Famed Knuffl e Bunny
hops into Park Slope
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BY AIDAN GRAHAM
More than 150 Brooklyn
bookworms fl ocked to Park
Slope Library on June 27 to
celebrate the unveiling of a
bronze shrine of the famed
literary rabbit “Knuffl e
Bunny.”
The carrot-chomping
character is the brainchild
of Park Slope native Mo Willems,
who fi rst debuted the
bunny in his 2004 picture
book “Knuffl e Bunny: A Cautionary
Tale.” The book tells
the tale of a grief-stricken
little girl named Trixie who
traumatically loses Knuffl e
Bunny — her stuffed animal
best friend — which forces
her parents on a heroic mission
through Park Slope to
rescue the toy.
The legend of Knuffl e
Bunny developed a cult-like
following in the years since
its original debut — spawning
two sequels, a musical,
and an animated short fi lm.
Willems said the erection
of the statue represents the
physical enshrinement of the
heartwarming message behind
the Knuffl e Bunny tales.
“The Knuffl e Bunny
books were created as an ode
to the small stories that are
the building blocks of a family’s
grand narrative and to
the idea of Brooklyn,” said
Willems. “That these small
stories have now become a
physical part of Brooklyn is
an honor that cannot be expressed
in words.”
The 18-inch bronze monument
— sculpted into Knuffl
e Bunny’s likeness by Chad
Rimer — now permanently
resides on a stone bench in
the Reading Circle and Storytelling
Garden outside the
library at 431 Sixth Ave., ensuring
that no more children
will lose Knuffl e Bunny
again.
Rimer — a fellow Sloper
— said the chance to sculpt
such a classic Brooklyn-centric
literary icon for his local
library was an opportunity
he could not pass up.
“It was very meaningful
to have the opportunity to
sculpt Mo Willems’ Knuffl e
Bunny for my local public library,
and an honor to contribute
artwork to my community,”
he said. “It was also
immensely fun bringing the
Knuffl e Bunny off the page
and into bronze, where little
and big book lovers alike
can sit with it, read it, touch
it, and let their imaginations
take fl ight.”
Willems used the unveiling
ceremony to read to assembled
children in the garden,
who followed along with
the author as he performed a
dramatic performance of the
statue’s namesake work of
fi ction.
The bronze-bunny’s installation
marks the end of
a years long fi ght to get the
monument installed, as library
reps fought to secure
adequate funding and approval
from the city’s Public
Design and Landmarks Preservation
Commission.
Community Board 6 — the
civic group overseeing Park
Slope — voted unanimously
in May 2018 to send a recommendation
to the commission
to approve the bunny-shrine.
Once city design gurus
gave the green light, the library
secured funds from the
family of Jane Bethge Lynch,
which donated the estimated
$6,000 to cover the cost of the
statue.
SPEECHES: Councilman Brad
Lander speaks at the unveiling
ceremony at the Park Slope
Library.
TA-DA: Children’s book author Mo Willems shows off the statue to his
famed character Knuffl e Bunny. Photo by Caroline Ourso
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