Santa Claus vs. the Easter Bunny

September 1, 2019
A clash between Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny resolves itself in merry collaboration. The title should be switched: It's the Easter Bunny who plots to take down Santa Claus after feeling bitter about all of the help and thanks St. Nick receives year after year. As the text explains, the Bunny has no elf helpers and follows an exhausting three-step process to make chocolate eggs "before delivering them all by himself. (Which explains why you often find Easter eggs scattered all over your yard)." Then, in stark contrast to Santa, who receives goodies from children around the globe, including carrots for his reindeer, the Easter Bunny gets no thanks. "I LIKE CARROTS. IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR A CARROT?" he exclaims in an angry speech bubble. Grinch-like, he decides to sabotage Christmas by filling the elves' toy-making machines with chocolate: "THOSE POOR SWEET CHILDREN! WHATEVER WILL THEY DO WHEN THEIR TOYS MELT? Wooo Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha." Alas, the plan backfires. Children are delighted by their chocolate toys. "I CAN PLAY AND EAT CHOCOLATE AT THE SAME TIME!" says one child who holds a chocolate airplane. Bereft, the Easter Bunny decides to leave for good, but Santa stops him and offers a jolly partnership, complete with elf helpers--and carrots! Blunt's scratchy cartoons go big on the Bunny's maniacal grins. Hoppy Christmas to all (and a Merry Easter, too). (Picture book. 4-7)

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October 7, 2019
The Easter Bunny is like a classic small-business owner: he makes, foil-wraps, and delivers every single chocolate egg. And he despises his next-door neighbor, the corporate bigwig Santa, who delegates toy creation (“Keep it up, elves! Only two million toys to go”) and receives thanks and “tasty treats” from children around the world. Exhausted and seething (“Is it too much to ask for a carrot?”), Bunny tries to sabotage Santa’s operation by gumming up the toy-making machines with chocolate—but the resultant toys prove so popular (“Mmmmmm... chocolaty handlebars”) that Santa brings Bunny in as a partner and even lends out his elves for the Easter crunch. With giddy exaggerated cartooning and a satiric voice, Blunt skewers everything from holiday traditions to late capitalism. Ages 4–8.