Yesterday was Children’s Book Day and since Easter is next weekend, I thought I would share some of my favourite Easter picture books for kids.
Good Night Moon is Margaret Wise Brown’s most well-known children’s book. But I can also highly recommend her Golden Egg Book illustrated by Leonard Weisgard and first published in 1947. It was always a huge hit with the kindergarten and grade one students I taught early in my career as an educator.
In the delightful story, a bunny finds an egg and tries to imagine what could be inside it.
Eventually, he falls asleep beside the egg and when he wakes up……. is he ever surprised!
You can tell from how worn this book is that it has been well-read and well-loved over the years. The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes was first published in 1939 long before equality for women was considered important. In that regard, it was a story way ahead of its time.
The leader of all the Easter bunnies has always selected a team of young male bunnies to make egg deliveries to children around the world but this time he also picks a female bunny who is a mother to join the team.
Everyone is surprised and perhaps somewhat sceptical.
But that mother bunny proves not only her swiftness but her kindness, wisdom and bravery when she is called upon to make the most dangerous and difficult Easter egg delivery of them all.
I first heard The Velveteen Rabbit story by Margery Williams recited from memory by one of the speakers at a reading conference I went to in North Dakota in 1980. I’ve been in love with the story ever since.
A toy rabbit is loved into being real by a little boy who won’t go anywhere without his rabbit.
But when the rabbit is thrown away for fear it is infected with scarlet fever germs the bunny worries about his future. Can he still be real?
The Velveteen Rabbit was written in 1922 and is layered with meaning. The more you read it the more you think of new life applications.
But for the hundreds of children, who’ve listened to me read this book, it is the actual story itself that charms them and draws them in.
Bunny Trouble was published in 1987. It contains a timeless story about a bunny who loves soccer more than anything else.
His love of the sport interferes with his assigned Easter egg decorating duties and gets him into lots of trouble.
I’ve called this post Easter Classics because these books were published between thirty-six to a hundred years ago. But……..they are all still readily available for purchase. That certainly speaks to their time-tested appeal.
Of course, I’d encourage you to buy the books but they are also all available online as read-alouds you can watch and listen to.
I’m looking forward to sharing these books with my Winnipeg granddaughter when she comes over for Easter Sunday dinner. My grandchildren in Saskatoon have received these books in their Easter baskets in the past.
Happy reading and happy Easter!
Other posts………..
Books About Death For Children
Show Us Where You Live Humpback
A Modern Day Charlotte’s Web
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