Rabbits and eggs

This is the season where families invite rabbits into their homes, rabbits who bring baskets of goodies. The most playful ones take joy in hiding colored eggs for children to find. Dyed eggs and chocolates abound, with an abundance of jelly beans and the occasional sugary peep. Spring has sprung and Easter is nigh.

Rabbits as main characters in novels abound as well. The poignant "Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams brings us the tender story of love between a boy and his stuffed rabbit. A story that breaks one's heart while equally sharing hope with joy. In the classic "Watership Down" by Richard Adams, readers learn about rabbits in their true animal form, nibbling away at irresistible plants and thumping a leg vigorously in danger. They also find their way through fabled adventure with mortal threats, civil war between rivals and a prophetic future.

A new novel, "The Rabbit's Gift" by Jessica Vitalis, brings another rabbit fable to light. The idea started in France and was highlighted in a short silent film, "The Fairy of the Cabbages," in 1896 by Alice Guy-Blache'. She was the first woman to direct a film and also first to make a narrative fiction film. Along the line of the methodology of storks, Vitalis layered her story into a folktale about a land where large Angora Rex rabbits plant a special cabbage with a baby seed and nurture the harvest until the babies are ready to find their forever homes with humans.

Quincy is a runt Rex and wants to prove himself and become a hero, saving the rabbits from starvation. Fleurine d'Aubigne is a lonely girl who yearns for a sister and finds her way into a purple cabbage patch, with the gentle breathing of babies inside delicate cabbage leaves. Both Quincy and Fleurine have obstacles as big as mountains to climb. Can they help each other in their journeys?

Now for the eggs... there are all kinds of books that deal with eggs. Christopher Paolini has a four book series that starts with "Eragon." This farm boy finds an unusually large egg in the forest. He hides the egg in his uncle's barn under a pile of hay. When hearing a crackling sound, he realizes that the egg is hatching. No fluffy chicken emerges, but rather a dragon. A dragon in a time where it was thought all dragons had been annihilated to extinction. But here in the barn is a living breathing dragon! It grows quickly and when the souls of Eragon and the dragon Saphira merge in forever friendship and allegiance, a great adventure begins. Yes, there is flying for both Saphira and Eragon and it's glorious.

In a trilogy of stories by Kenneth Oppel, "Bloom," "Hatch" and "Thrive," the reader finds an abundance of eggs that come with the rain. What hatches may make those who are squeamish shudder a bit. Are these hatchlings bugs? Are these hatchlings aliens? This sci-fi series is written for the YA crowd, but adults should like the out of the box imaginative thinking as well.

"The Odd Egg" by Emily Gravett is a picture book story that will delight the whole family. Duck wants to be like all the other birds in spring, protecting and hatching eggs. When he finds a lone egg, white with beautiful green specks, he lovingly cares for it until it hatches. I won't spoil the ending, but the color green is a clue!

Easter day first starts with a religious holiday of lilies and glorious music at sunrise services across the nation. Families of many beliefs also add Easter bunnies and candies to the mix as the day progresses with resplendent tables and the sharing of food. New life is celebrated in so many ways. The eggs, the flowers, baby bunnies and chicks. One might even find a few butterflies as well. All in the colors of spring ushered in to honor a world that renews itself every year.

Our trees will be getting tender leaves soon. Birds are already busy building their nests. New grasses and wildflowers surprise us on the hillsides after our late snows and an abundance of rain from winter storms. Many take for granted that this process will always come in its cycle and they move through their busy lives hardly noticing. Maybe that is why we are inundated each year by the prolific Easter Bunny and his antics of bringing and hiding a basketful of eggs. New life emerges, fresh and clean, and we have the chance to dance softly and thankfully into spring.

Good Books.

Good reading.

*Midge Lyn'dee is a fictional character used for the purpose of entertainment though the reviews are real and sincere.