Written by: Kathrin Siegenthaler and Marcus Pfister
Illustrated by: Marcus Pfister
Recommended for: Children Ages 7-12
Themes: Fiction, Holidays, Seasons, Science
Summary:
A young Artic Hare, Hopper, struggles with wanting to be something other than an Artic Hare. His mother explains to him that in the Spring his hair will turn brown like the Easter Bunny, sparking Hopper's interest. After his mother tells him more about the Easter Bunny, (that he is fast as the wind, and brave, and leaves eggs as gifts) Hopper longs to be like the Easter Bunny. He decides to prove to his mother that he too is brave by looking for a fox, and lucklily he escapes this problem by camoflaging himself in the snow. His quest leads him to making a new friend, a brown hare, who also decides that it would be fun to be an Easter Bunny. They decide to ask the hens for some eggs to take home and decorate. However, they end up falling and cracking the eggs and going home feeling sad and defeated. To their surprise, the Easter Bunny has left them a large egg and Momma says that he wanted them to decorate it. They go to sleep and dream of all the wonderful ways that they can decorate their egg.
Children will enjoy this story and Hoppers quest to become the Easter Bunny. The pictures extend the story by giving the children opportunites to see how Hopper out-smarts the fox and how being both brown and white works to his advantage. They will feel connected to Hopper and his feelings about wanting to try something new, to be somethings else. Young children are very adventurous and curious about other animals and will enjoy learning more about hares and why they change color.
Suggestions for the Classroom:
This is a wonderful book to use in conjunction with the early days of Spring and in preparation for Easter. However, it also lends itself to teaching children about how some animals are able to camoflage themselves in order to protect themselves from predators, a connection to their Science curriculum.
*Pre-Reading Activities: Ask students to share what they know about Spring: The snow melt, grass begins to grow, flowers bloom, birds sing, butterflies fly around, Easter is coming, etc. Record their answers on the board/chart paper.
*During Reading: Focus on the pictures as you read, give children a chance to talk about what they see. Why do you think that the hare has white hair? Point out that hares change color to camoflage themselves, to protect them from predators. How does being brown help the Easter Bunny hide from the hawk? Point out that the dirt below is brown and that from up high it is hard for the hawk to see the bunny, just as people look like ants when looking down from an airplane. How did Hopper hide from the fox? Try to get children to use the word camoflage which they learned earlier in the lesson. Also, encourage children to make connections as you read.
*Post Reading: Give students a blank Easter Egg template and some crayons, markers or paints. Ask them to create their very own Spring themed Easter eggs using ideas that they came up with before reading the book, using chart as a reference and the last two pages of the book (Easter egg pictures).
About the Author/Illustrator:
Marcuse Pfister and Kathrin Siegenthaler collaborated to write Hopper's Easter Surprise which is one of many of Hopper's tales: Hopper, Hopper Hunts for Spring, Hopper's Treetop Adventure, Hang on Hopper. Pfister is also the author of the very popular children's book The Rainbow Fish. Pfister lives in Berne Switzerland with his wife and three children, the same town where he was born and raised. Not only is he a well accomplished write, but Pfister also illustrates many of his own books, including Hopper's Easter Surprise. He creates many of his illustrations by using water color paints and uses a transparent overlay to indicate where he would like foil stamping, if any, added to his illustrations during the production process.
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