The second book in the Knuffle Bunny series by best-selling author-illustrator Mo Willems, in a board book format perfect for the littlest readers. Trixie can't wait to bring her one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny to school and show him off to everyone. But when she gets there, she sees something awful: Sonja has the same bunny. Suddenly, Knuffle Bunny doesn't seem so one-of-a-kind anymore. Chaos ensues until the bunnies are taken away by Ms. Greengrove. After school, Trixie finally gets her beloved bunny back. But in the middle of the night, Trixie realizes something. She has the wrong bunny! Daddy comes to the rescue again as a midnight swap is arranged with the other bunny, the other little girl, and the other daddy. Needless to say, the daddies are not very happy. By the end of the story Trixie has her beloved bunny back, but she has also gained something new: her very first best friend. In the tradition of the Caldecott Honor-winner KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY TALE, this is another heartfelt, hilarious picture book that children (and their parents) will love. In this sympathetic sequel to Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, former toddler Trixie gains verbal dexterity and still treasures her rag doll, Knuffle Bunny. Tugging her gangly, red-haired father along the sidewalk, she hurries to her preschool's show-and-tell, eager to show off her pale-green, floppy rabbit. "But just as her daddy kissed her good-bye, Trixie saw Sonja." No words need explain Trixie's distressed expression, because a turn of the page says it all: Trixie's classmate, with a wicked smirk, is clutching a bunny of her own. "Suddenly, Trixie's one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny wasn't so one-of-a-kind anymore." Each girl hugs her rabbit, with Trixie insisting, "Kuh-nuffle! Kuh-nuffle!" and Sonja retorting, "Nuffle! Nuffle!" Their teacher raises an eyebrow and puts both rabbits in time-out until the end of the day. Willems expertly sets up this case of mistaken identity, as each girl accidentally brings home the wrong bunny, and a late-night exchange is needed to resolve the girls' dilemma. As in the first book, Willems creates comic-book-style panels, with grayscale photographs of Brooklyn as backgrounds for his color-illustrated characters; insiders will recognize allusions to past Willems titles too. In a satisfying resolution, Trixie and Sonja become best friends, demonstrating that two or more children can enjoy similar toys. Not a word or image feels out of place. PW" It was inevitable: since those fi8rst words triggered by her joyful reunion with Knuffle Bunny (Knuffle Bunny, BCCB 10/04), Trixie has learned to talk . . . and talk, and talk, and talk. She's eager to show her one-of-a-kind bunny to her classmates in preschool, until she sees Sonja has her own, nearly identical Knuffle Bunny. The girls argue and get their best friends taken away by the teacher, and there's a tragic mix-up upon their return at the end of the day. Unfortunately, while these girls can talk, they cant' tell time, and when they each discover the mistake in the wee hours of the morning, their beleaguered fathers have no choice but to venture out into the New York night to make the exchange. Willems manages pitch-perfect humor with his usual dexterity as he moves up and down the scales here-this story is as funny for grownups as it is for the slightly older elementary students to whom it seems best suited, and yet it remains sympathetic to listeners who are Trixie's age and have shared her predicament as well. The book mines humor from film noir conventions by casting a falsely sinister complexion over the mistaken identity and the nocturnal exchange, a tone that brings new significance to the black-and-white photographic backdrops behind the lively scrawled figures, while the epilogue brings viewers right back to bleary real life with the young and feckless. Yet another layered and effective work from Willems, this joyously continues his string of uncontested successes. KC BCCB" Knuffle Bunny returns, but this time he has a doppelganger. Trixie is off to school, and things are going well enough-until she notices that Sonja is holding her own Knuffle Bunny. Arrgh! The afternoon results in dueling bunnies, which are confiscated by the teacher. Happily, they are returned at the end of the day, but at 2:30 a.m. realization hits: the bunny Trixie is sleeping with is not her own. Despite parental protestations, phone calls are placed, bunnies are exchanged, and the girls, bonded during the trauma, become best friends. This has much of the charm of Knuffle Bunny (2004), a Caldecott Honor Book, but the premise is stretched here: the middle-of-the-night meeting is energetic, but it seems overplayed. As in the previous title, the slice-of-life artwork is smashing. Willem's cartoon-style art, set against crisp black-and-white photos of New York City interiors and exteriors, catches every bit of the plentiful emotion. Keen-eyed kids will have fun keeping track of the Knuf