cover image Tiny the Texas Easter Bunny

Tiny the Texas Easter Bunny

Eric James, illus. by Sara Sanchez. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, $9.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4926-5968-6

This Texas-themed Easter story, one of more than 60 regional versions of this tale publishing simultaneously, follows an elephant named Tiny as he attempts to deliver Easter eggs for his rabbit friend, Fluff. Decked out in an ill-fitting rabbit suit, Tiny doesn’t have much success until he realizes that he’s better off embracing his elephant nature. James’s rhymes can be singsongy, but the Texas references are smoothly incorporated (“They head down to Houston and rush through the streets,/ delivering handfuls of chocolatey treats”) and kept to enough of a minimum that they avoid feeling shoehorned in. Sanchez uses an Easter-ready pastel palette for her cartoons, which plays up the story’s light (and occasionally scatological) humor. This should hit the mark for parents looking for an Easter basket book with a local twist. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)