Pat the Bunny (Touch and Feel Book)

My little brothers and I all had our own copies of Pat the Bunny. (Fifty or 60 years ago the books were made of paper and didn't last long enough to be handed down to another child.) Now I give Pat the Bunny to all my friends' babies for their first birthdays. The mothers are always thrilled to receive the books, and the babies love them! (For second and third children, I give Pat the Puppy and Pat the Cat; from the fourth child onward the cycle begins again with Pat the Bunny.) Highly recommended!

We received this book as a gift. It has adorable illustrations with a great vintage feel, and my toddler twins loved the activities ... but I neglected to take it away from them after we finished reading it (because you know how it is with toddlers -- take something away that they like? and listen to tears for ten minutes? not likely!) and in about fifteen minutes, they had torn it completely apart. The comb spine style of book is NOT durable in the hands of toddlers!

This particular book is one that I enjoy sharing with new mothers and their newborn. It's one of the classics.

I was born and raised in another country, so I didn't grow up with this bunny, but I heard so much about it and was told it's a classic. I decided to purchase one for my son. I have to say it's a major disappointment because 1) it's poorly made that's not strong enough to sustain an infant's pulling, chewing, and abusing, 2) the sharp edge of the book always seems to hit my son's face (I'm afraid it will scratch his eyes one day...), 3) the fabric in the peek-a-boo page is very weak that it probably will come off in a few months, 4) the smell of the flowers is so storng (considering I try to buy everything organic and without perfume), 5) Daddy's scratchy face? it's a piece of sandpaper which is so rough that I would not let my son touch it in case it hurts his soft skin. Overall, I think it might have been a great concept in 1940, but time has changed and so should the construction of the book itself.

My son does love this book...especially the peek-a-boo page. However, I don't know why it's not constructed better. This book was about $10, and the pages are a thick paper instead of board book material. Since this book is geared towards the little ones, they really should make this into a board book. How much more expensive can that be? There are other touch and feel books that are board books that sell for $5 or $6.