Wow did my students love this book!  It’s a lot of fun, and the illustrations by Scott Magoon are great.

“Big Mean Mike was the biggest, toughest dog in the whole neighborhood.”  He has the meanest looking car and really mean looking combat boots.  When he opens his trunk to put in a package, there is a bunny – a really, really cute little bunny.  Nothing is less big and mean than a really, really cute bunny.  Big Mean Mike, puts it on the ground and drives away.  The next day, the cute bunny is back with a friend.  Big Mean Mike again leaves the bunnies on the sidewalk and drives away.  This continues until the day that Big Mean Mike goes to the monster truck show.  He then finds four really adorable bunnies under the driver’s seat of the car.  He leaves them in the car to go into the truck show, but then just can’t leave those incredibly cute bunnies in the car.  So, he sneaks them into the monster truck show.  Eventually, he can’t resist their cuteness and lets them out of their bag to watch the show.  As you might suspect, the other dogs tease him when they seem Big Mean Mike with four little bunnies.  This is the best part of the book… The bunnies growl back at the dogs that are teasing Big Mean Mike.  Then, Big Mean Mike tells those dogs that he can be friends with whomever he wants.

This book is so great.  I love the Big Mean Mike has a soft side and that he’ll stick up for himself when he does something that other dogs would be afraid to do.  Go Big Mean Mike!  Go Bunnies!