Wake Up, It's Easter!

by James Kruss, Frauke Weldin (Illustrator)

Overview

Easter’s coming! Mr. Croak the Raven tells Vicki Vole, who wakes Rob Rabbit just in time to send the sleepy bunny hopping. James Krüss’s playful Easter poem sparkles with Frauke Weldin’s candy-colored illustrations as happy rabbits let the world know that Easter time is here.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735840706
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	02/01/2012
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD740L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

JAMES KRÜSS was born on Heligoland, a small German archipelago in the North Sea. He wrote many beloved poems, stories, and audio dramas for children. One of his most popular books was Timm Thaler, which was turned into a mini-TV series in the UK titled The Boy Who Lost His Laugh.
 
FRAUKE WELDIN has illustrated numerous books for children. She worked for years in a bookstore and then studied illustration. Frauke has worked as a freelance illustrator since 2002. She lives in Hamburg, Germany.

 

 

Editorial Reviews

Mr. Croak, a friendly raven, spreads the word among the animals that Easter has arrived. Though Vicki Vole drops her coffee in fear when she sees him peer down into her den, she quickly recovers and carries the message on to her friend Rob Rabbit. He appears to have a seasonal cold—and still thinks it’s Christmastime, judging by his bedside Advent calendar—but when he hears that it’s Easter, he bounds off to notify the other rabbits. While the verse is occasionally stilted (“To see him little Vicki/ Is really not too glad./ She’s learned from past experience/ That ravens can be bad”), Weldin’s smudgy portraits of joyous animals under spring skies capture the giddiness of the season. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

This pleasant, rhyming story was first published in Switzerland, adapted from a children's poem that describes several animals working together to alert all the rabbits that Easter is coming. In the introductory pages, Mr. Croak the raven flies down to tell Vicki Vole that Easter is coming. She spruces up for the holiday "as all good creatures do" and then sets off to find her friend Rob Rabbit. He appears to be in bed recovering from a cold, but he bounds up and takes off in a hurry to spread the news to the other rabbits about Easter's impending arrival. The final spread shows several rabbits at a distance romping across a green field with tiny eggs just visible hidden among the spring flowers. Mr. Croak and Vicki Vole enjoy a cup of tea together as one rabbit approaches them with baskets of decorated eggs. The story could not be much slighter, and the rhymes are sometimes a little sing-song, but the pleasant, cheery tone of the text is matched by soft-focus illustrations in bright, jewel tones against azure blue skies. A jovial, sunny story with a slightly unusual interpretation of the role of rabbits in Easter celebrations. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews