Marlon Bundo's A Day in the Life of the Vice President

Marlon Bundo's A Day in the Life of the Vice President is a 2018 children's book by Charlotte Pence as author and Karen Pence as illustrator. It details a fictional day in the life of Marlon Bundo, pet rabbit of Vice President of the United States Mike Pence, father of Charlotte and husband of Karen. It received lukewarm reviews from professional critics, who praised the illustrations but found fault with the prose.

This article is about the children's book by Charlotte Pence and Karen Pence. For the book that satirizes it, see A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo.

Marlon Bundo's A Day in the Life of the Vice President
AuthorCharlotte Pence
IllustratorKaren Pence
Cover artistKaren Pence
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's literature
Set inNumber One Observatory Circle
PublisherRegnery Kids
Publication date
March 19, 2018
Pages40
ISBN978-1621577768

Concept

The book is an educational story explaining to children what the job of Vice President of the United States entails as seen through the eyes of the Pence family pet rabbit Marlon Bundo. The book was announced on the Instagram account dedicated to Marlon Bundo on September 15, 2017.[1] Second Lady Karen Pence, a former teacher and a watercolor artist, painted the book's illustrations over a period of about four months.[2] The book was released on March 19, 2018, by the children's arm of Regnery Publishing, a conservative book publisher.[3] A book tour stopped at military bases, the Nixon and Reagan presidential libraries, and the conservative nonprofit organization Focus on the Family.[4][5]

Proceeds from the book's sales were to be donated to Tracy's Kids – an art therapy program Karen Pence brought to the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis – and The A21 Campaign, a nonprofit organization working to end human trafficking.[6][7] Two of Karen Pence's original watercolors for the book illustrations were also auctioned to raise money for Tracy's Kids.[8]

The rabbit
Main article: Marlon Bundo
Marlon Bundo, the Pence family's pet rabbit

Charlotte Pence acquired the rabbit that became the book's lead character when she was a film school student at Chicago's DePaul University in 2013. The rabbit was later named Marlon Bundo after the seller asked Pence to make an offer on the rabbit. This was taken as a reference to Marlon Brando's Don Vito Corleone saying "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." in the 1972 film The Godfather. Pence featured the rabbit in a short film project and then kept him as a family pet. He is said to be well-behaved and is the first rabbit to have flown on Air Force Two, when the Pences moved to Washington, D.C. The Pences planned to take Marlon Bundo on the book's press tour.[9]

Plot

The story details the experiences of Marlon Bundo, the Pence family pet rabbit and BOTUS (Bunny of the United States), as he follows Grampa (vice president Mike Pence) around for a day.[6][10] Included are visits to the Oval Office, the Senate, the vice president's office, and the telescope at their home at the Naval Observatory.[2] At the end of the day, Marlon joins the vice president in reading the Bible and praying before bed.[11]

Reception

Commercial performance

One week after the book's launch date, Regnery Publishing reported that Marlon Bundo's A Day in the Life of the Vice President was in its third printing, totaling more than 100,000 copies.[12] Publisher's Weekly estimated the book had sold 26,000 copies as of May 11, 2018.[13]

Critical reception

On its launch date, a number of one-star reviews with negative comments were left on the book's Amazon page by non-buyers who favored the parody book, A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo. Later that day, it was no longer possible to review the Pences' book without purchasing it and one-star ratings from non-buyers had been removed.[14][15]

Kirkus Reviews called the book's illustrations "competent", the author's verse "execrable" and the publication as a whole "[a]nodyne at best", noting the absence of 'people of color' throughout the book and giving it a "skip it" rating.[16][17] Similarly, Susie Wilde of The News & Observer praised the illustrations and criticized the writing, "Pence shows her skill at realistic watercolors and captures the cuteness factor of the real BOTUS.... The book fails when it comes to the text, though."[18] Esquire mentioned the strained verse as well and called the book mediocre.[19] Katy Waldman in The New Yorker also criticized the book's verse as "mostly embarrassing."[20]

Parody
Main article: A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo

Charlotte Pence's book and Mike Pence's staunch opposition to same-sex marriage inspired Last Week Tonight with John Oliver writer Jill Twiss to author A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo. The story details the same-sex romance of rabbits Marlon Bundo and Wesley, who face opposition from a stink bug who is against same-sex marriage.[21] A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo is billed as an actual children's story about marriage equality and democracy, rather than as a straight-up parody of Charlotte Pence's book, yet it includes some "definite digs"[22] at the vice president.[10][23][24]

Charlotte Pence supported A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, posting on Twitter a picture of herself and the real-life Marlon Bundo wearing a bow tie identical to the one in Jill Twiss' book, and saying on Mornings with Maria: "His book is contributing to charities that I think we can all get behind... I'm all for it."[25][26] The official Marlon Bundo Instagram account also referred to Twiss' book in a positive light, stating "Not gonna lie, I do look pretty fly in a bow tie. The only thing better than one bunny book for charity is...TWO bunny books for charity."[27] The Twiss book's profits were also given to charities, namely The Trevor Project and AIDS United.[28]

