B-115

Marilyn Sadler and Tim Bowers

Nearly 40 years after his Beginner Book debut (It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny, 1983), and 16 years since his last Beginner Book, P.J. FunnyBunny is back! The new story finds the incorrigible young rabbit chafing against the limitations his parents put on what he eats (no ice cream for breakfast), how he plays (no hanging from tree limbs), and his entertainment choices (no scary movies). His friend Potts Pig, on the other hand, has free reign at his house. So while P.J. is spending the day with Potts, he overeats, plays in the tree, and goes to see Scary Larry in 3D at the movie theater. Of course when he goes home he has a stomach ache and nightmares, leading him to realize the wisdom of his parents’ rules.

It's certainly novel to see a children’s book that addresses parenting so directly, let alone one that also acknowledges children’s feelings of resentment at not being allowed to follow their impulses. And while on the surface P.J.’s embrace of his parents’ rules seems to be a straightforward (and square) “listen to your parents” moral, there’s a more complex undercurrent in It's Better Being a Bunny. P.J.’s parents want the best for him, but they come across as overly strict and controlling. Potts Pig’s mother isn’t portrayed as neglectful. She tells P.J. to be careful when he plays in the tree, and she sends Potts’ older sister to accompany the younger kids to the movie. While the text doesn’t make this explicit at all, perhaps Marilyn Sadler is giving us a sly comparison here. P.J. learned his lessons – and came to understand the reasoning behind his parents’ rules – by being given the freedom to indulge and make mistakes.

P.J.’s co-creator, Roger Bollen, passed away in 2015. His replacement, Tim Bowers, is one Roger likely would have chosen himself. Tim was born and raised in Troy, Ohio. Discovering a love and talent for art early on, he attended the Columbus College of Art & Design on a scholarship. After school he landed a full-time job at Wanamaker Advertising Art studio, but soon realized his true goal was to work in children’s books. After a disappointing attempt to break in, he moved to Missouri and took a job at Hallmark, where he became one of the first artists on the Shoebox line of cards. He didn’t give up on kids’ books, and his perseverance landed him his first contract, illustrating Jan Wahl’s The Toy Circus (Harcourt, 1986).

Tim met Marilyn and Roger in 1989 at a children’s book festival in Akron, and then arranged a visit to their home to learn more about how they worked. There, Roger offered Tim the opportunity to become his assistant on the Animal Crackers comic strip. Tim was flattered, but turned it down, since he knew it would ultimately take away from his children’s book work. It was a good move. Tim has gone on to publish over 50 books, and to work with many prominent authors, including fellow Beginner Book creator Laura Numeroff. He’s also done several books with celebrity authors, among them Kristi Yamaguchi, Neil Sedaka, and Kenny Loggins.

When Random House expressed interest in Marilyn bringing back P.J. FunnyBunny, her mind went right to Tim. Though Tim’s highly-detailed paintings are a far cry from Roger’s minimalist pen-and-ink cartoons, Tim studied his old friend’s style carefully, and replicated it almost perfectly. It’s refreshing to see a new book illustrated in a style that’s not currently popular. Besides ensuring it fits with the rest of the books about P.J., it makes It’s Better Being a Bunny stand out from the crowd.

B-116

Edward Miller

Busy Street finds the gopher-like Bonnie and her mother setting out in the morning to run errands downtown. The book follows them as they encounter every type of vehicle you might see in a city: school buses, fire engines, tow-trucks, front-end loaders, police cars, etc. driven by a wide array of animals. Along the way they go grocery shopping, mail a letter, and get some ice cream. By the time they get home, night has fallen, and young Bonnie has fallen asleep.

Told in four-line rhyme, Busy Street is aimed squarely at car-and-truck-obsessed little ones. There’s no real story to speak of. Bonnie and Mommy’s drive through the city is merely a *ahem* vehicle for showcasing the different conveyances and the purposes they serve. Edward Miller, who both wrote and illustrated, gets in the Beginner Book spirit with bright, busy layouts that are meant to be lingered over. And while the book might have benefited from a stronger punchline, Ed does throw in a few visual jokes. There’s the fact that the garbage collectors are skunks, the box labeled “FRAGILE” bouncing out of the back of a moving truck, and the line of cars stopping for a mama duck and her ducklings to cross (Make Way for Ducklings, anyone?)

A New York native, Edward Miller graduated from the Parsons School of Design in 1986. He has worked as a book designer and art director for the likes of Scholastic and Random House, and now runs his own graphic arts studio, Ed Miller Design. His first book, Fredrick Ferdinand Fox, was published by Crown in 1987, and since then has been joined by over 50 others. Besides books, Ed’s whimsical artwork can be found on puzzles, fabrics, and greeting cards. He also does murals for the New York City public schools as part of the Spagheddie Art Group, a collective of artists who volunteer in their spare time to help “make the schools a more colorful place for learning.”