Laying a Trail: Happy Easter, Mouse by Laura Numeroff

The night before Easter, Mouse decorates some eggs.

When he wakes up on Easter morning, he finds a yellow egg under the covers.

And the hunt is on. Mouse finds red eggs on the kitchen counter, hiding behind a gallon jug of milk and peeping out between two cannisters. The fridge door is suspiciously ajar. Some mischief is "afoot" here.

In short order Mouse detects blue eggs under the rocking chair where a boy is snoozing and orange eggs decoratively tucked among the sofa cushions.

Who balanced all those purple eggs on the table?

Who would hide green eggs in plain view on the counter? Who indeed would do such a deed?

Little ones sharing this cheery little board book will already know the answer to that one. In each double-page spread they will catch just a glimpse of a jaunty bunny ear or two, a fluffy tail exiting page right, or a front paw with a colored egg to be "hidden" on the next page. Of course it's the Easter Bunny on his annual visit, and Mouse is just jumping with his usual joie de vivre to catch the fuzz-tailed funster in the act in Laura Numeroff's latest holiday board book adventure, Happy Easter, Mouse! (If You Give...) (Balzer & Bray, 2010). Illustrated in bright spring eye-candy colors, with Felicia Bond's inimitable Mouse in his little denim overalls jiving through the pages, this one is as much fun as a basket of jellybeans! Listening tots, too, will be inspired to start coloring, hiding, or hunting their own eggs right away!

A great Easter basket stuffer which says "Happy Easter, Mouse!" and Happy Easter, everyone!