Hap-Pea Easter

Peas

by Keith Baker

Keith Baker’s New York Times bestselling peas have some Easter fun in this picture book filled with eggs, chicks, candies, bunnies, and more!

Hap-pea Easter! Hap-pea Spring! What surprises will it bring?

From sprouting flowers and gentle showers to eggs decorated every which way, there’s plenty of excitement to be had on Easter with the peas! And there might even be an appearance from everyone’s favorite bunny…

Genres: Picture Books, Holiday, Love, Childrens

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2025

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Keith Baker


Keith Baker lives in Seattle. He has written and illustrated many acclaimed picture books for young children, including the New York Times bestselling LMNO Peas; 1-2-3 Peas; Little Green Peas; Hap-pea All Year; LMNO Pea-quel; My Octopus Arms; and No Two Alike.

Reviews

[Lorellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odd, but cute.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

4/16/2025 - Cute story, but not anything I’d read again for Easter.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Spring brings rain, flowers, and a variety of outdoor activities, but also a lot of excitement for Easter eggs. The exuberant peas from the LMNO Peas and 1-2-3 Peas (which has been branching out into Valentine's Day, with a Christmas book coming out in September 2025) are celebrating all things having to do with the tradition of dying eggs. It's messy but fun to dye and decorate them with a lot of colors and patterns, and then also to hide them. The peas cavort through their neighborhood, collecting their own tiny eggs along side the human size ones, and remain on the lookout for the Easter Bunny, who makes a brief appearance.

It's fun to look at the tiny peas, and search for things that give them personalities. There are hats, hairstyles, and accessories to set them apart, and even one pea wearing rabbit ears who appears on each page spread, hiding Easter eggs. My favorite was the miniature chocolate bunny, complete with celophane wrapping and a bow, that appears at the foot of an Easter basket. This difference also allow the peas to be somewhat diverse; there's a wide range of ages and peas wearing glasses and in wheelchairs, but of course, all of the peas are green!

The digitally rendered illustrations are in pretty pastel colors, with lots of pink, blue, and purple, with a fair amount of green not only in the grass outside where the eggs are hidden, but in the plastic Easter grass in the baskets, which is particularly well drawn. The book is a smaller size (8" by 8"), which would make it the perfect background for some candy and small board book or set of pencils in an Easter basket.

I was surprised to learn that Sadler's It's Not Being a Bunny is often the best selling picture book around Easter time, because my children never considered that a holiday book. Hap-Pea Easter is a good title for celebrating a nonreligious Easter, along with John and Oswald's The Good Egg, Dewdney's Llama Llama Easter Egg, Underwood and Rueda's Here Comes the Easter Cat, and the fantastic Pick a Perfect Egg by Toht and Jarvis'. When talking about Easter books, it's important to mention that Hayward and Flack's The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, a 1939 title which is still in print, has excellent life lessons about hard work and perseverance!

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Busy, cute, and plenty of things to search for make this a read to enjoy from beginning to end.

I have read another book in this batch of pea tales (and found it cute), but the peas shine in all the right ways in this one. It's a book about Easter and highlights the energy and bright pastels, which are often associated with Spring and the holiday. This isn't a religious read but highlights the season and usual activities surrounding Easter, especially in the egg direction.

The illustrations are big and cheerful, making it nice for read-a-louds...to an extent. The peas are small and add so much life and bustle to the scenes. Thanks to their size, readers will have to look closer to discover everything they do as they prepare for the big day. Of course, these also hold humor along with the fun. The text is very simple and delivers just enough to bring across the atmosphere and let the pages flow together. The joy and excitement is obvious and contagious...it simply puts a smile on the face.

Easter activities make this a solid read for the holidays, but the constant pea activity will, most likely, have young readers gazing at the pictures long after the day has passed. There's also an extra bonus of searching for Easter eggs. Although not directly mentioned in the book, little eggs are hidden in the later illustrations to create searching fun.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hap-Pea Easter finds peas enjoying Easter activities such as painting and finding eggs. As with the other pea books, the fun here is found in looking at all the small details. The various peas have different hairstyles to help distinguish them from each other, there is also one in a wheelchair and a couple with glasses. It's especially fun to look for the pea wearing easter bunny ears who hides the eggs for the other peas to find. To decorate some of the eggs, the peas use construction equipment to haul the eggs around, then climb on them to draw on them. The poetic text makes for a fun read, but it might be wise to read the whole thing and then go back and let the child look at all the fun details. While the book is too small to work well for a large group story time, it's just right for a one-on-one story sharing experience. A fun addition to the series for fans and other young readers who enjoy holiday related books that give them a lot to look for in the pictures.

[Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keith Baker is back with another Hap-Pea story, this time featuring Easter. From spring colors to decorating eggs, this easy to follow children's book brings pastels and fun. Absolutely adorable!

Thank you Simon Kids for the gifted copy.

[Hailey Forsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these books!!

[Addie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute. 2 year old liked it too

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mindless holiday fluff. Detailed illustrations.

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

4/16/2025 - Cute story, but nothing I’d read again.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt so random to me. It's a book of peas celebrating Easter. I didn't find it very engaging.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The peas celebrate Easter.

This picture book depicts a secular celebration of Easter, focusing on decorating, hiding, and finding eggs.

[Mo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still cute and fun and finding the ladybug on every page!