Pick a Perfect Egg

PreS-K--In this rhyming Easter story, a girl and her mother gather eggs at a farm; they bring them home through a spring landscape; then they hard-boil, dye, and decorate them ahead of the next morning's Easter egg hunt. The little girl, with reddish-brown hair, blue eyes, and freckles, wears a white rabbit costume and joins other friends--pale- and brown-skinned, some costumed and some not--for the hunt for plastic eggs filled with plastic toys and candy. The rhyme scheme works well and is easy to read aloud without any stumbles, and Jarvis's digital illustrations are lovely and natural, filled with spring colors. The mother and daughter collaborate sweetly; even their little black-and-white dog helps. There is the usual confused Easter imagery of both bunnies and eggs: the front endpapers show a field of white rabbits in green grass, while the back endpapers have brightly colored eggs in the field. However, those who celebrate Easter are used to that, and they are the intended audience here. VERDICT A springtime Easter tale for young children excited for egg hunts.--Jenny Arch