The Runaway Bunny
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| Author | Margaret Wise Brown |
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| Illustrator | Clement Hurd |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Harper |
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Publication date
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1942 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 48 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 314185 |
The Runaway Bunny is a 1942 picture book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. The plot deals with a small rabbit, who wants to run away. His mother, however, tells him that "if you run away, I will run after you."
This book is the first in Brown and Hurd's "classic series," which also includes Goodnight Moon and My World. The picture of a cow jumping over the moon, which features prominently in Goodnight Moon, first appeared in The Runaway Bunny. A copy of The Runaway Bunny appears in Goodnight Moon, as does the illustration of the mother fishing for the bunny child. The three books have been published together as a collection titled Over the Moon.
A little bunny tells his mother that he is going to run away, becoming variously a fish, a rock on the mountain, a crocus in a hidden garden, a bird, a sailboat, a circus acrobat, and finally a little boy, until he resigns himself to stay where he is and remain her little bunny.
Brown claimed that her inspiration for The Runaway Bunny came from "Chanson de Magali," a love song based on French Provençal folklore. The call and response structure of Brown's text provides an emotionally compelling depiction of a small child's first burst of independence and a mother's affirmation of unconditional love.
The closing line of the book, "'Have a carrot,' said the mother bunny," was added after Ursula Nordstrom, the director of Harper's Department of Books for Boys and Girls, told Brown that the ending needed work. The line was cabled in to Harper's from Maine, where Brown was on vacation. There have been two different final illustrations for this book.
The book has been in print continuously since 1942.
The Runaway Bunny has been adapted into a concerto for violin, reader and orchestra by the contemporary American composer Glen Roven, with text from the book.
Movie and TV writer Zack Stentz had taken inspiration from "The Runaway Bunny" when writing the 21st episode of the second season of TV series The Flash - titled "The Runaway Dinosaur".
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