Hoppelpopp and the Best Bunny

PreS-Gr 2—In this sweet story with charming, childlike illustrations, five bunnies—Binny, Benny, Bernie, Bonnie, and Buddy—live an idyllic life. They sleep together, play together, and even share all their food. They are friends and playmates, and are perfectly contented until a new, bigger bunny named Hoppelpopp arrives. His very first question stumps the bunnies ("Which of you is the best bunny?"). He arranges contests to determine the fastest, the strongest, the smartest, and even the bravest, and soon the winning rabbit in each contest is loudly proclaiming, "I am better than the rest of you." It takes the arrival of another outsider for the bunnies to realize that each rabbit is "equally good" and that their individual talents are meaningless in the absence of companionship. While adults will recognize the socialist underpinnings of the story, younger students will just notice the value of cooperation and sharing. For older students, the story could provide a great springboard to debate the merits of competition and the sharing of talents and resources within a society.