Of Bullies and Bunnies

Sometimes parts of my life collide in unexpected ways. My sister-in-law gave my seven-year-old son a copy of Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery for the holidays, and he’s been enjoying it thoroughly. It’s the first of the delightful series by James Howe about a vampire bunny who sucks juice from vegetables. I highly recommend it. Too often post-picture-book kids’ lit consists of poorly written movie tie-ins—but Bunnicula is a real gem of clever dialogue, mystery, and heart. (I’m also especially fond of the puns in some of the titles in the series, such as The Celery Stalks at Midnight.) The tale is told from the perspective of Harold, the family dog—and Harold’s relationship with the family cat, Chester, should qualify them to be listed among the classic odd-couple pairs of literature.

Separately, in my writing life, I was doing some research about GLSEN’s No Name-Calling Week (Jan. 24-28). The annual observance began in 2004, inspired by a book called The Misfits, about four middle-school students (one of whom is gay) who decide to create a similar event at their school.

The author? None other than James Howe of vampire bunny fame.

Investigating further, I learned that the first Bunnicula book was written in partnership with his late wife Deborah, but that Howe later came out as gay himself. (He’s also a dad, for those of you who, like me, keep lists of “LGBT parents who do cool things.”)

Howe has also made a short video for No Name-Calling Week, which you can view (along with videos from other authors talking about their experiences with bullying) on the Barnes & Noble Web site. B&N has also partnered with GLSEN to host a variety of in-store anti-bullying activities this week in preparation for No Name-Calling Week next week.

Howe’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, helped found No Name-Calling Week. They are also the publishers of the now-classic And Tango Makes Three, about two male penguins who raise a chick together, and the new My Princess Boy (about which more here).

So: Small world and strange connections. I’d call it all a coincidence, but with vampire bunnies involved, who knows?

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