Conversely, Regnery Publishing initially criticized the release of A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, saying that it was "unfortunate that anyone would feel the need to ridicule an educational children's book and turn it into something controversial and partisan."[3][29] When the success of both books became apparent, Regnery complimented John Oliver and Chronicle Books for their sales figures, adding: "There's plenty to go around for everyone and, like Charlotte [Pence] said, we can all be happy the proceeds are going to a good cause."[12]

References
  1. Landsbaum, Claire (September 15, 2017). "So, Mike Pence's Pet Rabbit Has a Book Deal Now". The Cut. New York Media. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  2. Groppe, Maureen (March 16, 2018). "A day in the life of Vice President Pence — through the book of his rabbit, Marlon Bundo". USA Today. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  3. Fields, Samantha (March 19, 2018). "What's Up, Pence? Second Family's Rabbit Makes Children's Book Debut". NPR. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  4. Arnold, Amanda (March 1, 2018). "Mother and Daughter Going on Tour for Children's Book". The Cut. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  5. Worthington, Danika (March 26, 2018). "Q&A: Mike Pence's daughter is not mad John Oliver wrote a competing Marlon Bundo book. In fact, she bought a copy". Denver Post. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  6. Roberts, Roxanne (March 14, 2018). "He's Bunny of the United States. And now he's the hero of a children's book, too". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  7. Stark, Liz; Faulders, Katherine (August 12, 2016). "How Indiana First Lady Karen Pence Came to Champion the Healing Power of the Arts". ABC News. Retrieved March 23, 2018. she single-handedly brought art therapy to Riley Children Hospital in Indianapolis
  8. Milliken, Kaitlin (February 28, 2018). "Karen Pence donates paintings for charity auction". The Hill. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  9. Schoenberg, Mara (March 14, 2018). "Charlotte Pence talks about Marlon Bundo: The vice presidential bunny (a Chicago native) with a book deal". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  10. Klein, Betsy (September 15, 2017). "Vice president's pet rabbit hops into book deal". CNN. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  11. "Karen and Charlotte Pence on Vice President's Faith, Creating Marlon Bundo's First Book (Interview)". The Christian Post. March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  12. "Sales multiply for Pence and Oliver rabbit books". chicagotribune.com. March 28, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  13. Segura, Jonathan. "This Week's Bestsellers: May 14, 2018". Publisher's Weekly. Publisher's Weekly. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  14. Ha, Thu-Huong. "A John Oliver spoof of the Pence family's new children's book is an instant Amazon bestseller". Quartz. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  15. Cain, Sian (March 20, 2018). "Vice-president Mike Pence disappears down the rabbit hole". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  16. "Critics' Takes on Bestsellers". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  17. "Marlon Bundo's Day in the Life of the Vice President by Charlotte Pence, Karen Pence". Kirkus Reviews. March 20, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  18. Wilde, Susie (April 1, 2017). "A tale of 2 books about the VP's bunny: one from John Oliver, the other Pence's family". News Observer. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  19. Pachelli, Nick (March 26, 2018). "John Oliver's 'Marlon Bundo' Book Isn't Just Great Trolling—It's a 40-Page Triumph". Esquire. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  20. Waldman, Katy (March 23, 2018). "John Oliver's Parody of Mike Pence's Bunny Book Happens to Be a Delightful Work of Children's Lit". The New Yorker. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  21. Perkins, Dennis (March 19, 2018). "John Oliver hijacks homophobe Mike Pence's bunny book with a better one in A Day In The Life Of Marlon Bundo". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  22. Schick, Martha (March 19, 2018). "John Oliver takes on Vice President Mike Pence — and his pet rabbit, Marlon Bundo". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  23. Mazza, Ed (March 19, 2018). "John Oliver Wants Your Help Telling Mike Pence To 'Go F**k Himself'". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  24. Rosen, Christopher (March 19, 2018). "John Oliver's gay bunny 'Marlon Bundo' book is now No. 1 on Amazon". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  25. Moos, Jeanne (March 19, 2018). John Oliver trolls Pence with a gay bunny book. CNN. Retrieved March 20, 2018 – via YouTube.
  26. Bartiromo, Maria (March 20, 2018). A day in the life of Vice President Mike Pence. Fox Business Network. Retrieved March 20, 2018 – via YouTube.
  27. Purdom, Clayton (March 20, 2018). "John Oliver's bunny book is handily outselling the Pence bunny book". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  28. Busis, Hillary (March 20, 2018). "John Oliver's Gay-Bunny Book Is Outselling the Mike Pence Book It's Trolling". Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  29. Klein, Betsy (March 19, 2018). "John Oliver is trolling Pence with a book about a gay bunny". CNN. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
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