Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-7. First published in 1957 and illustrated by Adrienne Adams, then reillustrated by her in 1983, this perennial favorite gets an update by Saaf. The story is still delightful; after the Easter Bunny oversleeps, he tries to deliver his eggs on Mother's Day, Fourth of July, and Halloween, much to the amusement and annoyance of the deliverees. Fortunately, Santa Claus finds Bunny a job making toys and hopping in and out of chimneys, and Bunny gets a gold watch as a thank you--a watch that wakes him up right on time next Easter day. The rather delicate illustrations in the previous book, featuring a neatly dressed bunny in a trim jacket and white pants, are replaced here by more exuberant art, starting on the dust jacket with the rabbit, decked out in a striped suit, rushing along as eggs spill out of his basket. Inside, there's lots of patterning, which adds depth to the pictures, and Saaf uses every opportunity for humor, starting with the bemused bunny who just can't get it right. A bold new edition that kids will take to their hearts. --Ilene Cooper
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Innovative collage artwork by Donald Saaf and an updated text provide an invigorating new look for The Easter Bunny That Overslept by Priscilla and Otto Friedrich, first published in 1957. The hero snoozes past his delivery deadline and awakes instead on Mother's Day; Saaf pictures him marching ahead to the next holiday sporting a red, white and blue suit, dejectedly walking home against a backdrop of photocopied real grass. In a penultimate spread, Santa brings the hero an alarm clock so he'll make his next delivery on time. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-In this updated and newly illustrated version of a 1957 favorite (Lothrop), which was first revised in 1983 (Morrow, 1987), the Easter bunny sleeps through a rainy Easter Day and doesn't wake up until Mother's Day. He tries to deliver his brightly colored eggs then, but no one wants them. Undaunted, he paints them red, white, and blue; dons an Uncle Sam hat; and joins the Fourth of July parade. No one wants them then either. Sadly, he returns home and naps until October when little ghosts knock on his door for trick or treat. They don't want Easter eggs either. Suddenly a fierce wind snatches up the bunny and blows him all the way north to Santa's house, where he can at least help make children happy. A grateful Santa presents him with a gold alarm clock, and the bunny never again sleeps through Easter. The clever story is written in simple, sprightly language and illustrated in an unusual combination of collage and gouache in brilliant colors and a variety of sizes. The flat, decorative style and lively, cartoon figures have a folk-art charm. A welcome addition for a new generation of readers.-Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Revised and newly illustrated, this story tells how the tardy Easter Bunny tries in vain to give away eggs on other holidays in the year. Conveniently for the plot, a fierce gale blows him to the North Pole, and he finds work helping Santa, who rewards him with a handy alarm clock. The new collage and crudely painted gouache art shows a disturbingly hollow-eyed Easter Bunny, but the story will still draw readers. From HORN BOOK Fall 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This protean holiday tale's third redaction (1st edition, 1957, illustrated by Adrienne Adams; revised edition, 1983, re-illustrated by Adams) has been dumbed down "for a new generation" (as the Publisher's Note has it) and paired to stiff, coarsely painted collages constructed in part from clipped photos and patterned wallpaper. One year the Easter Bunny oversleeps his appointed gig and discovers that no one wants painted eggs on Mother's Day, or, later, July 4th or Halloween. (The previous edition's "Early in May the rain stopped. The sun shone into the Easter bunny's burrow and woke him up. He yawned and stretched, and put on his new clothes because, of course, he thought it was Easter time," has been reduced to: "That month it rained every day; then in May the sun came out. The bunny woke up. Yawn! Stretch!" Santa, however, welcomes him, puts him to work with the elves, and finally gives him an antique alarm clock so that he'll never oversleep again. Saaf (What Do Ducks Dream?, p. 544, etc.) dresses the Easter Bunny in striped pajamas, and applies white paint so thinly over the brown undercoating that the rabbit's unclothed parts have a smudged, raddled look. Altogether, a charming minor classic in tawdry new dress. (Picture book. 5-7)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
