Rabbit Rousing! Pete the Cat and the Five Little Bunnies by Kimberly and James Dean

What do bunnies do?

They HOP!

Now Pete's in a pickle! He's taken on the job of baby-sitting five little bunnies, and when he tries to corral them for bedtime, nature takes its course.

The bunnies start hopping all at once.

Five little bunnies jumping on the bed.

One fell off and bumped his head.

Bunny heads are going bump in the night! And not surprisingly, Pete finds himself in a predictable babysitting situation.

He calls the doctor for medical advice, and of course he gets practical advice. Don't let them DO that!

But the bunnies keep bouncing and the heads keep bumping, until poor Pete the Cat calls the doctor again. The doc points out the only solution:

Put those bunnies straight to bed!

Taking a page from Eileen Christolow's classic Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (Padded Board Book) (A Five Little Monkeys Story), Kimberly and James Dean's latest, Pete the Cat: Five Little Bunnies (Harper, 2020) doubles as Easter-related bunny story and counting book tale, with their usual Pete the Cat fun for preschoolers and emergent readers. Perfect for a sweet but not sugary Easter basket stuffer.

Pair this one with the James and Kimberly Dean's Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure.

Spring Busy-ness: Busy Chickens and Busy Bunnies by John Schindel

CHICKENS WALKING!

CHICKENS SQUAWKING!

And--chickens doing practically everything that chickens can do are the subject of John Schindel's amazing little board book, Busy Chickens (A Busy Book), which puts the personality into poultry!

No pedestrian poultry here, as the vivid and dynamic color photos go up close and personal. Schindel's creative verse features verbs, as chickens zoom and groom, flap and nap, care (for eggs) and share, and peek and sneak. The various fowl vary from oh-so-cute golden fuzz-balls chicks to exotic crested capons, and the wonderful Steven Holt shots of chickens in action seem to be come alive on the pages. It's high art to make chickens beautiful and arresting, but this book for the youngest lap-sit audience does the job.

And for the upcoming spring season, add Schindel's and Holt's equally jolly photo essay Busy Bunnies which puts a variety of young rabbits up front and center in spring-tinged pastels. Young ones do the bunny hop and then plop down for a bunny nap. Bunnies go riding on Mother Bunny's back and go hiding inside a flower pot, and look darn cute doing it all.

Perfect for a pre-Easter read or pre-farm outing, these two board books in the Busy Books series are wonderful signs of spring for adult and small child to share.