A rhyming story about a cat family's Easter activities.It's Easter morning, and the members of what appears to be a family of differently colored cats gaze hungrily at a tray of what readers may recognize as hot-cross buns. This opening spread, like every other, includes four lines of rhyming text, each line starting with the word Easter: "Easter morning, / Easter sun, / Easter breakfast, / Easter bun." All of the words used are associated with either the Easter holiday and/or the springtime season. Though the colored-pencil art is not particularly sophisticated, it is colorful, and the many anthropomorphic cat characters are easily differentiated. Anderson tucks careful, child-friendly details into the simple compositions, rendering flora and fauna with greater realism than the bipedal, clothed felines. The fact that one of the assumed parent cats is a black cat is a nice change from the usual stereotypes around black cats. That the many mice (at least one of whom lives in the cats' house) in the story live in harmony with-and even help-the cats is both entertaining and sweet. This Easter story focuses on things like springtime renewal as opposed to delving into the religious background of the holiday. Instructions for preparing decorated eggs close the book.A simple, secular Easter story best suited for younger readers. (Picture book. 2-4)

The creators of Pumpkin Orange, Pumpkin Round reunite for this easy-to-read secular celebration of Easter, which features a community of multicolored cats. Battigelli uses two-word lines to compose paired rhyming couplets, following the felines throughout their day of Easter traditions. After a breakfast of hot cross buns, the cats dress in -Easter bonnet,/ Easter hats.- The group goes on to enjoy an egg hunt with mouse friends, a visit from the Easter bunny, and an Easter picnic feast. A mellow color palette and expressive characters mark Anderson-s approachable art, done in oil-based colored pencil and mineral spirits, rounding out this simple seasonal offering. Back matter includes instructions for Easter egg dyeing. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)

PreS-Gr 1 Battigelli and Anderson celebrate Easter traditions while providing insight and help for little ones running into the common mishaps that come along with the holiday. With friends, a spilled Easter basket and difficulties in finding treats are easily resolved. The lovely illustrations awash in sweet pastels are reminiscent of dyed eggs. The end papers outline the steps for dyeing eggs (with adult help, of course). Rhyming text paired with jewel-tone images will encourage children to read and rhyme along using picture clues. The truly courageous can pair this with an egg-coloring project. VERDICT Purchase for large collections and include in Easter or spring holidays programming/displays. Heather Maneiro, Glenn Elem. Sch., Durham, NC