Easter
Hop into spring with these sweet stories.
Whether you’re looking for the perfect addition to your child’s Easter basket, or you need a story to help explain some of the Easter traditions in your house to your child (like letting a rabbit in a vest bring you eggs), children’s books about Easter are exactly what you need. While you could certainly opt for bunny-centric books, like The Tale of Peter Rabbit, or a title about springtime in general, like Planting A Rainbow, what if you’re in the market for something specific about the holiday itself?
While you may not be able to think of one off the top of your head, rest assured there are plenty out there to choose from. Classic children’s books like Curious George, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and The Berenstain Bears have all been adapted to create Easter stories celebrating egg dyeing, candy eating, and more. And aside from the beloved characters we all know, there are tons of Easter-specific books written just for the purpose of explaining the holiday or taking the Easter bunny on some sort of adventure.
So, whether you choose to buy a book in advance and read it together with your child leading up to Easter or you’re tucking a title into the back of their Easter basket for later, there’s no shortage of children’s Easter book options out there.
1A Story of a Classic Bluey Episode
If you’ve got a tiny Bluey fan in your house, pick up this Bluey: Hooray, it’s Easter! lift-the-flap book. It’s pretty much a retelling of the Easter episode in Season 2 that leads Bingo and Bluey on a scavenger hunt to find their baskets, but now you get to lift the flaps in the story to really have some fun.
2The Little Engine Meets Easter
The Little Engine That Could is a classic children’s book character, and now you can celebrate Easter with her. This sweet book, The Little Engine’s Easter Egg Hunt, is full of riddles for The Little Engine to try and crack with all of her friends in order to find the Easter eggs. The illustrations are just darling and will fill you with so much nostalgia.
3Peter Rabbit Does Easter
Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit is one of the most famous children’s books ever, and in The Great Big Easter Egg Hunt, the world’s favorite bunny has to save Easter. Peter can’t wait for all the festivities to start, with tons of freshly picked vegetables to eat, homemade lemonade, and of course, Easter eggs for everyone! But then he knocks them all over and has to find them all before his loved ones are disappointed.
4A Colorful Easter Explainer
If you need a book to explain all things Easter to your child, Our Easter Adventure will do just that. Follow this group of friends into the Easter Bunny’s hideaway, learn where he lives during the year, and how he makes Easter eggs for everyone to enjoy. The illustrations are full of brightly colored folk art and a diverse cast of children, both of which make this book all the more beautiful.
5An Adorable Board Book
If your little one already loves the Llama Llama series by Anna Dewdney, this Easter edition of Llama Llama Easter Egg is the perfect book to add to their Easter basket. Or, maybe it’s the first one of the collection they’ve read, and you can help them fall in love with a whole new series. In this story, the Easter bunny brings Llama Llama a basket full of goodies, complete with candy, eggs, and more! Because it’s a small board book, it’s easy for babies and toddlers to hold while they learn to turn pages.
6A Bunny On A Mission
Flora Bunny, Aunt Sassyfrass, and all the other rabbits make some impressive, beautiful Easter eggs. But if Hoppi can make the very best egg of all, he’ll be selected to assist the Easter bunny with the Easter morning deliveries in The Easter Egg by Jan Brett. As he tries to figure out how to make this egg the most stunning of the bunch, he finds a blue robin’s egg that has fallen from the nest, and is determined to keep it safe and warm until it hatches. When the Easter bunny arrives to choose his assistant, he finds that Hoppi’s empty eggshell is the most beautiful of all because of the compassion it took to hatch the baby bird inside.
7When A Hungry Caterpillar Goes On An Egg Hunt
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is back and this time, he’s after the Easter eggs! In The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Easter Egg Hunt, part of Eric Carle’s world, everyone’s favorite hungry little caterpillar is looking for Easter eggs, and your kiddos can help him by lifting the flaps. The illustrations are just as classic as the original Very Hungry Caterpillar story, and kids familiar with the original books will love this festive version.
8A Book That Encourages Building
If you like crafting or doing projects with your kids, this book (and maybe the rest of the series) is perfect for your family. In How to Catch the Easter Bunny, your kids will learn all the tips and tricks for trapping that fast-hopping hare so they can finally catch a glimpse of him for themselves. Together, you can build STEAM-inspired traps and maybe even start a new holiday tradition you revisit each year.
9An Old Fave, But Make It Easter
Another one featuring that Very Hungry Caterpillar is this sweet Easter twist on the classic children’s book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Easter Colors. Follow along as the caterpillar crawls its way through a world of Easter colors, showing readers things like soft white lambs and bright yellow chicks. The simple text and illustrations make this a great option for teaching colors to young bookworms, so definitely opt for the board book format. That way, it can stand up to years of reading and rereading.
10A Story About A Funny Bunny
P.J. Funnybunny is sick and tired of being a rabbit in It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny. He’s tired of carrots. He’s tired of big ears. He just needs a change. So, he sets out to try and do life with all his other animal friends. What might it be like to be a bird? Or a bear? Perhaps being a pig is the most fun. By the end, he may just realize that being a bunny is the best fit for him.
11This Classic Title
Curious George is one of those characters that you just have to share with your children at some point. This Easter story of his, Happy Easter, Curious George, is illustrated in the traditional charcoal and watercolor style of the original story, and of course, it includes George and his best friend, the man in the yellow hat. On Easter morning, the pair visits the park and George joins some children dyeing eggs, hiding them, and more.
12Some Springtime Poems
Children’s stories are one thing, but how often do you get a chance to introduce your kids to a collection of poems written just for them? Easter, Here I Come! includes poems all about preparing a delicious Easter brunch, making a perfect Easter bonnet, and more seasonal pastimes for your little one to learn about. And rumor has it it comes with stickers, so, you know, that’s a slam dunk.
13A Book About The Easter Bunny Saving The World
This book, The Easter Bunny Invasion!, is best for parents and kids who like their books on the funny side. When the Easter Bunny finishes her prep work for the holiday early, she gives her entire crew some time off, only to have a sneaky fox ruin everything. In fact, it gets so wild, even Santa has to step in and help.
14A Religious Easter Board Book
For those who’d love a children’s Easter book to share the religious aspects of the holiday, this gorgeously illustrated Story of Easter is a must. The illustrations are just so lovely, and it’s such a sweet way to share the story of Jesus with your children on Easter Sunday.
15A Favorite With The Babies
Pat the Bunny has been one of the bestselling books for babies for quite some time (think 70 years), and for good reason! It’s all about interaction between parents, babies, and the book, and helps them learn simple words and phrases. Pages include things like “Pat the bunny,” “smell the flowers,” and “play peek-a-boo with Paul,” one of the characters inside. So, while it’s not directly related to Easter, it’s a great rabbit-themed read to share with your baby before they’re fully able to understand the concept of the holiday. If your little one really enjoys Pat the Bunny, you can purchase a box set of all three books in the series, which includes Pat the Cat and Pat the Puppy.
16A Funny Easter Bunny Story
Even if a bunny is wearing a vest and bowtie and carrying decorated eggs, don’t you dare assume he’s the Easter Bunny. In this funny new story, I Am NOT the Easter Bunny, kids will laugh out loud at the white fluffy guy convincing everyone he has nothing to do with the holiday. But is he being truthful?
17All About The Easter... Cat?
Deborah Underwood’s protagonist cat actually has a whole series of holidays he takes over, from Valentine’s Day and Christmas to less official ones, like visits from the tooth fairy (or in this case, the tooth cat). The reader gets to be the narrator in this fun version of Here Comes the Easter Cat, questioning the cat as he tries to take over Easter from the (much more qualified) Easter bunny.
