Bunny Builds A Home

"Join Bunny, an Eastern Cottontail Rabbit on a quest through the Enchanted Forest to prepare for wintertime. Meet different woodland animals along the way who help Bunny prepare a warm cozy burrow for a long winter's rest. Bunny A Builds A Home teaches readers about habitats, hibernation, and the importance of sharing. All photography for Bunny Builds A Home was taken in Bergen County, New Jersey, by author Jillian Henthorn."

"Jillian Henthorn is a writer and educator who has worked with children for over a decade in a variety of settings. She enjoys photographing wildlife and landscapes as inspiration for her writing."

Bunny Builds A Home is my first children's book, inspired by my love of literature and photography, The process of writing this book was really unique as I was obsessed with a piece of art my former students created. My idea for the book was originally built more around a similar concept to the art piece (see photo below), but truthfully it did not feel natural. I explored different mediums, such as sketching, and taught myself Procreate, before I finally found the right fit for me!

Using my photography provides me with artistic control that I am confident and familiar with. I greatly enjoy the process of taking photos, being that it's usually hiking, and exploring nature during the "photoshoots". For Bunny Builds A Home, I wouldn't call it a photo shoot as much as shifting through hundreds (dare I say thousands) of photos I had already taken over the last few years while working at the Tenafly Nature Center, Tenafly, New Jersey. Photos of the burrow were taken at the Van Saun Park Bergen County Zoo, in Paramus, New Jersey.

As an environmental educator, I wanted to provide something more with my books. So I created, lesson plans for Bunny Builds A Home, in addition to, the introduction of new vocabulary words. Lesson plans are available below.