The Easter Bear?

by Ann Braybrooks, Josie Yee

Rabbit can’t play the Easter Bunny this year, so who in the Hundred-Acre Wood can take his place? Perhaps Pooh, the Easter Bear!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

24 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2003

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rabbit is too busy to play the Easter Bunny this year, so the Pooh friends each try on his Easter Bunny costume to disastrous but amusing results. Finally, Pooh stumbles upon the best and friendliest solution and saves the Easter party.

This is another example of Disney recycling. I noticed a statement in the indicia: "Originally published in slightly different form as The Very Best Easter Bunny by Golden Books Publishing Company, Inc., in 1997." I don't own that version, but I was able to find it on the Internet Archive and do a page-by-page comparison. For the 2003 The Easter Bear? sentences have been added, expanded, or reordered throughout by the original author or some uncredited editor, and there are some word choice changes. The pictures are the same in both versions though. I suppose there is a case for combining the two books as different editions of the same work, but I prefer them separate.

First sentences of The Very Best Easter Bunny:
Early one Easter, as Pooh and his friends were decorating eggs, Rabbit hurried over.
"Sorry, but I can't play the Easter Bunny this year," he announced. "I have to plant my garden. Here, Pooh. You do it."

First sentences of The Easter Bear?:
Early one Easter, as Pooh and his friends were decorating eggs, Rabbit hurried over.
"Sorry, but I can't play the Easter Bunny this year. I have to plant my garden," he said, holding a bunny costume. "Here, Pooh. You do it."

(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list... )

[Maggie Ollmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response
I thought this was a good book to read to the little ones around Easter. I read the book to my sister, Luci, and she liked it very much. She thought it was funny when the costume ripped. She also thought it was funny when Tigger tried to be the Easter Bunny. My sister laughed at some of the pictures in the book.

Plot
Rabbit was busy with his garden, so he did not want to be the Easter Bunny. He first asked Pooh Bear but, the costume did not fit. Pooh asked Tigger to be the Easter Bunny, but when Tigger hopped in the custom it ripped. Eeyore knew from the start that the costume would not fit him. Piglet and Roo also knew the costume would not fit. Pooh then had an idea, if they all went to help Rabbit finish his garden, he could still be the Easter Bunny.

Characterization
Rabbit
In the beginning of the book, Rabbit thought he could not be the Easter Bunny that year. He was too busy with his garden. Rabbit’s friends tried to be the bunny for him, but none of them could. Rabbit was so happy when his friends came to help him finish the work in the garden. Rabbit figured out he could still be the Easter Bunny. All he needed was a little help from his friends to get the job done.

Setting
This book took place one Easter morning in the Hundred Acre Woods. The Hundred Acre Woods was where all Winnie the Pooh books took place. Since the story took place over Easter, it helped make the Easter Bunny story happen.

Recommendation
I would recommend this book to little boys and girls. This book had a cute story for them to hear around Easter. This book was a good book for boys and girls in kindergarten. This book would also be good for kids to work on their reading skills.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very cute book. It's a wonderful tale of fun and friendship.

[Madame Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The gang tries to find someone to be the Easter Bunny.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

They want Rabbit to help them (by playing the Easter bunny) so they first have to help Rabbit. A nice story.

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 4 out of 5]

My love of reading started when i was young, and it gives me immense pleasure to provide books to Spread the Word Nevada, an organization that passes them on to children in the community. They are a terrific organization supporting an important cause. If your local I encourage you to check them out. For those living further a field, look in your own community, their may already be a similar program in place. And if not, you can always help start on.

http://spreadthewordnevada.org/

Myself, I go out on the weekends and
shop thrift store and bulk book lots to rescue books and donate them. Sometimes I'll find a book I remember reading when I was young and will read it again before passing it on.

I don't rate these books using my normal scale, instead I give most of them three stars. This isn't a Criticism of the book, simply my way of rating them as good for children.

[Heather Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

megan spring reading 2013, megan spring reading 2016, holiday book, picture book, children's book, easter, disney, winnie-the-pooh, helping, friends, planting, prek, kindergarten, first grade

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)

[The Bougie Twins · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun Easter book with all the gang from the 100-Acre Wood.