with car?
Ed: far
Ned: jar
Ted: tar
Bob: Look!

The rhyming bunnies seem confused by this.  Ted even goes as far as putting a sympathetic (condescending?) hand on Bob’s shoulder and telling him “No, Bob... ‘Look!’ does not rhyme with car!”

Sadly, this doesn’t seem to help Bob, who each time the game is played answers with a non-rhyming interjection instead. 

For those of you above the age of toddlerhood, you’ve probably predicted that the others should be listening to Bob instead of telling him that he’s not rhyming.  Ed, Ned, and Ted do clue in when the ‘monster’ with the broom arrives, though it’s not enough in the end, and all four of our friendly dust bunnies end up getting an all-expenses paid tour of the inside of a vacuum cleaner.

This is how I know they’re not the dust bunnies in my house.  See, the vacuum doesn’t come out unless the queen (or my grandmother) is visiting...though we do have a small scary monster who sometimes waves a toy broom in the general direction of dust bunnies.

This book would be entertaining to toddlers, preschools, and beginning readers.  It’s certainly snort-worthy for adults.  Older kids will likely catch on that Bob is in the know rather than just bad at rhymes on page 2, whereas younger ones may take longer. 

I was surprised by how much Boo enjoyed this book.  Rhyming isn’t a concept we’d tried before, and I’m quite sure he still doesn’t really get it, but he enjoys the game of trying to guess whether a word rhymes with another word. 

He’s also really keen on the word “Thwptt!” which I probably could have predicted if I’d thought about it beforehand.

Autism Spectrum Bonus:   Apart from the lessons in rhymes, which kids with a fondness for word games will love, you might be able to discuss the emotions the dust bunnies are portraying; they have simple faces, but they’re quite expressive and go through a range of emotions.  Also, and this might be just me, but having read Temple Grandin’s quote (“After all, the really social people did not invent the first stone spear. It was probably invented by an Aspie who chipped away at rocks while the other people socialized around the campfire.”), I must admit that I can’t help but think of little blue Bob as possibly being on the spectrum, trying in vain to get his more social counterparts to focus on their surroundings rather than chat.

Bottom Line:

What rhymes with cute?
Lute
Newt
Fruit
Dust Bunnies!

Links:

Rhyming Dust Bunnies on Amazon.ca

Rhyming Dust Bunnies on Amazon.com