Always save room in the Easter basket for a new book! You
can squeeze in some of these stories between the yellow peeps and chocolate
rabbit. The book doesn’t fit? Well then it’s time to get a bigger basket!
Little Bunny
by
Lisa McCue
Random House, 1992
A
bunchy, frolicsome bunny explores his habitat on his way home to snuggle in his
burrow with his family. With happy illustrations and a simple plot, this board
book is a sweet Easter bedtime story for the two to five-year-old child.
10 Hungry Rabbits:
Counting and Color Concepts
by Anita Lobel
Knopf, 2012
By identifying
the colors, vegetables and numbers on each page, the pre-reader can enjoy
“reading” this lovely little book all by himself. It features bright gouache
and watercolor illustrations of young rabbits gathering vegetables to help Mama
and Papa make a big pot of soup.
10 Easter Egg Hunters
by Janet Schulman
Knopf, 2011
With wide, round eyes and toothy grins, the
cute children in this board book are searching for Easter eggs all over the
house and garden. Can you find them, as well? There are funny details to
discover in each drawing. This rhythmic book makes counting fun.
The Bunny
Night-Light: A Glow-in-the-Dark Search
by Geoffrey Hayes
Random House,
2012
The story isn’t spectacular but it is sweet and little ones will want to
read it time and again just to see the luminous bits in each cozy
illustration. Over the years, I’ve had my own experiences with weak glow-in-the-dark
books where the child and I had to get uncomfortable in the bathroom, hold the
book directly up to the bright lights and count to thirty before plunging
ourselves into near total darkness in order to see the glow-y parts. But this
little book glimmers cheerfully with just a pass of a flashlight in a
semi-darkened bedroom.
The Lorax Pop-up!
by Dr. Seuss, pop-ups by David A. Carter
Robin Corey Books, 2012
Oh what fun to see Dr. Seuss’ weird and
wonderful drawings actually pop off the page! Thankfully, this is not a movie
version, but the original Lorax story. You’ve really got to open the book wide
and flat to get the pop-ups completely upright so you can see all of the
details. Luckily, it stands up to lots of reading and tugging. Only the spread
with the biggered Thneeds factory requires a little finesse to refold.
A delightful new way to read the classic story, this book adds a new dimension to “The Lorax,” and it comes out a winner.
Mr. And Mrs. Bunny –
Detectives Extraordinaire!
by Polly Horvath
Schwartz & Wade Books,
2012
A bizarre, yet oddly satisfying story for middle readers and up, this
book tells the tale of a girl named Madeline whose parents are kidnapped by
foxes and who goes in search of them with the help of a pair of bunnies who
have recently purchased fedora hats and therefore are obviously detectives.
Horvath writes in a style that is like a swirling combination
of Lemony Snicket and Beatrix Potter.
It is kooky and funny, yet rather sophisticated in the details.
Madeline’s favorite book is “Pride and Prejudice,” for instance, and in a
terrific scene, her parents, Mildred and Flo, use a lot of silly French and
German phrases while trying to learn to speak fox. Some readers may not have
any frame of reference for the stereotypical hippie-speak of Madeline’s folks,
but it shouldn’t keep them from enjoying this quirky little novel.
CLASSIC CHOICE
The Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams
first published in 1922
No child should have to grow up ignorant of this extraordinary
story. In it, a boy receives a splendid stuffed rabbit in his Christmas
stocking and the two become inseparable companions - playing in the garden and
making burrows in the boy’s bed sheets - and all the while, the bunny grows threadbare
and shabby as the boy’s love for him grows.
But all that love has made the rabbit real to the boy, and,
“when you are Real shabbiness doesn’t matter.”
This is a love story of the purest kind. It is also a coming-of-age
story and a beautiful Christian allegory. It’s a story that fascinates children
with its nursery magic and brings adults to tears.
There are a number of fine editions of this classic tale. My
children are especially fond of the Children’s Classic Edition illustrated by
Don Daily (Courage Books, 1997) because it is beautifully illustrated and its
extra-large size encourages readers to lose themselves in the story.
M.D. Clark’s family can
never get enough of either books or candy. Enjoying both at the same time is
heavenly!
