Easter bunnies, baskets abound in children's books

Wacky Witzy, the duck from Little Suzy's Zoo, and his pals find Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies and bonnets in "Witzy's Backyard Easter Hunt" (Scholastic, ages 2-4) by Suzy Spafford.

Witzy invites young readers to help in their search, asking "Can you find 4 Easter baskets?" and so on. He also encourages kids to count clouds in the sky and find the baby bunnies hiding under a bush.

And Witzy's board-book backyard is a colorful wonderland chock-full of blooming flowers, plush grasses and plenty of garden friends. It's an ideal place to spend Easter morning.

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Bunny, the simply drawn star of "Pat the Bunny," is back -- and in the bath.

The soft white bunny gathers friends Tickle the pig and Squeak the mouse for a good time in the tub in "Bunny's Bath Time" (Golden Books, up to age 3) by Edith Kunhardt, the daughter of Dorothy Kunhardt who wrote the original Bunny book in 1940.

Once Bunny and Squeak find Tickle, who is hiding in the laundry basket, they all enjoy splashing around and playing with enough toys that must make the tub a little crowded.

Illustrations are done in the soft colors that fans of this series expect to see.

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Little Owen is a happy mouse from the moment he opens his eyes Easter morning to find a basket full of candy in "Owen's Marshmallow Chick" (HarperFestival, ages 2 and older).

The jelly beans are his favorite -- until he eats the gumdrops. The buttercream eggs are even better than the gumdrops, and a big chocolate bunny is the best. But in the end, it's the marshmallow chick that wins Owen over.

Owen, in a series of simple but bright drawings by author-illustrator Kevin Henkes, learns that there's more to a "favorite" candy than sugar in this sweet story.

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The natural -- and quick -- proliferation of rabbits is the punch line to many jokes, but in Leo Lionni's board book "Let's Make Rabbits" (Knopf, up to age 4), two bunnies are born using a little imagination.

Scissors, a pencil and some colored paper come together to make the best-buddy bunnies.

They live out the journey from being two-dimensional characters to real rabbits.

A warning to parents, though: This book is also a child's first tutorial in how to make rabbit-ear shadows.

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"Easter" (HarperCollins, ages 4-8) uses stained-glass illustrations to complement Fiona French's telling of the Easter story, from Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, through the Last Supper, and ending with his ascension into heaven.

She uses words from the King James Bible, yet the complicated story should be understandable to children. The illustrations also explain the action described in the text.

The Easter story is told as just that -- a story. It is not oversimplified into a kiddie book but it also is not preachy, making it a good introduction for children of all backgrounds in families who use and practice religion differently.

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The Gabblers, proud-parent geese, invite all their forest-dwelling neighbors to see their first egg. But amid all the celebration, which Gabbler calls a "forest-fest," the egg disappears.

In "Egg-Napped!" (HarperCollins, ages 3-7) by Marisa Montes and illustrated in light, bright colors by Marsha Winborn, all of Mother Nature's children, from a flying squirrel looking high to the mice looking low, try to help the Gabblers find their baby.

A series of misadventures and then a happy ending follow. Kit, the squirrel, leads the cheer. "We worked as a team, and we saved someone dear!" he says.

Seems it takes a village to raise a baby goose.

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The family featured in "Bunny Day" (HarperCollins, ages 3 and older) gets more done between breakfast and bedtime than most households.

Author Rick Walton rouses Mother Rabbit out of bed at 6 a.m. and she's sipping coffee at 7. She is joined by her family at 8, after Father Rabbit says: "Time for breakfast, bunnies dear. The sun is up and morning's here."

By midday, Paige Miglio's illustrations show the young bunnies doing their chores, gardening and playing. The afternoon includes a picnic, games, a nap, a walk, an arts-and-crafts session, dinner and more games.

The Rabbit family demonstrates they know how to have a good time -- and they do it together -- no matter what the hour.

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Other Easter-themed books for children include:

"Painted Eggs and Chocolate Bunnies" (Scholastic, up to age 4) should add "adorable faces" to its title. Toni Trent Parker's book features photographs of happy, real kids with their Easter wares, including a bonnet, bunny ears and seasonal flowers.

In Sonali Fry's "Make Your Own Easter Treats" (Scholastic, ages 3-5), eggs, chocolate bunnies, duck-shaped sugar cookies and Easter bonnets are waiting on the pages of a colorful board book to be decorated with enclosed reusable stickers.

What's the Easter Bunny to do? In "The Easter Bunny That Overslept" (HarperCollins, ages 3-8) by Priscilla and Otto Friedrich, Bunny unsuccessfully tries to pass off his Easter eggs as favors for other holidays. Finally, by Christmas, Santa Claus helps Bunny find a new temporary job -- and gives him an alarm clock for the next year.

Old Mother Rabbit's baby bunnies count up to 26 and can tick through the alphabet in "So Many Bunnies: A Bedtime ABC and Counting Book" (HarperTrophy, ages 3-8) by Rick Walton. With so many bunnies under foot, Old Mother Rabbit finds them in every nook and cranny of her shoe-shaped house.