by Moe Zilla

Created on: May 01, 2010

Jan Brett just released a new illustrated children's book for Easter! Hoppi the rabbit knows that whoever decorates the best egg gets to help the Easter Bunny hiding his eggs on Easter morning. ("Hoppi had been dreaming about being that bunny all year long…") He strolls through Rabbit Town, and sees all the spectacular creations of the other bunnies. He hopes to create a spectacular egg of his own, though instead "The Easter Egg" ends with a sweet surprise.

But the real appeal of a Jan Brett book is her detailed illustrations.  She draws the bunnies realistically, adding warm smiles on their faces. Then she frames these intriguing drawings with colorful springtime flowers, and she adds glimpses of the other rabbits at work in the margins, like the pictures in a cameo locket. These "bonus" drawings add even more festive colors to the book, since every rabbit is shown fussing over their own colorful egg.

60-year-old Jan Brett has been writing and illustrating children's books for nearly 30 years, so she knows how to fill a book with bright surprises. One of the pages even folds out to reveal a three-page illustration showing the arrival of the Easter Bunny's spectacular egg-covered wagon! All the rabbits wear colorful clothes, and they live in sunny fields with leafy trees. And she makes sure her book is filled with lots of animals, giving each character a funny name.  (There's Flora Bunny, Buster Birch, Aunt Sassyfrass, Granny Ireney, Hans Vanderabbit…)

Roberto the bunny even makes a mechanical robot egg - but Hoppi learns there's more important things in life. "I guess I don't have to win," he thinks to himself in the woods. "I just want to make an egg I am proud of." Ultimately he won't even enter the contest, since he's busy helping Mother Robin, who's lost a blue egg from her nest. The Easter Bunny is so impressed by Hoppi's devotion, he declares the shells of the robin's blue egg - after the baby robin hatches - the most special egg of all.

"It's our best Easter ever," all the bunnies shout…

I always enjoy Jan Brett's book, but there's always something special about her holiday stories. Brett began her career illustrating two holiday-themed book for author Eve Bunting - often incorporating animals. (After working with Bunting on "The Valentine's Day Bears" and "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning," the two also collaborated on "The Mother's Day Mice.")  Brett discovered her style worked well for Christmas stories, and eventually wrote and illustrated "The Wild Christmas Reindeer" and "Christmas Trolls."

But it was 2010 before she finally created a book about Easter!

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