Here's a thought. Why not tuck a book or two into your child's Easter basket this year? I'm not suggesting doing away with the chocolate or the yellow peeps - I just think that it could be nice to add in books, too. What I really think is that children should be given books for all conceivable occasions, and sometimes for no occasion at all.
Mheir and I give books to our nieces for birthdays and Christmas, and at other times when we're just visiting. When our friends and relatives have kids, we always send books. When we're invited to someone's house, if we can, we bring along books for the kids. We believe that no child can have too many books, and that milestones large and small should, in part, be celebrated with books (and with other things, too, of course).
So, why not Easter? If you're making up an Easter basket for a child or grandchild or niece or nephew, how about adding a book? It could be a book about Easter, or about rabbits, or about chocolate, or about spring. Or about anything else that you think is interesting. Here are a few suggestions:
For the pre-school set:
- DIANNA ASTON and SYLVIA LONG (illus): An Egg Is Quiet
. You can find a review of this book from the April 9th San Jose Mercury News here.
- SAMANTHA BERGER, PAMELA CHANKO, MELISSA SWEET (illus): It's Spring
- KAREN CAPUCILLI: The Jelly Bean Fun Book. A counting and colors book that uses jellybeans.
- NATHASHA WING: The Night Before Easter
.
- MICHELLE KNUDSEN and SALINA YOON (illus): Happy Easter!
- There are many, many more books for pre-schoolers about Easter and about spring.
And, for older kids:
- ROALD DAHL: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
. Always a favorite!
- ROBERT CORMIER: The Chocolate War. A classic for young adults.
- RICK RIORDAN: Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters - Book Two
. OK, not even a little bit related to Easter, as far as I know, but it just came out. Any middle grade kid would be thrilled to have it. See my review of the first book in the series here.
- DEBORAH UNDERWOOD: The Easter Island Statues (Wonders of the World)
.
Happy Easter, and Happy Reading!
