The Dumb Bunnies are a series of books created by Dav Pilkey, the author of Captain Underpants, under the pseudonym "Sue Denim". They involve the adventures of a dumb family of bunnies. The Dumb Bunnies did everything in reverse, including sleeping under beds and putting flowers upside down in vases. The series is said to be mocking or parodying books like Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and The Stupids Step Out by Harry G. Allard and illustrated by James Marshall.
The Dumb Bunnies first appeared in the book The Dumb Bunnies. In the book the Dumb Bunnies are having porridge when they decide to go for a walk. They go to Kentucky Fried Carrots and have a picnic in the car wash. Meanwhile, Little Red Goldilocks enters their home. When the Dumb Bunnies return, they are thrilled to see her. But Poppa Bunny is embarrassed because he thought someone slept on his porridge. Momma Bunny is angry because she thought someone ate her bed. Baby Bunny cries because he thinks someone used his pimple cream. Then Papa Bunny dances, Mama Bunny sings a song, and Baby Bunny flushes her down the toilet. At the end of the book, a picture on the back cover shows her coming out of a sewer pipe and landing in a lake. Note: The cover originally had the word "spam" on the bowl of porridge, which Dav claims was meant to be a joke, until the Hormel Foods Corporationthreatened legal action, causing either a recall of the book or placing a golden sticker on it until a reprint was made without the word. The Spam covers have now become extremely hard to find. The Dumb Bunnies made their second appearance in the book The Dumb Bunnies Easter. The Dumb Bunnies are preparing for Easter and set up the decorations. After preparing, they spray-paintfried eggs and watch a small football on top of their television. They go to hang up their stockings before they realize that they are wearing them and they are sleeping upside down in front of the fireplace. The Easter Bunny soon arrives and drops all the eggs down the chimney. The next morning, the Dumb Bunnies are thrilled to see the eggs. Their third appearance was in the book Make Way for Dumb Bunnies. While the Dumb Bunnies are spending quality time at home, it suddenly starts raining. They think it is a perfect day to go to the beach and they head there. But then the sun comes out and they think it is bad weather, so they head to the movie theater. During the movie, the Dumb Bunnies think the projector is the screen, which blinds them for a while. They return home on a steamroller and regain vision again. The Dumb Bunnies latest appearance is in the book The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo. They first go outside to pick things in their garden. They later drive to the zoo, only to discover the animals they are seeing are a lot smaller than they really are. When the butterfly flutters off the sign they think the lion escaped and go crazy all over the zoo and letting all the animals loose. The S.W.A.T. cops arrive to capture the lion, but the Dumb Bunnies say he flew away. As they leave the zoo, they come across two giant apes which they mistake for being "Free Kitties". Baby Bunny decides to keep them, but as they drive out, the apes fall off the top of the car they had been tied to. They return home at the end of the day and get into their new waterbed and fall asleep.
Challenges
In 2010, The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo was placed on the "Most Challenged Books of 2010" list that was published by the Canadian Library Association. Again, this particular book was challenged – this time in Oregon for "concern that reading this book may result in confusion and stupidity." The book was retained in the library. Because of the "sarcastic view of humor", the series was challenged in Summit County and was moved out the primary library and into the intermediate library. The original book was challenged in Texas because of parent complaints that the book depicted violence.
