Review by Booklist Review
Ages 3-5. Max, the popular little rabbit, returns to celebrate Easter. When the Easter Bunny (attractively outfitted in a polka dot vest and lounging jacket) leaves a chocolate chicken in the birdbath, Max is besotted. He wants that chicken! But sister Ruby has her own designs on the confection. She insists that they go on an egg hunt, and whoever collects the most eggs, wins the hen. Ruby is highly successful; Max is not. But while Ruby is busy counting her eggs, Max makes off with the chocolate chicken and gobbles it up. Ruby is mad, but in a happy conclusion, the Easter bunny leaves her a chocolate duck (though in the last image, Max has already broken off that bird's tail, unbeknownst to Ruby). Wells gleefully mixes art and text into a book as colorful and bright as the eggs in Ruby's basket. Ink drawings overlaid with watercolor washes fill up the two-page spreads; the endpapers depicting the insouciant Easter Bunny are especially keen. Packed with understated humor (``Ruby found a red egg with green stars. Max found a spoon''), and featuring endearing, expressively drawn characters, the book is a happy companion to Max's Christmas [BKL O 15 86]. -- Ilene Cooper
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Irresistible Max is backthis time starring in a springtime book full of Easter surprises. When Max finds a chocolate chicken in the birdbath, big sister Ruby decides to organize an Easter egg hunt. Whoever finds the most eggs will get to eat Max's chocolate chicken, she says. Max tries to play Ruby's game, but like most toddlers, is easily distracted. When Ruby finds him making ant-and-acorn pancakes, she says, ``Pull youself together . . . otherwise you'll never get the chocolate chicken.'' But Max knows better. While Ruby smugly counts all the eggs in her basket, Max steals his chocolate chicken, and, hiding beneath a tree, eats it all by himself. Ruby is aghast, until she discovers the chocolate duck the thoughtful Easter bunny has left for her. Like Wells's other Max books, the text is understated and perceptive; the funny illustrations are as beguiling as the natty Easter bunny himself. Ages 3-7. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-- It's cause for celebration when rabbit toddler Max and his bossy sister Ruby return to share another holiday with young readers. Max falls in love with a chocolate chicken that's been left in the bird bath by the Easter Rabbit, and he simply wants to eat it. Ruby, however, insists that they hunt for eggs, with the winner claiming it. Determined Max gets his way, but the surprise ending shows that Ruby is no loser. With her characteristic simplicity of illustration and plot, Wells once again creates an entertaining story with a beguiling main character. The illustrations, in bright jelly bean colors, reflect expression, emotion, mood, and the humor of the situations and capture the freshness of the season. An Easter treat that features two child-like hares in a tale to be enjoyed again and again.-- Trev Jones, ``School Library Journal'' (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
This delightful installment of the Max and Ruby saga, in which Max loses the Easter egg hunt to his bossy sister but still makes off with the chocolate chicken prize, doesn't gain anything from being issued in an overly large board book form. In fact, little hands may find this version harder to grapple with than the original picture book. From HORN BOOK Fall 1999, (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
Max is back, as irresistibly nonconformist as ever. ""One morning somebody [it looks like the Easter Bunny, but, then, Max is a rabbit too. . .] put a chocolate chicken in the birdbath."" Ruby, Max's sister, knows all the rules: whoever finds the most eggs gets the chocolate chicken. Max doesn't care about rules; he puts his basket in a mud puddle, finds a spoon, watches ants, makes ant-and-acorn pancakes, and finally takes the chocolate chicken away and eats it. Ruby doesn't know whether to be incensed or to negotiate. But not to worry--a chocolate turkey appears for her, and Max says, ""I love you!"" This delicious summing up of the contrast between two quintessentially different personalities is reflected in Wells' wonderfully expressive laces; despite the book's small size, cheerful colors and bold forms suit it for groups, while the text is also easy enough for beginning readers. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
