Happy Easter Day!

by Wendy Watson

A family prepares for a traditional American Easter by making hot cross buns, getting new clothes, and decorating eggs. On the holiday, they hunt for baskets, go to church, have dinner, and play games. Songs and poems are interspersed throughout the text.

Genres: Picture Books, Holiday

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1993

About the author

Wendy Watson is an author and illustrator of children's books. She is the daughter of Nancy Dingman Watson and Aldren A. Watson and the sister of Clyde Watson.

Reviews

[Edward Creter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautifully drawn Easter book is loaded with poems and songs of the holiday, as well as things families do on Easter. Be blessed by this book!

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family celebrates the Easter holiday together in this charming picture book from author/illustrator Wendy Watson. Traditional rhymes and literary poems are included on each page, while the main text and illustrations describe the family's happy activities, from making hot cross buns to shopping for new Easter clothing, creating an egg tree and painting eggs. Easter morning brings lots of fun, as the children discover their candy-filled Easter baskets, and then the family heads to church for services. Afterward, the whole family, including Grandma and Grandpa, have Easter dinner and play Easter games, with a wonderful surprise from the family cat concluding the tale...

Published in 1993, Happy Easter Day! was one of six picture books from Watson depicting the same family celebrating various holidays throughout the year. The setting is a small New England town, but although I grew up in suburban New York state, almost everything about it felt familiar, hearkening back to my own girlhood, and my family's own Easter celebrations—a mixture of religious and secular activities. That sense of recognition increased my appreciation, as did the the family warmth and joy depicted in text and artwork. The visuals here are cute, and although a little too cartoon-like to become a personal favorite, were enjoyable and well-suited to the story. I appreciated the inclusion of all the poems and nursery rhymes, each appropriate to the section of the story with which they were paired. Although I have read other books illustrated by Watson—John Bierhorst's Doctor Coyote: A Native American Aesop's Fables and Is My Friend at Home?: Pueblo Fireside Tales , and Clyde Watson's Father Fox's Christmas Rhymes —this was the first of her own books which I have picked up. I enjoyed it, and now plan to track down others, particularly those depicting this family. Recommended to picture book audiences seeking fun and wholesome Easter stories, in which both religious observance and secular cultural practices are depicted.

Note: If half stars were available, this would be a 3.5-star book for me, but as they are not, I have rounded up.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Christian book for Easter that shows a family going through the traditions of easter with eggs, the easter bunny, hot cross buns. But they also get all dressed and go to church to celebrate together and sing alleluia.

[Sara Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the rhymes sprinkled throughout.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The poems are cute additions to each page and the illustrations sweet.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Has some rhymes and a bit of a story. Seems a bit hap-hazard. Certainly not a book that kept my child's attention.