Ollie's Easter Eggs

Easter will be here in no time, and parents who are trying to decide how to introduce this eggy tradition to their little ones may find a little board book called Ollie’s Easter Egg by Olivier Dunrea a great introduction.

Ollie’s Easter Egg is the story of five tiny goslings and their holiday antics.

Four of the goslings have each chosen an egg and colored it their favorite color—red, blue, purple, and yellow, respectively. Ollie, the fifth gosling, is captivated by the colors and decides he wants the eggs all to himself. This doesn’t sit well with the other four, and they quickly hide the eggs to keep them safe.

Hidden eggs don’t stop Ollie. He keeps searching until he finds them, then like a toddler that has not yet learned to share, he yells, “My eggs!” and grabs them and hides them from the others. The four goslings hunt for their beloved eggs through the tulips, the tall grass, and the straw until . . . well, perhaps you and your child should read the book to find out what happens.

Ollie’s Easter Egg is a charming book, with goslings hiding, seeking, and re-hiding eggs until the reader doesn’t know if the eggs are coming or going.

The characters and their behaviors are authentic enough to appeal to very young children, the colored eggs evoking memories of long-ago Easters and half-forgotten egg hunts, and the gosling hunt itself just might inspire some creative places to hide eggs when Easter finally arrives.