A family of cats’ spirited celebration of Easter traditions from the creators of Pumpkin Orange, Pumpkin Round

Easter morning, Easter sun,
Easter breakfast, Easter bun.

What would Easter be without family traditions like hot cross buns for breakfast, a gleeful egg hunt, and a special dinner with loved ones? In infectious rhyme, a family of cats celebrates the holiday with feline fun. The festive bonnets are out, the meadow is alive with spring, and even a tumble and an emptied basket can’t dampen the joy this family of charming cats share.

From the creators of Pumpkin Orange, Pumpkin Round, this buoyant picture book is perfect for read-alouds and lap sharing. An egg-decorating activity on the endpapers will add extra fun for little hands. With Rosanna Battigelli’s bouncing rhyme and Tara Anderson’s cozy art, Easter Morning, Easter Sun is sure to become a tradition of its very own.

At three years of age, Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli immigrated from Calabria, Italy, to Sudbury, Ontario, Canada with her family. During her teaching career, she received four OECTA (Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association) Best Practice Awards for her unique strategies in early literacy and other initiatives. An alumna of the Humber School for Writers, her writing has been published in nineteen anthologies. Her novel, La Brigantessa, published in 2018, won a Gold Medal for Historical Fiction in the 2019 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards. La Brigantessa was also finalist for the 2019 Canadian Authors Association Fred Kerner Book Award and the 2019 Northern Lit Award. Her children's book, Pumpkin Orange, Pumpkin Round, was published in the fall of 2019, and she has published two novels with Harlequin UK (2018, 2020). She lives in Sudbury.

Rosanna Battigelli's profile page

A folk artist and award-winning illustrator who trained at the Ontario College of Art and Design, Tara Anderson is known for her lively and humorous animal illustrations. Her most recent work includes spot illustrations of a quirky little hamster in Sapphire the Great and the Meaning of Life, and beautiful coloured-pencil illustrations of a boisterous family of rhinos in Rhino Rumpus. Her debut That Stripy Cat was followed with Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That, which won the 2014 Preschool Reads Award and was nominated for the 2015 SYRCA Shining Willow Award. The antics of Nat and his kitten friend are inspired by the cats who roam her farmhouse in Tweed, Ontario, where she lives with her husband and daughter.

Tara Anderson's profile page

Praise for Easter Morning, Easter Sun

“The lovely illustrations awash in sweet pastels are reminiscent of dyed eggs….Purchase for large collections and include in Easter or spring holidays programming/displays.”—School Library Journal

“Anderson tucks careful, child-friendly details into the simple compositions…This Easter story focuses on things like springtime renewal as opposed to delving into the religious background of the holiday….A simple, secular Easter story best suited for younger readers.”—Kirkus Reviews

“The creators of Pumpkin Orange, Pumpkin Round reunite for this easy-to-read secular celebration of Easter…A mellow color palette and expressive characters mark Anderson’s approachable art…”—Publishers Weekly

“All the wonderful things about springtime are included in this story…This book is perfect for children between the ages of three and five, especially if their family is preparing for the Easter celebration.”—Youth Services Book Review

“This board book has a great rhythm with the simple phrases and rhymes. Repetitive words will work well for the youngest of readers. The images tell the story of a family enjoying their Easter together. The colors are soft and work well for a book about spring.”—YA Books Central

“For those who celebrate Easter, Rosanna Battigelli and Tara Anderson will give life to your celebrations of hot cross buns, Easter egg hunts and family feasts. For those who don’t, Easter Morning, Easter Sun shares springtime festivities that herald a new season of colours, freshness and connection of family and friends.”—CanLit for LittleCanadians