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pat the bunny has been known as
baby’s first gift for over 60 years. Originally published
in 1940, pat the bunny book has sold over 7 million
copies and continues and continues to be a staple on the bookshelves
of children today. This pioneer in baby development started
as no more than a special book that one mother created for
her daughter. Now entering its third generation of readers,
pat the bunny is expanding to include new and wonderful characters
and stories that will be entertaining children for generations
to come.
In the late 1930’s, Dorothy Kunhardt was already an established
children’s author when she started experimenting with adding
interactive elements to a children’s book. The results of
those experiments was pat the bunny, a book that she
wrote for her 3 year-old daughter, Edith. Dorothy felt that
there was more to books than just words on paper and that
added elements could increase a child’s love for reading and
learning.
The interactive elements of the book, bunny’s fur, daddy’s
scratchy beard, smelling the flowers, looking in a mirror,
peek-a-boo blanket, reading a miniature book, poking your
finger through a die cut of mommy’s ring and waving bye-bye
have been the keys to its success. In fact, the original book
was so successful that Edith Kunhardt, the inspiration for
the original book, wrote three companions to the original,
pat the cat in 1984, pat the puppy in 1991,
and pat the pony in 1997. These books have also done
well and continue in the same spirit as the original, with
wonderful interactive features that teach and entertain children.
In the past five years, the pat the bunny library has grown to include many new books that incorporate the interactive features in different book formats and using different characters. Some books concentrate on one particular feature, such as lift the flap or the die cut design, or with new features such as counting tools, teether edges and butterflies on a spindle. Just last year, another character from Dorothy Kunhardt’s library was brought back in a brand new story. Tickle the Pig made his return in a new story by Edith Kunhardt that brings bunny and Tickle together with original interactive features, such as flapping a butterfly’s wings, making fish jump on a wheel, and watching Tickle "jump" out of the water.
The history of pat the bunny has shaped its way into becoming one of the most recognized classic children’s books today. The success of the entire collection can be attributed to Dorothy and Edith Kunhardt, as they created these books with love and consideration to the joy and interaction that child and parent would get by reading these books together.
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