Farewell Floppy

K-Gr 3—It's time to grow up and make friends with other kids, which means that Floppy, a little boy's pet rabbit, must go. Leading the drolly expressionless Lop bunny deep into the woods, the apple-cheeked, snub-nosed protagonist experiences conflicting feelings regarding Floppy's abandonment. His immediate change of heart, tender notes of reunification, reestablished respect, and even the promise of a new friend conclude the story. Starting with the endpapers, symbolically patterned with red knitting, the illustrations and visual design of the book are appealing and clever. When the pet is eventually left behind, a swirl of oversize Floppies crowd the page to represent the narrator's troubled mind. Unfortunately, this otherwise charming picture book is marred by the inclusion of a depiction of the boy and rabbit playing "cowboys and Indians," the former shown wearing a feathered headdress with arrows protruding from his side as the boy lassoes him with red thread.