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The Bunny Who Found Easter
Charlotte Zolotow's The Bunny Who Found Easter has delighted generations of readers. A lonely bunny goes hunting for Easter, where he hopes to find other bunnies. His search takes him through the seasons, but only in the spring does he find the true meaning of Easter. To this heartwarming story Helen Craig has lent her own original interpretation. As multiple stories unfold in each piece of art, viewer and reader are drawn into the poetic, song-filled text. This new rendition of an old classic is sure to charm readers young and old.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
1 person is currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Zolotow
101 books79 followersCharlotte Zolotow was a distinguished American writer, editor, and publisher who made a lasting mark on children's literature. Over her career, she authored around 70 picture book texts and edited works by prominent writers including Paul Zindel, Robert Lipsyte, and Francesca Lia Block. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, she studied writing at the University of Wisconsin Madison and later joined Harper & Bros in New York, where she worked her way up from secretary to publisher. Her own books were published by over 20 houses, and she became known for her poetic and emotionally insightful texts. Zolotow’s most celebrated works include When the Wind Stops, William’s Doll, and River Winding. Her story "Enemies" was featured in The Big Book for Peace alongside other notable authors. She lived for many years in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Her legacy endures not only through her own writing but also through the Charlotte Zolotow Award, established in 1998 to honor outstanding picture book texts. Her contributions helped shape modern children's literature with sensitivity, elegance, and enduring relevance.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
April 14, 2019
A lovely little book that isn’t about Easter. It’s really about one bunnies search for another rabbit. Someone to have community with. He is all alone in the world and goes searching for Easter because some old owl tells him there are always bunnies around during Easter. He searchers for a year before he finds a rabbit, who happens to be a girl rabbit.
Easter is all about the beginning of beautiful new things, which is not really the case unless you are looking at it from a pagan perspective, which I think this book is doing.
The art is lovely. The kids were rather neutral about this book. It wasn't really Easter or holiday or anything. It was weird. The nephew was not impressed and he gave this 2 stars. The niece wasn't much impressed by it either, but she liked the flowers and nature, so she gave it 3 stars.
Easter is all about the beginning of beautiful new things, which is not really the case unless you are looking at it from a pagan perspective, which I think this book is doing.
The art is lovely. The kids were rather neutral about this book. It wasn't really Easter or holiday or anything. It was weird. The nephew was not impressed and he gave this 2 stars. The niece wasn't much impressed by it either, but she liked the flowers and nature, so she gave it 3 stars.
April 8, 2019
The Bunny Who Found Easter, illustrated by Helen Craig
All alone in the world, a little bunny wonders where all the other rabbits are, until he is advised by a sleepy old owl that there are always rabbits at Easter. Believing that his avian adviser is speaking of a place, our leporine hero sets out to find Easter, traveling through the four seasons until he finds... another rabbit! Finally content, the bunny eventually realizes that Easter is not a place at all, but "a time when everything lovely begins once again..."
Originally published in 1959, and illustrated by Betty Peterson, Charlotte Zolotow's sweet tale of a bunny in search of companionship was reprinted in 1998 with new artwork by British illustrator Helen Craig, who has also worked on the popular Angelina Ballerina picture-books. The version I read was published this year (2018) as a special gift edition. I found Zolotow's story immensely appealing, with a poetic text given to beautiful descriptions - black sparrows described as ink drops in the snow - and a conclusion that leaves the reader/listener feeling emotionally satisfied, while also gently leading them to consider the meaning of the season, and the holiday for which the bunny had been searching. Helen Craig's artwork here is incredibly cute, and captures the bunny's changing emotional state quite well. I liked the inclusion of a little mouse companion for the bunny, who is never mentioned in the text, but who (in the illustrations) follows the bunny everywhere, and who finds his own mouse counterpart just as the bunny finds his lady love. Recommended to anyone looking for sweet stories about bunnies, spring, and (tangentially) Easter.
All alone in the world, a little bunny wonders where all the other rabbits are, until he is advised by a sleepy old owl that there are always rabbits at Easter. Believing that his avian adviser is speaking of a place, our leporine hero sets out to find Easter, traveling through the four seasons until he finds... another rabbit! Finally content, the bunny eventually realizes that Easter is not a place at all, but "a time when everything lovely begins once again..."
