Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
Ages 3 – 6
Do kids these days know what a dust bunny is? Probably not, but are they going to love Jan Thomas’ book, Rhyming Dust Bunnies? Definitely. The colorful, fuzzy dust bunnies rhyme all the time…except Bob who seems to be coming up with some very strange words that don’t rhyme with anything. Children generally love patterns and can’t help but laugh when something unexpected happens to break up that pattern. In this case, they will enjoy following the rhyming sequence and won’t be able to hold back the giggles when Bob blurts out something completely different. Kids will then delight in the surprise ending where Bob has been trying to warn the other dust bunnies that someone is approaching with a broom and vacuum. The simple, colorful pictures add to the fun making this a must read when teaching rhyming or just to elicit a smile.
I have had to buy multiple copies of this book because it is checked out so often from my school library. It is very short, so I will often pair it with the companion book, Here Comes the Big, Mean Dust Bunny! by Jan Thomas.
Here Comes the Big, Mean Dust Bunny! by Jan Thomas
In this companion book to Rhyming Dust Bunnies, the colorful cast is joined by a giant grey, grumpy looking dust bunny whose rhymes are not very kind. When the dust bunnies ask, “What rhymes with fit?”, the big mean dust bunny immediately responds with “sit” and crushes our poor little protagonists. The big mean dust bunny finally gets his comeuppance as he is squashed by a cat. Our friendly heroes help their foe with one last rhyme as they help him back to his feet. “What rhymes with tug?” “Hug” of course.
* In addition to simply being fun to read, these two books are terrific teaching tools. Beginning readers are often encouraged to build their skills by reading books that rhyme. This book lends itself nicely to a paired reading where beginning readers can simply read the rhyming words and more advanced readers (or parents) can read the rest of the text. With the multitude of rhymes, these two books are also a fun way to introduce or reinforce word families. Lastly, they are also a wonderful resource for practicing fluency for more advanced readers. Punctuation such as exclamation and question marks paired with large and small sized words help students practice reading with expression.
Here are a few other hilarious books written and illustrated by Jan Thomas that children will love:
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