Claudia Rueda’s 2020 picture book Bunny Overboard is a good example of why publishers might value author-illustrators so highly. From font to layout, and on to words and images, this book is completely unified. Throughout it it is gentle, welcoming, and pleasant.
It follows Bunny on a sailing trip, from the walk to the water, on to the trip and fall overboard, and then back home to enjoy some “carrot lemonade.” From early in the book, and repeatedly throughout, the book is interactive. For example, when Bunny puts the sails up, there is no wind, so Bunny asks readers (the kids) to blow the sail.
Bunny also interacts with the sea explored, from the rocking of the waves to the creatures encountered under the waves. What’s more, through most of the book, a curious seal follows Bunny along, watching the adventure. The seal isn’t on every page, but comes and goes, watching without Bunny seeing it until the very end. This both contributes to the book’s playfulness–here we see a snout, there a tail–and gives kids a chance to know something the characters do not.
Rueda uses just a few colors; black and white, variations on pink, a blueish green, and red stripes for Bunny’s swim suit and the boat. This contributes to the book’s unity, and helps it feel safe, and, again, welcoming.
