Five Timeless Classics for Your Easter Basket

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Parents, are you looking to avoid filling your children’s Easter baskets with candy and plastic junk? Well, look no further because today I have five timeless classics for your Easter baskets. These books have been around for decades and each classic features a rabbit as the main character. My children adore these books, folks, and I am sure yours will as well!

The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter is a beautiful hardcover volume that contains the complete, unabridged, works of Beatrix Potter including the original water-colored illustrations. The Tales of Peter Rabbit, originally published in 1902, have delighted children for generations. Your children will love to read about Peter’s mischief as he wreaks havoc in Mr. McGregor’s garden. I love that this book contains an about section before each of the twenty-three stories. In addition, this volume contains four stories that were not published while Potter was living. The Tales of Beatrix Potter (Classics Books on CD Collection), read by Fl0 Gibson, contains the following stories: Peter Rabbit, The Tailor of Gloucester, Squirrel Nutkin, Two Bad Mice, Mrs. Tiggly Winkle, Benjamin Bunny, Jeremy Fisher, Jemimah Puddleduck, The Flopsy Bunnies, Ginger and Pickles, and Mr. Tod. The audiobook would make a wonderful companion to the hardcover collection. This book and audiobook would make a wonderful addition to any Easter basket or family library and would also make for a treasured gift for the new baby in your life.

The Adventures of Peter Cottontail by Thornton W. Burgess recount the adventures of Peter Cottontail in the Green Meadow, the Purple Mountains, and the Smiling Pool. Your children will love the story about Peter Cottontail changing his name, and will delight in Peter’s adventures with Reddy Fox. Originally published in 1914, this book contains short chapters that make for perfect bedtime stories. I like that these stories were written by a conservationist. The stories contain sweet messages about being kind to the earth and its wildlife, a message that is just as important for children today as it was decades ago.

 

Originally published in 1922, The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams will transport you back to your childhood in one fell swoop. This award-winning classic tells the story of a stuffed rabbit’s quest to become real. One of the oldest members of the boy’s nursery, the Old Skin Horse, tells the Velveteen Rabbit that toys become real with a child’s love. The Velveteen Rabbit struggles to win his boy’s love, and must compete with more modern toys, complete with bells and whistles. One night, the boy cannot find the toy he normally slept with and so his Nana gave him the Velveteen Rabbit. This started a bond between the boy and the rabbit and they shared the bed for many nights, until the boy becomes ill with Scarlett Fever. All of the germ-infected toys, including the Velveteen Rabbit, must then be burned. Hearing this news, the Velveteen Rabbit sheds a real tear. At this point, the Nursery Magic Fairy appears and grants the Velveteen Rabbit’s wish to become real, and he joins other real rabbits in the woods. At the end of the book, the rabbit returns to the boy’s garden to check on him, and the boy thinks the rabbit looks like his old Velveteen Rabbit. Folks, try getting through this read aloud without a tear or two- I certainly can’t do it!

Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt is another timeless classic. Originally published in 1940, this touch and feel book has been a best-seller for ages. You and your children will adore the timeless feel of this old classic. Young children will delight in the textures and will love to  interact with this book, from playing peek-a-book to looking at their reflection in the mirror. This book would make a perfect Easter basket addition for the new baby in your life.

 

Marshmallow, originally published in 1942, was written and illustrated by Clare Turlay Newberry. Newberry won the Caldecott Medal for four of her books, including this beautifully illustrated tale of a spoiled cat named Oliver and a baby bunny named Mashmallow. Your children will love to watch Marshmallow slowly win over Oliver’s affection, as the two grow to become friends. This story is sure to become an instant classic for your family, and it is a story that the adults will not mind reading again and again.

Tell me folks… what is your favorite timeless classic? Would you add another Easter book to this list? What will the Easter Bunny be filling your children’s baskets with this year? Share here!

… And, if you’re looking for some fun Easter-themed crafts, art, and activities, look no further:

Follow My Little Poppies’s board Easter on Pinterest.

Are you looking to take your family’s read alouds to the next level? Join the {virtual} Family Book Club at My Little Poppies:

All of the books (and more!) from the {virtual} Family Book Club at My Little Poppies can be found here:

 

All of the lessons, crafts, and activities based on each book can be found here, listed by title and author:

Visit Cait Fitz @ My Little Poppies’s profile on Pinterest.

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“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

~ Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

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*FTC Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Basically, if you click on these links and make a purchase, I will receive small commission (we’re talking cents, not dollars). I would never endorse a product for a few cents. We recommend what we love here, folks.