''Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion'' is a children'spicture book written and illustrated by
Mo Willems
Mo Willems (born February 11, 1968) is an American writer, animator, voice actor, and children's book author. His work includes creating the animated television series ''Sheep in the Big City'' for Cartoon Network, working on ''Sesame Street'' ...
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
.
Plot
Trixie Willems and her family take a trip to visit her grandparents in
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
. She accidentally leaves her beloved stuffed toy rabbit, Knuffle Bunny, on the airplane and does not realize the toy bunny is missing until it is too late. Knuffle Bunny is on his way to China. Trixie's family reassures her that she is getting older, so she must try to have courage. Still sad, Trixie goes to bed. She dreams of all the fantastic places Knuffle Bunny will visit and all of the fun things he will do. This brightens her mood considerably and comforts her. Soon, her vacation is over, and she gets on the airplane to fly back home to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Surprisingly, it is the same plane as before, and Knuffle Bunny is waiting for her in a seat pocket. Trixie is excited until she sees a baby crying on the airplane and gives Knuffle Bunny to the baby for comfort.
Epilogue
In an epilogue to the book, Mo Willems wishes the real Trixie, his daughter, a happy and fulfilling life, and he predicts that Knuffle Bunny will someday return as a playmate for his daughter's own child.
Reception
''Knuffle Bunny Free'' was received well by critics. In ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', the American columnist
Pamela Paul
Pamela Paul (born 1970/1971) is an American columnist, journalist, editor, and author. Since 2022, she has been an op-ed writer for ''The New York Times''. From 2013 to 2022, she was the editor of ''The New York Times Book Review'',''The New York Times'' Best Seller list.
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
named the book one of its "Top 10 Children's Picture Books of 2010". For his work on the book, Willems was a finalist of the 2011
Children's Book Week
Anne Carroll Moore (July 12, 1871 – January 20, 1961) was an American educator, writer and advocate for children's libraries.
She was named Annie after an aunt, and officially changed her name to Anne in her fifties, to avoid confusion with Ann ...
Weston Woods Studios
Weston Woods Studios (or simply Weston Woods) is a production company that makes audio and short films based on well-known books for children.
It was founded in 1953 by Morton Schindel in Weston, Connecticut, and named after the wooded area near h ...
released an animated version of the book in 2012, with narration by Mo, Cheryl, and Trixie Willems, and animation by Karen Villarreal.