Bunns Rabbit

For anyone who has ever felt different, Academy Award winner Alan Barillaro tells the deeply moving tale of a brave rabbit who sets out on a quest to save her home and family—no matter what it takes.

When Bunns is born with small but perfectly functional rabbit ears, the warren is abuzz with auguries. Surely such short ears spell bad luck for the community. Sheltered in her family’s burrow, Bunns listens to the rhythm of her mother’s heartbeat—Thump, thump, thump—a song of home and belonging. Her father explains that unlike a rabbit’s words or thumping feet, a heartsong cannot lie. But the unknown world of the meadow, the sounds and smells above, call to Bunns. When at last she’s ready to brave the staring and whispering of neighbors who fear her because she’s different, and the disapproving elders who threaten to banish her family, she finds a world beyond the warren where myths and riddles, magic voyages, and important new friends await. Can the “bad omen bunny” follow her own heartsong to a destiny—a wish—meant just for her? Academy Award–winning director, writer, and animator Alan Barillaro’s graceful storytelling, warm illustrations, and dramatic graphic panels weave light and dark into a seamless tapestry to enchant children and adults alike.

Alan Barillaro is the acclaimed author and illustrator of Where the Water Takes Us and Today We'll Be Eaten, as well as Bunns Rabbit and its sequel. The Academy Award–winning writer and director of the animated short film Piper, he has been supervising animator on numerous other popular theatrical releases, including The Incredibles, Incredibles 2, WALL-E, and Brave. He began his career in animation at the age of sixteen and spent more than twenty-five years at Pixar Animation Studios. Originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Alan Barillaro now lives in California. Find him online at alanbarillaro.com and on Instagram as @alan.barillaro.