Behind the Book: Easter is Egg-Cellent!

The making of a board book about renewal and unity (and chocolate bunnies!)

… and I just can’t hide it!

Note to readers: I’m adding an audio version for those who have more time to listen than to read. Enjoy!

Audio version:

Yesterday was a beautiful day, full of both sadness and joy – the same sentiments that Christians experience as they move through the Easter season.

On the one hand, I finished reading Sarah Wilson’s beautiful but aching Substack book, Collapse, about how to live consciously through human-wrought environmental, societal, and democratic loss, returning to our innately magical human-beingness, including love, self-awareness and, I dare say, Hello!Lucky’s very mission of joy, creativity and connection.

On the other hand, I spent a delightful morning at Mustard Seed Preschool in Berkeley, reading books and singing songs with musician Chano Tizon, known to the littles as “Music Man Chano.” The children’s bright eyes, dance moves, and laughter lifted our spirits to the skies. Chano and I are presently in the throes of composing several children’s songs together, inspired by Hello!Lucky’s books, which we plan to animate and share on Hello!Lucky’s YouTube channel.

Here’s a sneak listen of one of those songs, My Mom is Magical!, inspired by the book of the same name ✨:

Curious eyes beamed at me as we sang together, the children and I filled with mutual wonder. We exclaimed all of our favorite ice cream flavors out loud, and giggled as we brushed our feet🪥, slept through a dance party 🪩, and jumped into our mom’s clothes first thing in the morning (all lyrics in songs we sang — you just had to be there!). On my drive home, I sang all the way, composing new lyrics and melodies that I can’t wait to bring back to the children.

The experience reminded me of not only that Easter is upon us, but also of the role children played in Jesus’s teachings. He famously said:

“‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Eunice and me channeling our childlike sense of wonder over Easter. Photo credit: Amanda Marmer

As a child, I remember all the joyful traditions of Easter. I remember visiting a mall in New Haven, Connecticut, and petting tiny chicks and bunnies contained behind a white picket fence. I remember singing “A Tisket, A Tasket, a Green and Yellow Basket” as I searched in freshly cut grass for hidden Easter eggs. I remember my dad tucking colorful foil-covered chocolate eggs in all the most unexpected places around our house – his favorite being the cross-bars of chairs and the under-ledges of our dining table.

As an adult, having sent my children to a Christian preschool and having taught Sunday school for a few years (all despite not being religious – I am more a follower of Jesus’ teachings than a church-goer), I came to appreciate the message of both grief and renewal that permeates Easter as a universal human pattern that is as natural as the changing of the seasons.

So, when our publisher approached Eunice and me to create an Easter book for toddlers, my heartfelt answer was “yes.” Easter is Egg-cellent! was hatched.🐣

As a jumping off point, I framed Easter is Egg-cellent! as part of our series of holiday books for toddlers, which includes Christmas is Awesome! and Halloween is a Treat! Toddlers, after all, love repetition. The book follows the very same structure of rhyming couplets, naming all of the wonderful things that Easter is. . .

And leaping through meadows

Like our earlier books, Easter is Egg-cellent! also follows a child character, in this case a baby bunny, and includes a humorous side-kick, in this case an anthropomorphized “good egg.” The bunny discovers the traditions of Easter (as the good egg chimes in with punny quips) – especially his mother’s love and the ultimate theme of unity and joy.

C’mon and sing, every-buggy!

As Eunice and I mapped out each spread, we intentionally included children’s favorite Easter elements, which are simultaneously infused with spiritual meaning for adult readers, whether Christian or secular, including:

• Eggs, as symbols of renewal

• Daffodils, the first flowers of spring, symbolizing re-birth

• Lambs as symbols of innocence and Jesus Christ

• Hot cross buns as symbols of the death of Jesus, as well as symbols of phases of the moon in earlier pagan traditions

• The Easter Bunny, which comes from early pagan spring traditions

• Rabbits as symbols of new life (due to their prodigious procreative tendencies!)

In doing this, we hope we have created a book that speaks to Christian and non-Christian families alike about the joys of this special spring season.

Particularly during these days when parents are shepherding their children through so much societal change, we need to stay deeply present and grounded in our connection to nature, I believe — and there is no better time to experience this than spring. In addition, we need to stay awake to the possibilities of joyful renewal with each passing season. Easter thus feels like a more meaningful holiday now than ever. We hope that you and the little ones in your life enjoy Easter is Egg-cellent! And, Chano and I look forward to bringing you the accompanying song soon! 🎶