Review: Easter, in brief

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Harriet Elworthy shares quickfire reviews for two new Easter publications.

First, let me admit that I came to these reviews a little begrudgingly as I’m wary of books published around marketable events in the calendar. There’s nothing inherently wrong with publishing and marketing books for Christmas, Easter, Anzac Day, Mother’s and Father’s Days and increasingly even Halloween—but how many marvellous ideas and exciting new voices do we miss out on when publishers focus on commissioning books to fill slots in the marketing calendar rather than encouraging writers and illustrators to pitch their wildest, best and most brilliant ideas?

Not all books published to mark a calendar moment are worthy of this suspicion—I know that the increasing number of picture books on Matariki are being used to great effect in classrooms around the country, helping Māori families to reclaim and reignite traditions and informing the rest of us about a holiday that’s becoming increasingly significant to all New Zealanders. I’ve leaned on and appreciated picture books about Ramadan, Eid, Lunar New Year, Holi and Diwali to educate myself and provide culturally relevant resources for tamariki at our multicultural Playcentre.

Others lack that cultural gravitas – I doubt, for example, that those for whom Easter is a spiritually significant event will find many books to reflect their beliefs amongst mainstream publishers’ offerings, which focus on bunnies, eggs and chocolate. At their worst, these themed books fill publishers lists, dominate bookshop shelves, steer teachers and parents into providing themed libraries and can limit true child-led learning in homes, ECE centres and classrooms.

With that rant off my chest, I will now turn my (fair minded, I promise!) attention to two books released in time for Easter by local creators …

Magic Jack: a ‘tru-ish story of the Easter bunny’, by Kirsty Roby, illustrated by Tania Pauling

This is a nicely produced book from sister-publishing duo Pink Van Publishing. There’s a lot packed into its pages – the action moves from a witch named Bertha enchanting her chickens to lay chocolate eggs, to the resulting dentist visit, the hen house, a ‘rickety row boat’ where the hens are cast out to sea, a magical island, an elven village, a log cabin inhabited by Jack Easter the Rabbit and, finally, to a magic cave. We don’t meet the titular character until more than half way through these busy pages and it’s only on the final page of the book that we get the ‘tru-ish story of the Easter Bunny’—and a view of said rabbit’s departing backside.

The book is illustrated lovingly by Tania Pauling, who gamely includes all the superfluous detail from the text on each page. Her depiction of Jack Easter is particularly charming and his big white paws look very pat-able. The fun story will certainly keep young readers or listeners guessing about what might happen next, but the book’s length and lack of direction didn’t endear me to the idea of repeated read-alouds. This is a book that will be treasured by its creators’ friends and whānau, but might have benefitted from some editorial tightening before being marketed to a wider audience.

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Easter Bunny Needs a New Bum, by Dawn McMillan, illustrated by Ross Kinnaird

The New Bum (or Butt, for American audiences) series are something of a local publishing phenomenon—they’ve been published all over, been the subject of great controversies in the States and great hilarity in Scotland, been turned into a board game and sold squillions of copies. I’m not, to my middle-child’s enduring disgust, a great fan of potty humour but I can certainly appreciate the joy and hilarity a bum-themed book can bring to true connoisseurs of fart-themed jokes.

These books are a well-honed formula by now; a winning combo of zany humour, twists in the tale, Ross Kinnaird’s lively illustrations, Dawn McMillan’s boisterous, rhythmic text and typographic highlights in bright colours. And if the rhythm occasionally falters (as it does in this Easter edition), there’s plenty for young audiences to be distracted by in the green-hued whiffs in the illustrations.

It would, I think, be difficult for any publisher to resist the allure of capitalising on the enduring popularity of a series by producing more easily marketable books and I’m afraid I do feel this title falls into the category I complained about in my intro. I note too that there are already Christmas and (surprisingly bum-less, perhaps for the American market?) Halloween New Bum books available.

This Easter bunny doesn’t need a new bum at all—it’s a tail he’s missing. Semantics aside, the narrative divergences in this book do feel a little like padding on repeated reading and the magical hilarity of other books in the series isn’t quite there. Ross Kinnaird and Dawn McMillan make (together and separately) some true gems in picture book format—I’m sure their next creations will see returns to form.

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Other Easter books…

To end on a less curmudgeonly note, here are two fantastic Easter-themed books and an activity book.

The Easter Bunny Hunt by Stacy Gregg and Sarah Jennings (2024)

Stacy Gregg and Sarah Jennings’ The Easter Bunny Hunt follows Cat and Dog (who readers met in 2023’s In and Out) on an increasingly riotous hunt for the Easter bunny and Cat and Dog’s missing Easter eggs. This one’s worth reading for Dog’s expressive eyebrows and impressive side-eye alone, but it’s also a good lesson in the deceptive simplicity of a great kids’ book.

The rhythm of the text is pleasing to read aloud, repeated refrains allow kids to chant along too and the lively illustrations provide engaging, delightful context (particularly Dog’s increasing consternation) to the simple text. This book overcame my cynicism and had me smiling on each re-read.

Hatch and Match by Ruth Paul (2024)

Ruth Paul’s gorgeous, colourful illustrations are the star of Hatch and Match but the spotting game, opportunities for counting, rhythm of the language (echoing chook sounds!) and the text’s subtle celebration of difference will engross readers of all ages. Originally published in a lovely hardback, a paperback version has been released this year.

The New Zealand Easter Activity Book, illustrated by Hilary Jean Tapper (2024)

This activity book is based on Sarina Dickson and Hilary Jean Tapper’s charming The Fairies Easter Egg Surprise and might be just what you need to keep the kids entertained between egg hunts and chocolate-scoffing this weekend. This is a simple take on the activity book format (the rise of which is noted here) with activities that will suit pre-school and early primary-aged children. There are simple counting activities, word searches for the more literate and tons of colouring pages. Best of all are the delightful sticker versions of Tapper’s illustrations. I may have stolen some (many) of these stickers for myself before handing these activities on to a younger reader…

I’d happily keep these titles on my shelf year round.

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