Spring hosts several holidays--- Purim, Easter and Passover and there are a multitude of excellent books to hearld in these family holidays.Spring also marks the coming of the Easter Bunny and there are several books that help a very young child become part of the celebration. Even a baby can be introduced to Easter with Tomie dePaola's My First Easter. Traditions of egg dying, Easter bonnets, and even the spring birth of baby animals are colorfully portrayed and simply told in this board book. Ages 1-3. (Putnam, 1990) Mr. dePaola has written a companion book entitled My First Passover which speaks of everything from the Four Questions to Seder's special foods. Ages 1-3. (Putnam, 1990)
Miriam Nerlove has written a similar companion series, Passover and Easter, for a slightly older child. She writes of the holiday traditions and symbols with rhthyms and rhymes that toddlers and language lovers will appreciate. Ages 2-5. (Whitman, 1989)
Easter Surprise by Catherine Stock begins with the signs of the season---daffodils, spring vacation, right through to egg painting and the Easter Egg hunt. Like so many young children, the little girl in the story is thrilled with each new excitement and she communicates this well to other wee ones who are beginning to understand the holiday for the first time. Ages 2-4. (Bradbury, 1991)
Ori Sherman and Lynne Sharon Schwartz's The Four Questions is written in a format that clearly answers each of the Four Questions beginning the Seder. Sherman's amazing paintings are bold and bright and he has, in essence, doubly-illustrated this book so that both English letters and Hebrew calligraphy are graced with the richness of his work. Ages 4-8. (Dial, 1989)
As children grow older, they want their information to be more and more specific. Miriam Chaikin's Ask Another Question tells the history of Passover, how it developed and changed, celebrations of today throughout the world as well as songs and foods. Ages 7-12. (Clarion, 1985)
For Christian families who wish to share the religious spirit of Easter with their families, there are two magnificently illustrated picture books. Carol Heyer retells The Easter Story and the life of Jesus with a focus on his teachings, his love and his rebirth. Illustrations are realistic and rich in color. Ages 4-8. (Ideals, 1990) Jan Pienowski's telling is more classical and the silhouetted figures are striking against the gilt frames and outlines. Ages 5-10. (Knopf, 1989)
Religious holiday books that most win my favor are books that weave spirituality and holiday into a real story. The Tale of Three Trees is the retelling of a traditional American folk tale by Angela Elwell Hunt. It is eloquently told from the point of view of three trees that dream of what they might become and have their wishes fulfilled in ways that they did not expect. Satisfaction comes to each by turning into a religious symbol that is so much more than they'd ever dreamed of being. Tim Jonke's luminous painting are strongly spiritual. Ages 4-8. (Lion Picture Storybooks, 1989)
For years Jewish holiday stories were presented only in a non-fiction light. Two authors, Jane Breskin Zalben and Barbara Goldin have created fiction stories for many Jewish holidays .
For young children, illustrator-author Zalben has two stories for the spring season. Through the eyes of a warm nurturing bear family, she expertly spins holiday customs into tales. Children from ages three to six will enjoy both Happy Passover, Rosie (Holt, 1990) and Godie's Purim (Holt, 1991).
Barbara Goldin's Cakes and Miracles tells of Hershel who wishes to help his over-busy mother. His mother denies him, constantly citing his blindness. One night, the artistic Hershel dreams of an angel who tells him to re-create what he sees in his dreams. In the middle of the night, the boy finds his mother's hamantashen (a special Purim cookie dough) and creates the beautiful images he has "seen". By so doing he produces not only magnificent cookie art, but money for his poor mother and a future for himself as a boy who can "see with his hands." Goldin is an emotive storyteller who deftly infuses the true spirit of the holiday into her tale. Ages 4-8. (Viking, 1991)
One of the first Easter books my daughter loved was Meredith Hooper's Seven Eggs, now it's become the first Easter book she's read. It begins with graduated pages each showing a different sized egg. Out of each egg hatches a different animal until the last egg. The last egg holds seven different eggs, one for each animal and a last one for YOU! Counting, recognizing days and animals, and especially the surprise ending involve young readers. Ages 1-5. (HarperCollins, 1985)
I have always been a Max-fan. He's the bunny-star of many books by Rosemary Wells. So I was glad to see him appear in all his mischievous glory in Max's Chocolate Chicken. Also starring is his bossy older sister, Ruby. Ruby is trying to train Max in proper Easter egg-searching etiquette. And Max is ecstatic in experiencing the joys of spring. When Ruby threatens that she'll win the chocolate chicken, it disappears down a hole with Max. Max reappears with chocolate smudges on his face and has eyes only for a newly appeared chocolate duck. Ages 2-4. (Dial, 1989)
Babushka in Patricia Pollaco's Rechenka's Eggs gets through the long Russian winters by painting Ukrainian eggs and is well-known for their beauty. One winter she makes a pet of a goose, Rechenka, who has been wounded by hunters. The healing goose grows well and accidentally upsets the basket of painted eggs Babushka has been painting all winter. In response, the goose begins to lay beautiful Ukrainian eggs . Babushka frees Rechenka before she sets off to Moscow with the eggs which are proclaimed as the most beautiful ever seen. The exhausted Babushka fails to notice that Rechenka has left her one last miracle egg, out of which hatches a baby goose who remains with Babushka forever. Patricia Pollacco is an illustrator who loves pattern almost as well as she loves to tell stories. Her brilliant colored eggs and illustrations make this a story to transcend time and convey the miracle of spring's bringing the newness of birth and continuation of life. Ages 4-8. (Philomel, 1988)