The Easter Egg

Starred review from February 1, 2010
Brett's finely detailed watercolor and gouache art is a showstopper, spotlighting lifelike—though nattily clad—rabbits decorating eggs in hopes of winning the role of the Easter Rabbit's helper. Hoppi is awed by bunnies' creations, which include an ornate chocolate egg and a “whirling, twirling mechanical egg.” But when an egg tumbles out of a robin's nest, he keeps it safe until the baby bird hatches. Borders of twigs, pussy willows, daffodils, and ferns add greatly to the warm, visually sumptuous setting of this gentle spring story. Ages 3–5.

March 1, 2010
K-Gr 2-A bunny hopes he will win the Easter egg decorating contest and thus gain the honor of helping the Easter Rabbit hide the eggs on Easter morning. The other rabbits in his neighborhood are busy working on their entries, each one more dazzling than the last, and Hoppi needs an inspiration. At last, he decides that the most important thing is to make something he will be proud of. He hops off into the woods, where he finds a robin's fallen egg. The bunny generously offers to guard it while the mother tends to the eggs remaining in her nest. On the contest day, the Easter Rabbit commends the crowd of rabbits for their beautiful creations, but then says "a very special one is not here." He hurries off into the woods to bring Hoppi back to the glen, where he reveals that Hoppi has won the contest for his heroic efforts in protecting the egg. Brett's elegant watercolor and gouache illustrations enhance this sweet story. Adorned with wreaths of flowers and decorative borders, the paintings bring to mind the romance of Victorian greeting cards. Each character is depicted as a distinctive breed of rabbit. The lovely pastel shades and lush pastoral details in the illustrations celebrate the beauty of spring. This book could be paired with Michael Garland's "The Great Easter Egg Hunt" (Dutton 2005)."Linda L. Walkins, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MA"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2009
Preschool-K Hoppi, a small but industrious bunny, takes a tour of the woods and sees how other rabbits are preparing fancily decorated eggs in the hopes of being chosen to assist the official Easter Rabbit. He collects ideas, tools, and accoutrements from the artisticand obviously olderbunnies, including flowers, paints, wood to carve, and chocolate. As soon as he decides that he will need to limit his own production to match his capabilities, he suddenly becomes the foster parent to a fallen robins egg. Bretts large watercolors include a few visual puns (one rabbit is painting a silhouette of Lewis Carrolls March Hare on an egg, for instance) and lots of woodland detail. The story of the robins and their fallen egg unfolds in the top border of the page spreads. A satisfying, gentle tale whose text and images can be enjoyed multiple times over.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2010
Hoppi the bunny hopes to win the egg-decorating contest and assist the Easter Rabbit on Easter. But Mother Robin's egg falls out of her nest, so Hoppi sacrifices his dream to rescue and protect it. It's Hoppi's act of kindness, however, that earns him the honor of helping the Easter Rabbit. Brett's saccharine text is well matched by her meticulous, almost overwhelming illustrations.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)