The Terrible Plop

The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky
Illustrated by Andrew Joyner
2009

      Six little rabbits are enjoying a picnic by the lake.  The wind blows softly and "suddenly comes a terrible PLOP!"   The rabbits jump up and shout to each other "Run! Don't stop! We must get away from the Terrible PLOP!"  On their way they manage to create a chain reaction, where a fox, a monkey, an elephant, a cat, a pig, even a tiger and a bat, all start running away from the "Terrible PLOP."  They keep going until they reach the big brown bear who doesn't understand what the big deal is: "The Terrible PLOP? What do I care about a silly old PLOP?"  Upset that other animals think the Terrible PLOP is stronger than him, the brown bear grabs the littlest rabbit with his claws and threatens to eat him if the rabbit doesn't show him where to find the Terrible PLOP.
     The rabbit and the bear make their way to the lake.  An apple tree stands tall by the lake and the wind makes one of it's red apples swing in the sky.  While the bear looks around, the rabbit stands still and notices the apple falling to the lake and making a "Terrible PLOP!" sound.  And just like that, the bear runs to the forest and the littlest rabbit smiles and enjoys the rest of the picnic alone.
     The Terrible Plop is a lovely tale to show kids that some things in life are not as scary as they might seem.  It's funny and its illustration are very entertaining (I especially loved the littlest rabbit's face as he discovers the source of the Terrible PLOP!).  It's written in rhyme and it flows very well making it a delightful read aloud.