He's a boss. He's busy. He's a bunny.
Jan. 22—LUZERNE — It's not always easy being Mr. Chunkers.
In addition to his full-time gig as store mascot and "owner" of Tiny Trends, a consignment shop in Luzerne, the nearly six-year-old lionhead rabbit also leads a busy life outside of the store.
Kellie Rhiel, the sister of store owner Kayla Morcos, decided to turn the daily activities of Mr. Chunkers into a children's book, entitled "Mr. Chunkers's Busy Bunny Day," with a book launch held Saturday at Tiny Trends.
"Everybody loves Mr. Chunkers ... on some days, he's not here and people ask about what he's doing," said Rhiel, who signed copies of the book and gave out cookies with each purchase. "So this is literally a day in the life of what he's doing if he's not in the store."
The book was officially published and made available for purchase on Dec. 17 of last year through Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and Saturday marked the first time that Rhiel was able to sell copies of her book right to customers in the store.
Before the book launch's noon start time had even arrived, Rhiel was able to sell a couple of copies to customers eager to see just what Mr. Chunkers gets up to when he's not busy keeping Tiny Trends running smoothly.
"I couldn't ask for a better response," Rhiel said. "Mr. Chunkers is huge with the local bunny charities, Blue Chip shared the event ... it's so exciting."
Mr. Chunkers was sure to carve some time into his schedule to attend Saturday's book launch, spending time in his cage (above the cage hangs a sign that simply reads: "The Boss") while coming out periodically to greet his fans.
He proved to be a hit with both children and adult customers alike, several of whom have known Mr. Chunkers since he was first introduced to the store.
"I've been coming here since they first got him ... I love Mr. Chunkers," said Carol Michalek, whose daughter went to school with Morcos.
Michalek said that she bought copies of "Mr. Chunkers's Busy Bunny Day" not only for herself, but for her neighbors and for her grandson. She also spent some time browsing the store to see what she might find.
"I've been coming here and consigning here for years," Michalek said. "It's such a wonderful shop."
Each book cost $7, and each copy came signed by Rhiel and stamped with a rabbit's foot, in honor of Mr. Chunkers. Each copy also came with a free cookie, baked either in the shape of a daisy or a carrot.
Aileen Dodson, of Harveys Lake, said that she had never been to Tiny Trends, but had heard about the new book and wanted to come meet Mr. Chunkers for herself.
"I love his mane," Dodson said, referring to Mr. Chunkers's long, lion-like mane of hair.
In addition to Tiny Trends, Amazon and Barnes and Noble, Rhiel said that a copy of "Mr. Chunkers's Busy Bunny Day" is also available to borrow at the Pittston Memorial Library, with a possible Story Hour reading in the works for the upcoming Easter holiday.
Rhiel is not a writer by trade, but someone who's always had a passion for writing and saw an opportunity to use that passion to highlight her sister's store and Mr. Chunkers.
"I've always wanted to do it ... I loved writing in college and I always wanted to do a children's book," Rhiel said. "What better subject than Mr. Chunkers?"
