Knuffle Bunny has made its way to YouTube, People magazine reports.
The stuffed rabbit, created by children’s author Mo Willems, is the star of a new educational series on the video-sharing website, Knuffle Bunny Across America.
Knuffle Bunny made its debut in 2004 with Willems’ Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. The book tells the tale of Trixie, a toddler who loses her beloved stuffed animal in a laundromat; in a starred review, a critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, “The natural audience for this offering is a little older than its main character: they will easily identify with Trixie’s grief and at the same time feel superior to her hapless parent—and rejoice wholeheartedly at the happy reunion.”
The book spawned two sequels, Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity and Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion.
The 12-episode YouTube series features children across America receiving a Knuffle Bunny stuffed animal, and taking it with them as they go about their daily routines.
The first episode, which premiered Sunday on YouTube, finds the bunny in the hands of Jeremiah, an 8-year-old boy and aspiring professional hockey player from Lake Worth, Florida.
In the video, Jeremiah introduces Knuffle Bunny to his mom, whom he calls “amazing,” and then brings the rabbit with him while he brushes his teeth before going to hockey practice. Later, Knuffle Bunny accompanies Jeremiah as he does his schoolwork and challenges his hockey coach to a game of bubble hockey.
At the end, Jeremiah tells Knuffle Bunny, “I have to send you off to the next kid for another great adventure. Bye, I’ll miss you!”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
