This is the first book in the I Believe Bunny series, a series of children's book based on Christian morals that can also be applied to non-religious households. The story is presented through rhyming couplets and fun descriptions, like when Rabbit was in the rain and felt "soggy and boggy." Hand drawn and watercolor illustrations depict nature scenes dotted with colorful flowers.

The pictures in this storybook fill the pages to the edges, fading to white space only near the words to help them stand out for your little one to focus on. The characters are adorable cartoon animals that your child may recognize; there is a bunny, mouse, butterflies, squirrel, skunk, and raccoon. A stand-out element in this story is the suspense, as it may be a newer concept for your child. The suspense begins when Bunny finds a small mouse drowning in the river and is the only one who can save him. Bunny was afraid of the deep river, but "He reached out to the mouse, but started to slip. The water was rushing. He was losing his grip!" As the suspense grows, Bunny finally decides to pray for help, and his forest friends soon arrive.

The book emphasizes how Bunny saves the mouse through prayer and belief in God, which you can choose to also emphasize to your little one. However, if you prefer a less religious interpretation, you can stress how belief in oneself can result in accomplishing something you previously thought impossible. Bunny would not have given up before the mouse was saved. Your child will likely have a slew of questions during or after reading this, whether they ask about drowning, God, or friendship. There are levels of depth to this story that your child may or may not pick up on. Young readers may just enjoy the imagery some of the fun descriptions create, like "When it rained...Bunny's whiskers got droopy, and his ears lost their fluff." Can your little one imitate what that would look like? The story and illustrations also encourage imagination, as they involve talking creatures and smiling butterflies using leafs as umbrellas.

A good friend of mine decided to read this book to her three-year-old son, Sam. The family is not religious, but my friend felt it was still important to teach Sam about teamwork (like the forest animals show to save the little mouse) and begin addressing the topic of prayer, since Sam will certainly hear and learn about it as he grows. She wants Sam to be able to choose whatever he wants when he is older, including the option of religion. When I asked what Sam though about this book the first time he heard it she replied, "He wanted to know if all mice don't know how to swim."

--Audra

Tish Rabe is a children's book author who has written over 85 children's books including titles for Sesame Street, Disney, Blue's Clues, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Bear in the Big Blue House and Curious George. In 1996 she began writing The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library, a series of non-fiction science books for early readers with over 3 million copies sold to date. Her book, "My Oh My- a Butterfly!" was named by the Bank Street College of Education as one of the 40 best books for children in 2007.

As both a songwriter and music producer she has written children's songs that have been broadcast on PBS Kids, Fox, Nickelodeon and HBO Family. For the last three years she has been visiting elementary schools to help kids get excited about reading and writing.