Books like It's Not Easy Being a Bunny
By Marilyn Sadler
For the kid who's declared they wish they were a dog, a dinosaur, or literally anyone else at least once this week, P.J. Funnybunny's identity crisis will feel very familiar. Silly, brisk, and warmly reassuring, with the easy-reader bounce of a classic Beginner Book.
Same wanting-to-be-something-else setup, but Please Don't Tell Cooper He's a Dog by Michelle Lander Feinberg makes the joke about a dog who thinks he belongs in the driver's seat.
Bored with being an emu, a zoo bird tries out life as a seal, a lion, and a snake — before discovering that being himself suits him best.
The identity worry flips outward here. Everyone already adores Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems's dinosaur except one holdout determined to argue her out of existing.
A small boy runs, jumps, and makes a mess through page after page of trouble, hearing one word from his mom again and again — until he finally gets the hug he needed all along.
If your kid liked watching P.J. figure out where he belongs, Sweety by Andrea Zuill does that same search with mushrooms and interpretive dance.
A mother cat leads her two kittens, Fluffy and Skinny, through washing, wall-walking, and claw-sharpening — while a third kitten, Boris, just naps through it all.
The Girl Who Loves Bugs by Lily Murray keeps the funny-but-sweet family tone, swapping the animal mix-up for a girl who just won't leave her bugs outside.
Same simple, silly setup as a bunny wondering if the grass is greener, but Good News, Bad News by Jeff Mack tells it in just four words.
P.J. wonders if he's really a bunny; I'm a Unicorn by Helen Yoon flips it, a calf convinced by its own logic that it's definitely a unicorn.
P.J. figures out he's a bunny after all, but Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall pushes further into a label that's flat wrong from the start.
Kelp grows up sure he's a narwhal until he isn't, and Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima turns that same identity mix-up into an underwater adventure.
A forgetful house cat keeps muddling up her days — until a stranger sneaks into the family kitchen one night, and Mog's confusion turns out to matter more than anyone expected.
