The Not So Funny Bunny

The Not So Funny Bunny
By Michele L Sayre, Christina Cartwright(Illustrator)
When Sascha asked for a pet bunny for his birthday, he didn’t have any idea how much trouble he was about to stir up in his family’s life. I mean, after all, it’s just a bunny. They’re cute, cuddly, and lovely – how can anything go wrong with that?

Well, Sascha is about to find out that all kinds of things can go wrong in ways even he could never imagine. Be careful what wishes you put out into the universe. An unthought-out wish can be catastrophic in the long run. Most people don’t think about what happens at the conclusion of a wish or whether they should have ever asked for that thing in the first place.

Sascha finds out that wanting and actually having something you wish for are completely different things. A wish is always a lovely thought – a real live bunny living in your house is not!

"The Not So Funny Bunny" is a story about a young child named Sascha who lives with his single mother, Katrina. Sascha asks his mother for a pet bunny as a birthday present, hoping to find a friend since he doesn't have many human friends. Initially hesitant, his mother agrees to discuss it later. Meanwhile, Sascha has a vivid dream in which a unique bunny named Yakov appears. Yakov can talk and possesses distinctive features, but he also has a mischievous streak. Sascha spends the day playing and bonding with Yakov, but the bunny's destructive behavior causes chaos in the house. Sascha eventually realizes the mess is too much and asks Yakov to leave. When Sascha wakes up, he reflects on his dream and decides he would prefer a dog as a pet instead. However, he later discovers Yakov sitting beneath a tree in the backyard, and they reaffirm their friendship, acknowledging the importance of treating animals with love and respect.

This was a fun story and a common theme among kids that we love discussing. My kids always ask for things like Sascha does. “Can I have this pet or that pet, all the time?” Luckily, I was that kid growing up and now that I am older, I did buy all the animals I wanted as pets.  I really liked the Yakov introduction, hopping into the house as an unexpected visitor and proclaiming, "I heard you wanted a bunny friend. Well, here I am, friend. Here I am." This unexpected twist adds a sense of whimsy and adventure to the story. The chase scenes as Sascha tries to find Yakov, who is adept at hiding. Their game of hide-and-seek adds an element of excitement and keeps the reader engaged. The messy spaghetti incident, where Yakov gets carried away and creates chaos in the kitchen. The exaggerated description of sauce covering everything, including the ceiling, adds humor and a sense of comedic disaster to the story. The ending brings everything together with it all being a dream but still seeing Yakov waiting for him under a tree. Their reunion and Yakov's lighthearted explanation about being an imaginary bunny create a heartwarming and whimsical conclusion to the story.

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