Our family looks forward to building our Christmas book collection each year, but there are slim pickings when it comes to Easter books outside the realm of favorite characters gussied up in bunny ears at an egg hunt. The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes has been my favorite Easter book since I was a little girl, so all others have a lot to live up to!

This year, we discovered Jan Brett’s The Easter Egg. Brett is renowned for her gorgeously detailed illustrations, and this book did not disappoint! The pages are framed by beautifully decorated eggs and foliage. and Hoppi the bunny looks soft enough to pet. In this story, the bunny who makes the best egg will get to help the Easter Rabbit deliver eggs on Easter morning. Hoppi takes a walk in the forest to help clear his mind and inspire him with a fabulous egg idea, when a blue robin’s egg falls from its nest. Hoppi cares for the egg until it hatches, and he is rewarded for his kindness by being chosen by the Easter Rabbit after all.

Natasha’s Rating: ★★★★★

The illustrations in this book are delightful! They keep you engrossed just as much as the story. I also wholeheartedly love the message the book conveys that choosing to care for one another is more important than winning an individual prize. We got this book from the library, but I would add it to our permanent collection.

Eliana’s Rating: ★★★★★

Hoppi asked others for things to use for his egg. Even though he didn’t get to make his egg, he kept the mother robin’s egg safe for hatching. I loved the pictures of the eggs that they made.

 

“Stained Glass” Easter Egg Craft

This year, I wanted to make a toddler-friendly craft that both of our kids could enjoy. (They are 5 and 2.) Glitter is out of the question 99.7% of the time, and I did not have the energy for monitoring paint, so paper crafts it was!

"Stained Glass" Eggs | Joyous Roar

For this simple craft, you just need a few materials:

  • construction paper
  • a few colors of tissue paper, cut into small squares
  • clear contact paper (you can usually find this with the shelf liners in the cleaning section)
  • scissors

First, prep your tissue paper. Cut a few strips, then cut the strips down into small squares. It doesn’t have to be perfect. This is a great chance for your kids to practice cutting. (You can buy pre-cut tissue squares, but we just upcycled some tissue paper from gifts.)

Next, cut a piece of contact paper to the same size as your construction paper. (Don’t peel it yet!) Fold your construction paper in half lengthwise and cut an egg shape along the fold. Make sure to leave a large enough border to stick to your contact paper (at least 1″). Here’s a visual:

Discard the middle and unfold your paper. You should have an egg shaped hole in the middle. Now you can carefully peel the backing off the contact paper and adhere it to your construction paper frame. Keep the sticky side facing up so that you don’t stick it to the table by accident!

Now here’s the fun part! Stick your tissue paper pieces to the egg in whatever pattern you’d like. Make sure you cover the entire sticky surface, and try not to overlap too much or the light won’t shine through as well. When you’re done, turn your paper over, and voila! A “stained glass” egg to hang in your window!

"Stained Glass" Egg Craft | Joyous Roar

(Pardon our dead backyard. It’s still winter in Pennsylvania!)

This craft lends itself well to all sorts of shapes. You could make a cross for Easter, a heart for Valentine’s Day, shades of green for St. Patrick’s Day– get creative!