Originally published in 1959, and illustrated by Betty Peterson, Charlotte Zolotow's sweet tale of a bunny in search of companionship was reprinted in 1998 with new artwork by British illustrator Helen Craig, who has also worked on the popular Angelina Ballerina picture-books. The version I read was published this year (2018) as a special gift edition. I found Zolotow's story immensely appealing, with a poetic text given to beautiful descriptions - black sparrows described as ink drops in the snow - and a conclusion that leaves the reader/listener feeling emotionally satisfied, while also gently leading them to consider the meaning of the season, and the holiday for which the bunny had been searching. Helen Craig's artwork here is incredibly cute, and captures the bunny's changing emotional state quite well. I liked the inclusion of a little mouse companion for the bunny, who is never mentioned in the text, but who (in the illustrations) follows the bunny everywhere, and who finds his own mouse counterpart just as the bunny finds his lady love. Recommended to anyone looking for sweet stories about bunnies, spring, and (tangentially) Easter.
March 27, 2013
A lonely bunny goes on an extended search for Easter when an owl tells him "there are always bunnies at Easter". He explores his world but finds no companions until springtime--Easter--comes.
In truth, this book isn't really about Easter at all, it's about springtime. But it's still nice because of the quiet, calm tone. The distinctly old-fashioned feel of Betty Peterson's illustrations makes this book even more appealing to me. While I am reading it aloud to 1st grade classes, I think it would be better for one-on-one sharing at home.
In truth, this book isn't really about Easter at all, it's about springtime. But it's still nice because of the quiet, calm tone. The distinctly old-fashioned feel of Betty Peterson's illustrations makes this book even more appealing to me. While I am reading it aloud to 1st grade classes, I think it would be better for one-on-one sharing at home.
February 27, 2018
Oh, I really like the illustrations - cute is the word! And the story is fun and for the little romantic in all of us.
Ages: 3 - 7
#easter #easterbunny
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.
Ages: 3 - 7
#easter #easterbunny
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.
September 20, 2014
This is about a bunny that is lonely, that longs for another bunny. Then a sleepy owl told him that rabbits come in Easter. So the lonely bunny taught that Easter was a place. He kept finding Easter.
June 29, 2007
This book always amazed me as a child. :)
April 25, 2011
We bought this for our daughter's Easter book and it is a lovely, secular tale of Spring renewal. The artwork is excellent and our daughter enjoyed it very much.
March 25, 2016
This is a freshly illustrated edition of Zolotow’s classic story, originally published in 1959, containing tender lyricism, poetic prose and a compassionate tone. Charlotte Zolotow had one of the most distinguished careers in the field of children’s literature writing more than seventy books. This 2001 edition is illustrated by Helen Craig, who has illustrated more than sixty books for children, including the Angelina Ballerina books. It’s a lovely story that takes the bunny on a search for Easter and Spring via all the seasons. However once he finds another companion bunny rabbit, he completely forgets about finding Easter and happily lives with his new companion and their subsequent family. It is then that the most poignant message is delivered - that Easter is not a place after all, but "a time when everything lovely begins once again."
April 17, 2022
When a lonely little bunny is told by a wise old owl that there are always other rabbits about at Easter, he sets off to find this magical place where the other bunnies congregate. A sweet little story with a very happy ending.
May 2, 2011
Very cute Easter story! Beautiful pictures!
July 24, 2014
Charming illustrations-there's a lot to notice on every page.
March 29, 2016
Sweet, but slow, story of a bunny looking for a bunny companion. Nice message of renewal at the end.
October 21, 2017
This story moves smoothly. It is a nice story.
March 5, 2022
A very sweet story and illustrations. The bunny is lonely through the year and eventually finds his female partner at the next easter and has a little family of bunnies. His mouse companion also finds a love and creates a family.
February 23, 2013
a seasons book . . . and others do it better.
April 4, 2012
Cute, but more of a generic seasons book than an Easter story. The bunny finds spring--not really anything about Easter at all.
September 4, 2016
Adorable illustrations and fun story about a bunny searching for some company.
