If Animals Celebrated Easter

Toddler-K–Animals large and small hurriedly prepare for this year’s Easter celebration at the farm. After a busy day of weaving baskets and dip-dyeing eggs, each barnyard family settles in on Easter eve for one more sleep before Rabbit’s treat-laden visit. After waking and enjoying Rabbit’s tasty gifts, from jelly bean kibble for Puppy to candied grass for Lamb, the animals of the farm gather at Rabbit’s den to say their thanks for the wonderful day. With this title’s inclusion of literacy skill-supporting devices of rhyming, concept recognition, animal sounds, and vocabulary, it has all of the right ingredients for a winning holiday picture book. Despite these strengths, the combination of text and illustration feels a little stale, and the hazy, pastel aesthetic of the artwork looks dated.