I am suspicious of any picture book author and/or illustrator who cannot admit that they have been greatly influenced by several authors and illustrators who came before themselves. MANY authors and illustrators have impressed me, and today, I’d like to tell you about several picture books that somehow fall beneath the hood of Easter books.

I’ll begin with Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit. I can’t begin to say how many ways that I am impressed with Beatrix Potter, and even now, over 100 years after his creation, her Peter Rabbit is recognized all around the world.

You can read Peter Rabbit and the tales of his other friends, too at Gutenberg. Here is a link to Peter Rabbit: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/14838/14838-h/14838-h.htm

Although the Velveteen Rabbit is a story that begins on Christmas Eve when the little toy rabbit is stuffed into a stocking, I still consider this classic rabbit tale to also be a special read at Easter time. You can also find this book, as it was first published and illustrated by Margery Williams, at Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11757/11757-h/11757-h.htm

That being said, there is no finer production of this story than that read by Meryl Streep and accompanied by George Winston. It will cost $1.99, but I recommend that everyone avails themselves of an opportunity to listen to Streep and Winston do  the Velveteen Rabbit on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Margery-Williams-Velveteen-Rabbit-Winston/dp/B008Q5LZGE/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=velveteen+rabbit+meryl+streep&qid=1586608941&s=instant-video&sr=1-1

In terms of the fact that Easter is also all about eggs, I recommend the following egg books:

First the Egg by Laura Vacarro Seeger

An Egg is Quiet by Sylvia Long

Rechnka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco
Feast upon the video production of that book on Youtube:

Jan Brett’s The Easter Egg is a visual delight. The intricacy of Jan Brett’s books amazes me. Listen to Jan talk about this book and about how she uses live animals as models on Youtube:

Easter Parade is a picture book made from the 1948 lyrics to the Irving Berlin theme tune for the movie Easter Parade. Following is a clip from that movie:

Although I have hardly scratched the surface of worthy Easter books for kids, I suppose that the above are my all-time favorites. I’ll probably add to this list later.