Easter Day Alphabet

Publishers Weekly

Of more secular appeal, Easter Day Alphabet by Beverly Barras Vidrine, illus. by Alison Davis Lyne, reviews Easter customs and joins them to folk traditions. Letting "F" stand for "food," for example, Vidrine notes that ham is popular on Easter and adds that "a very long time ago, the pig was a symbol of wealth. Today piggy banks carry on this same idea." With its spic-and-span children posed in their Easter best, the art makes no attempt to stay up to date. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

There is a golden egg hidden on each page in or near the alphabetical letter. Each letter represents a symbol or tradition of Easter. For example, "E" is for egg and "J" is for Jesus. Some are loosely connected, such as "I" is for insect, which carries the pollen that makes the flowers bloom. "Z" is for zigzag, which is the way children run as they search for Easter eggs. Children will learn about an old game called "knock eggs" and why people stand during the "Hallelujah Chorus." The statements are straightforward. Pastel colors illustrate the letters and the accompanying illustrations. Animals, plants, and decorated eggs are all more successful than the drawings of the blond-haired people. 2003, Pelican,
— Sharon Salluzzo

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-Mediocre illustrations and text, along with ambiguous and blanket statements, mar this alphabetical look at Easter. Each letter is painted as if it were made with ribbon, with loops and curlicues that only make it harder, in many cases, for children to identify it. Each one sits on a wallpaperlike background with another illustration set into it. Poorly drawn figures stare woodenly out from the pages, dressed, in most cases, as though they lived in the 1950s. Under each letter, two or three sentences explain the word. However, many of them are incomplete or confusing. For example, under the letter "M" for Messiah, the text reads, "Some of the words to this song tell the Easter story. Because King George II stood up when he heard the Hallelujah Chorus, people today stand also." This assumes that children know who King George II was and that the "Hallelujah Chorus" is part of the Messiah. Too often, the words "once," "long ago," or "the olden days" are used instead of actual facts, e.g., "The Easter walk started years ago." Toward the end of the alphabet, the choice of words becomes desperate. For an easy and well-written introduction to the holiday, stick with Gail Gibbons's Easter (Holiday, 1989).-Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.