bookshelf

THE LEGEND OF THE EASTER EGG

Name: THE LEGEND OF THE EASTER EGG
Author: Lori Walburg
ISBN: 978-0-310-73545-8

THE INSPIRATIONAL STORY OF A FAVORITE EASTER TRADITION

by Lori Walburg ; illustrated by Richard Cowdrey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 2014

Missable.

bookshelf

Fifteen years after its original publication, this sentimental story that explains the symbolism behind Easter eggs and their role in remembering the Resurrection receives new illustrations.

The story of Thomas, who is whisked away in the middle of the night and deposited with the kindly owners of a candy store when his sister falls ill with scarlet fever, is done no favors by the new illustrations. Cowdrey’s pastel-colored illustrations harken back to an undefined, idealized past of wood (or coal) cookstoves and genuine penny candy. They are certainly cheery in palette, but the characters tend to stare out at readers with fixed, earnest expressions, and the little white dog that appears on most pages often looks downright creepy. The story is a long and disjointed one, devoting a whole spread to a hailstorm that does nothing to move the plot along and neglecting to explain to readers the reasons for Thomas’ exile (the notion of quarantine is never discussed). Children will naturally wonder why Thomas’ parents never come to visit him at the candy shop, and Cowdrey does nothing in the illustrations to fill this or other narrative gaps. They will also likely grow impatient before the connection between Easter eggs and the Easter story is explained. The layout, which crams the text into thin columns on the far edges of most double-page spreads, does little to help the pacing.

Missable. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-310-73545-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Zonderkidz

Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

bookshelf

CHICKA CHICKA HO HO HO

From the Chicka Chicka Book series

by William Boniface ; illustrated by Julien Chung ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2024

A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.

bookshelf

A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.

The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.

A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024

ISBN: 9781665954761

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

bookshelf

HAPPY EASTER FROM THE CRAYONS

by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 7, 2023

Let these crayons go back into their box.

bookshelf

The Crayons return to celebrate Easter.

Six crayons (Red, Orange, Yellow, Esteban, who is green and wears a yellow cape, White, and Blue) each take a shape and scribble designs on it. Purple, perplexed and almost angry, keeps asking why no one is creating an egg, but the six friends have a great idea. They take the circle decorated with red shapes, the square adorned with orange squiggles “the color of the sun,” the triangle with yellow designs, also “the color of the sun” (a bit repetitious), a rectangle with green wavy lines, a white star, about which Purple remarks: “DID you even color it?” and a rhombus covered with blue markings and slap the shapes onto a big, light-brown egg. Then the conversation turns to hiding the large object in plain sight. The joke doesn’t really work, the shapes are not clear enough for a concept book, and though colors are delineated, it’s not a very original color book. There’s a bit of clever repartee. When Purple observe that Esteban’s green rectangle isn’t an egg, Esteban responds, “No, but MY GOSH LOOK how magnificent it is!” Still, that won’t save this lackluster book, which barely scratches the surface of Easter, whether secular or religious. The multimedia illustrations, done in the same style as the other series entries, are always fun, but perhaps it’s time to retire these anthropomorphic coloring implements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Let these crayons go back into their box. (Picture book. 3-5)