Ribbit Rabbit by Candace Ryan

Ill. by Mike Lowery. Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN 9781408814413.
Picture book. Frog and Bunny are best friends. They do everything together. They go swimming, eat peanut butter sandwiches and even fight monsters. But sometimes they don't get along and they have to work out how to stay friends.
In an original and unusual picture book, Ryan has written a rhyming story that will appeal to boys who like mechanical toys and robots. The repetition of the words 'Ribbit, rabbit' with variations following it like 'Zip it, zap it' and 'Trip it, trap it' make it a fun book to read aloud. It is a story that will make the young listener and reader become aware of the intricate patterns of words and want to try out new rhymes for themselves.
The ups and downs of friendship are effortlessly included in the story as they fight over little and big things but realise what they have to do to make up. Ryan manages to convey in very few words how lonely it can be when you have had a fight with your best friend and also how difficult it is to make up.
The quirky drawings by Mike Lowery are cartoon like, and Frog and Bunny are endearing characters, their facial expressions bringing the meaning of the text to life. The young reader is challenged to follow the illustrations as they show what is happening to the two main characters and are an integral part of the story.
This is an intriguing picture book that I will keep for my young grandson.
Pat Pledger