November 17, 2014
Notes:
book about seasons, not Easter
book about seasons, not Easter
March 31, 2015
So sweet. The wording is absolutely rich with descriptions. Great book. Used for and adjective lesson.
April 14, 2015
Bunny tries to find Easter. He keeps looking but can't find it. Is it a place or a state of mind?
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January 10, 2023Cute, I could tell I would like this book as a kid.
November 28, 2016
My grandmother did the original illustrations for this book, so of course I love it! My grandmother is still alive and just turned 100.
March 16, 2019
The title didn't match what the book was actually about.
March 15, 2023
I like the nature drawings, although the bunny often stood out in an odd way.
The story was good, the ending left me a bit unsatisfied, the connection to Easter could have been a bit firmer
The story was good, the ending left me a bit unsatisfied, the connection to Easter could have been a bit firmer
March 13, 2021
2.5 stars. Still searching for my favorite childhood Easter book. This one was originally published in the 1950s, and the one I’m looking for would have been published around 1980 or earlier. I only remember it had an illustration of an Easter egg factory, and I think the plot involved someone coming upon said factory, so I was hopeful this was it, given the title. The trouble is this edition has new illustrations done in 1998. So the book I’m looking for may be the original edition of this, but considering the text is the same, I suspect not, because the plot doesn’t seem to fit. Then, maybe the original illustrator took some creative license?
This is one of those typical critter on a long quest with a series of mundane encounters books. The ones that seem derived solely from the “children respond to repetition” theory. I never really liked these books as a child. They just felt boring, and I found this a bit boring too. The style of illustration didn’t resonate with me, either, at least not the main characters—they’re maybe a bit too modern and anthropomorphic, not cute enough. The rest of the illustrations were ok. (Not to disparage the artist, it’s just a personal taste thing.)
The plot has an emphasis on procreation that you don’t often see in children’s books. Male bunny goes looking for other bunnies, searches all year and ultimately finds one female bunny in spring, in a montage he shows her all the places he’s been, and soon they have lots of baby bunnies!
So, now I feel the need to track down the original edition of this book. I’m starting to feel like the protagonist in one of those tedious quest books. “Are you my favorite Easter book?”
This is one of those typical critter on a long quest with a series of mundane encounters books. The ones that seem derived solely from the “children respond to repetition” theory. I never really liked these books as a child. They just felt boring, and I found this a bit boring too. The style of illustration didn’t resonate with me, either, at least not the main characters—they’re maybe a bit too modern and anthropomorphic, not cute enough. The rest of the illustrations were ok. (Not to disparage the artist, it’s just a personal taste thing.)
The plot has an emphasis on procreation that you don’t often see in children’s books. Male bunny goes looking for other bunnies, searches all year and ultimately finds one female bunny in spring, in a montage he shows her all the places he’s been, and soon they have lots of baby bunnies!
So, now I feel the need to track down the original edition of this book. I’m starting to feel like the protagonist in one of those tedious quest books. “Are you my favorite Easter book?”
June 9, 2021
4.5 stars
Illustrations were nice and
attractive and appropriate.
They were not incredibly beautiful
but if they had been incredibly
beautiful it might have detracted
from the strength of the story.
The plot--storyline-- was good.
I quite liked this picture book.
It was very sweet in ways and children
in general--particularly girls--would
certainly like it.
Illustrations were nice and
attractive and appropriate.
They were not incredibly beautiful
but if they had been incredibly
beautiful it might have detracted
from the strength of the story.
The plot--storyline-- was good.
I quite liked this picture book.
It was very sweet in ways and children
in general--particularly girls--would
certainly like it.
April 13, 2019
Was looking for an Easter book, but this was just an odd story. Even mama was bored with reading it. ;) But, we had to finish it and see if it ended somewhat decent. Nope, still wondering about it. And not a good wonder. Ha! The illustrations were pretty, but the story...lame!
November 10, 2020
5 stars
Cute story with beautiful illustrations. Anyone else notice the mouse following along throughout the syory?
Cute story with beautiful illustrations. Anyone else notice the mouse following along throughout the syory?
September 4, 2019
Another Easter classic that celebrates spring. 🌸
April 12, 2020
I read the 1959 edition with Betty Peterson’s illustrations, which were quite sweet and simple.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews