Rabbits, Chicks and the Easter Cat, oh my!

Spring and Easter are here, and it's time to look at some books just right for the season. And what could be more apropos than rabbits, chicks, and the Easter...Cat?

Too Many Carrots written and illustrated by Katy Hudson

Capstone YR, 2016, 32 pages, age 4+

Are there times when you think you can never have enough of something you really love? Well, that's what Rabbit thinks about carrots. Every chance he gets, he collects carrots, so many that soon there is no more room for him to live in his own burrow. What to do? Why, turn to friends, of course. First, Rabbit tries bunking with Tortoise, but soon, it too is overrun with too many of Rabbit's carrots.
So, Rabbit and Tortoise decide to see if they can spend the night with Bird in his nest in a tree branch. Except Bird, Tortoise, Rabbit and a supply of too many carrots make the nest too heavy for the branch, and down they go, carrots and all.
Luckily, Squirrel invites Bird, Tortoise, and Rabbit to stay the night with him, but as soon as Rabbit fills Squirrel's tree house with too many carrots, Squirrel's tree bursts open.
Next, Squirrel, Bird, Tortoise and Rabbit visit Beaver, who thinks he has plenty of space for putting his friends up for the night. And he does, until Rabbit adds his carrots into the mix. Sure enough, Beaver's house collapses under all the carrot weight.
Where will they all sleep now? When Rabbit realizes his friends are cold, tire and homeless, can he come up with a solution to everyone's problem (that he caused in the first place).
The consequences of selfish behavior and not sharing things with friends while asking those same friends for help you is explored through Rabbit's behavior. And Rabbit does have a lesson to learn about the important of friends over things, which he fortunately does learn in the end. The brightly colored illustrations add to the humor of the story.

Egg written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes

Greenwillow Books, 2017, 40 pages, age 4+

Four eggs - a pink egg, a yellow egg, a blue egg, and a green egg - are all ready to crack. Out of the pink egg comes a pink chick, out of the yellow egg comes a yellow chick, out of the blue egg comes a blue chick, out of the green egg comes...nothing yet. The pink, yellow and blue chicks wait and listen to the green egg, then they peck and peck and peck at it until finally a crack appears. What a surprise when a green alligator pops out of the green egg. The chicks are pretty surprised and scared, while the alligator feels alone, lonely and sad when the chicks fly away. But wait, the chicks are coming back, and in no time, they are all friends and everyone is happy. Wait, is that the sun or an orange egg on the last page?

This sparsely worded picture book manages to say so much about the importance and the acceptance of differences within family through color, expression and one word at a time. The images are line drawings filled in with watercolor done in a springtime palette of pastels with each buff colored page framed in brown ink. The pages are divided, sometime with one image per page, other times with four sections containing one image each, and there are two pages divided into 16 squares each to reflect the idea of lengthy listening and waiting. This is a lovely thought-provoking, conversation generating book, perfect for spring reading.

Here Comes the Easter Cat written by Deborah Underwood,

illustrated by Claudia Rueda

Dial BFYR, 2014, 80 pages, age 4+

When Cat sees that the Easter Bunny is returning, he has trouble controlling his jealousy. After all, everyone loves the Easter Bunny, he brings them chocolate eggs every year. When an unseen narrator suggests that he become the Easter Cat, there are some logistics to work out - like how will Cat get around, and what will he wear, and most important what will kind of chocolate will he give out. How about chocolate bunnies, a motorcycle and a sparkly vest? But, just a Cat is ready to roll, it's time for nap number 8. When he finds out that the Easter Bunny gets really tired delivering all those chocolate eggs, Cat suggests he take a nap, too. Wait, here comes the Easter Bunny with an egg for Cat and, boy, he does look tired. Can Cat help out the Easter Bunny and still be the Easter Cat?

I am violently allergic to cats, but I just love them so much. And I particularly love Cat. Not only does he make me laugh, but Cat has just the right amount of naughtiness to make him very appealing and young readers will easily see that deep down Cat is really a pretty nice guy. Although, he can be such a bundle of conflicting emotions, all Cat wants is to be loved as much as his (perceived) rival - the Easter Bunny. And he has just enough ego to think he can do his job better...until his catness gets in his way. 

This is such a fun, light-hearted story, that kids will want to read it over and over long past Easter. And they will probably really like the ending which reveals Cat's next plan for worldly love and recognition. Cat is a charming marmalade cat and Rueda has illustrated Cat's tale using ink and color pencil illustrations that are sparse, with lots of white space on each page. Much of what we learn about Cat comes from his expressive countenance and his body language, captured brilliantly by the artist. Oh, yes, and the signs he holds up in lieu of speaking.

Do you have a favorite springtime book?

Spring, where are you? A Springtime Round-Up

Remember when Punxsutawney Phil came out of his groundhog home and didn't see his shadow last February 2nd, and we all rejoiced at the thought of an early spring?  Well, here on the east coast, spring did come early - for a few days, anyway, then it left and still hasn't returned.  

To compensate, to read and to remember, here are some of our favorite books to remind us, you and all young readers about the joys of spring, as we wait for its return.

An old favorite:

And then it's spring by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin E. Stead

Roaring Brook Press, 2012, 32 pages, Age 4+

A young boy and his dog patiently wait and watch as winter winds down, and spring begins to slowly arrive.  Then, there comes the day when they can begin to plant there seeds in the ground; waiting in sun and rain for the seeds to sprout and the ground to change from brown to green.  As birds, bears and other animal wake up or return from their winter homes, the young boy and his dog tend to their plantings.  Soon the brown ground is lush green, with lovely growing flowers and vegetables, as the boy and dog enjoy the warm weather.  Young readers will see that patience, work, worry, and waiting will yield something wonderful.  The block-print and pencil illustrations done in changing earth and sky hues add to the wonderfulness that is this charming story.

A new favorite:

When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek

Greenwillow Books, 2016, 40 pages, Age 4+

Waiting is also the central theme in this lovely book - if you wait, spring will come (hopefully).  And, indeed, it does - little by little, snow melts, trees leave and blossom, the grass greens, an egg becomes a baby bird.  And it rains, and rains - "Do you like puddles?  I hope you like umbrellas."  A variation of the above book (and they complement each other so nicely), yet a springtime story all its own, with brightly colored happy acrylic  illustrations of kids, animals, and profuse flowers that will make your kids want to jump right into the images.  

Birds:

Every Day Birds by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, illustrated by

Dylan Metrano

Orchard Books, 2016, 32 pages, Age 3+

Kids always seem to be fascinated by birds, so why not introduce them to 20 of the most familiar birds they may have a chance of spotting in the yard or park.  Each bird has it own page and one line of the book's rhyme, so that page by page, young readers learn an interesting fact about the different birds: Chickadee wears a wee black cap/Jay is loud and bold/Nuthatch perches upside-down/Finch is clothed in gold."  The paper-cut illustrations are clear and simple, making each bird easily identifiable to kids.  The entire poem is reproduced at the end of the book, along with more information about each bird next to a thumbnail of it.  Using Every Day Birds as a reference, grab some binoculars  and take the kids out birding for some spring and summer fun.

and Bugs:

Stories from Bug Garden by Lisa Moser, illustrated by Gwen Millward

Candlewick, 2016, 32 pages, Age 4+

Slowly, but surely, in an old abandoned garden, insects begin to move in and make it their home.  But these anthropomorphic bugs are not the usual ilk.  Told in 13 humorous free verse poems, there is the ladybug who likes to make mud angels, the horsefly who thinks it is a real horse,  and a bee who wants to "just be." One of my favorites is the day the insects gather together for a spectacular show of color - pink, blue, yellow, orange.  Fireworks?  Nope, it is the day the flowers bloom.  The whimsical ink and watercolor illustrations are done in soft springtime colors, giving the reader an insect view of the world around them.  There is lots here to talk about and spur a child's imagination about the world of nature.

Has spring arrived where you live?  What are your favorite springtime books?