Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion is a children's picture book

Picture book

A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...

 by author and illustrator Mo Willems

Mo Willems

Mo Willems is an American writer, animator, and children's books author/illustrator.-Early life:Willems was raised in New Orleans, where he graduated from Trinity Episcopal School and the Isidore Newman School. He graduated cum laude from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He married...

. It was released on September 28, 2010 by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins

HarperCollins

HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...

. It is the third and final book in Willem's Knuffle Bunny series, which also includes Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale is a children's picture book by Mo Willems. Released by Hyperion Books in 2004, an illustrated version of the book won the 2005 Caldecott Honor and a Carnegie Medal in 2007. In August 2007, the sequel, Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity was published...

and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity is a children's picture book by Mo Willems. A sequel to Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, it was released on September 4, 2007 and reached the number one spot on the New York Times Bestseller List for children's books.In the book, a young girl named...

. It debuted at the number one spot on The New York Times Best Seller list. Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

 named the book one of its Top 10 Children's Picture Books of 2010. Willems was a finalist for Illustrator of the Year during 2011's Children's Book Week, sponsored by the Children's Book Council of the United States because of his efforts in illustrating this book.

Plot

Trixie and her family take a trip to visit her grandparents in Holland. She leaves her beloved stuffed toy, Knuffle Bunny, on the airplane and does not realize the toy is missing until it is too late. Knuffle Bunny is on his way to China. Trixie's family reassures her that she is getting older, so she must try to have courage. Still sad, Trixie goes to bed. She dreams of all the fantastic places Knuffle Bunny will visit and all of the fun things he will do. This brightens her mood considerably and comforts her. Soon, her vacation is over, and she gets on the airplane to fly back home. Surprisingly, it is the same plane as before, and Knuffle Bunny is waiting for her in a seat pocket. Trixie is excited until she sees a baby crying on the airplane. In a coming-of-age act of compassion, she gives Knuffle Bunny to the baby for comfort.