18Another Story About An Easter Goose
This book, Rechenka’s Eggs, reminds me of something my elementary school librarian would read to us on a class visit to the library, and honestly, maybe that means we should all read it to our kids, too! This story includes Easter eggs as they’re done in Ukraine, covered in vivid hues and the most intricate designs imaginable. The tale follows Old Babushka, who is known all over town for her amazing, hand-painted eggs. During her Easter prep, she fosters an injured goose who tips over her basket, destroying her eggs. The next morning, she finds her goose, Rechenka, has replaced them all.
19A Little Critter Easter Edition
‘90s babies who have become parents will remember Little Critter, and why not share this nostalgic series with your own children? Ideal for kids between 3 and 7 years old, this story, Happy Easter, Little Critter, depicts Little Critter doing all the Easter things: dyeing eggs, choosing an Easter basket, and nibbling on candies at every opportunity.
20A Colorful Easter
Another new story featuring some classic children’s book characters is Happy Easter from the Crayons. Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers’ beloved crayons are back to decorate and hide an Easter egg, and you know a few of those crayons have some opinions.
21Easter With The Most Beloved Bears
The Berenstain Bears are some of the most beloved children’s book characters ever, so why not add their Easter story, The Berenstain Bears and the Real Easter Eggs, to your child’s home library? Sister Bear loves the holidays and everything about them, like the giant feast at Thanksgiving or the pile of presents at Christmas. And now, Easter is almost here, and it’s time to hunt eggs! But Mama Bear is focused on reminding her family what’s really important about the holiday.
22A Beautifully Illustrated Coming-Of-Age Story
Little Cottontail dreams of growing up to become the next Easter bunny, eventually earning the opportunity to deliver an extra special egg in The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes. But as she grows up and her family grows, too (to an overwhelming 21 children), she has to step back from her Easter bunny duties. That is, until an elder bunny sees how hard she works for her family, and gets her right back into the job where she belongs. If you’re a parent who just swoons over a fairy tale or classic story, these vintage illustrations from the original 1939 publication will give you all the warm-and-fuzzies.
23The Story Of A Spectacular Hat
This book, Miz Fannie Mae’s Fine New Easter Hat, is suited for kids in kindergarten through second grade. And because it was first published in 1997, the illustrations will definitely have a nostalgic feel for millennial moms and dads.
Tandy and her dad head to the city to buy a special Easter hat for her mother to wear to church. They pick an expensive one with lace, flowers, fruit and a cluster of four small eggs on top. And when she wears it to church on Easter Sunday, a miracle happens: the eggs hatch. So, Tandy’s mom places her hat up high in a tree for a mother bird to nest with the eggs, and it becomes a home for the little family for years to come.
24A Story About A Chosen Family
Patricia Polacco has another perfect Easter story on this list with Chicken Sunday, a tale straight from her own childhood. In the story, one little Russian-American girl has been “adopted” and welcomed into her African-American neighbors’ family by two little boys and their grandma Eula. Wanting to give Eula a wonderful Easter, they try to buy her a new hat, but a misunderstanding leads them to a lesson of compassion and grace.
Those beautiful Ukranian handpainted eggs make another appearance here, just like in Rechenka’s Eggs. Maybe your own children will be inspired to create similar designs and share with neighbors like in this sweet Easter children’s book.
25An Easter Book About A Resilient Little Bunny
If you want to share a story of resilience this Easter, this sweet story, Hope Is a Hop, is the perfect choice. While a little girl named Eva is hoping to watch her garden grow, one little bunny has hungrier ideas about how to deal with the flowers. Eva’s upset, but when she realizes her bunny nemesis is actually a lot like her own family, she changes her tune. The illustrations in this are so cute, and the message in the story is a great one for Easter Sunday.
26A Classic Lift-the-Flap Easter Story
You’ve probably got a few Spot titles in your home already, so why not open up this new one: Spot’s First Easter: A Lift-the-Flap Easter Classic. Spot can go on the hunt to find some eggs, and it’s just the perfect length for keeping your toddler’s attention.
Whether you want a children’s Easter book for filling your kids’ Easter baskets or just to read in the days leading up to the holidays, there are plenty of sweet options.
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