Easter Surprise by Catherine Stock (1991) is a lovely book “in the author’s characteristically soft, glowing watercolors highlighted by colored pencil.” How can one repeat the classic story of an Easter egg hunt? Stock begins with her illustrations. The cover art prompted me to pick up her book. In Stock’s version, a mother and two children spend Easter weekend at a cabin by a lake. They decorate eggs and go on a hunt for sweet treats. There are no other adults or families in this story, which made me wonder how this lone parent managed to arrange the weekend activities all by herself. There’s no religious references here. The text is minimal and the font slightly large. It’s a visually pleasing story without conflict or disappointment.
