cover image Chester’s Colorful Easter Eggs

Chester’s Colorful Easter Eggs

Theresa Smythe. Holt/Ottaviano, $12.99 (24p) ISBN 978-0-8050-9326-1

Smythe follows Snowbear’s Christmas Countdown with an Easter-themed introduction to color, as Chester the rabbit decorates and hides six eggs for his friends. Chester embellishes each egg according to its planned hiding spot: a red egg is made to look like a bird and hidden in a nest, while an orange egg is adorned with daisies and hearts to match the tea set in which it’s hidden. All the patterning and the detailed indoor and outdoor scenes allow Smythe’s cut-paper artwork to shine; Chester is “tickled pink” when a rainbow highlights his eggs after they are found, and readers should feel much the same. Ages 2–5. (Feb.)