Moms' Book Review: Carrot Saves Easter

With his holiday fast approaching and seasonal spirit flagging, the Easter Bunny needs some help. He finds it from fellow cottontail Carrot, who also inspires kids to do good deeds through a new book, penned by a local mom. MomSpeaker Marissa Kiepert Truong here shares how her family has adopted Carrot as an important part of their spring celebrations.

Since becoming a mother over five years ago, it's been important to me to not only teach my children the ABCs and 123s but also teach them practical skills, values, ethnic and religious heritage, and instill in them a sense of identity and belonging. Through our family's traditions, my children are not only learning all of these things but are forming lasting memories for years to come.

What are our family traditions? Well, each October a "Halloween Ghost" visits us for 31 days and leaves a little treat behind (yes, each day). In November we trace our hands, cut them out and write one thing we are thankful for on the back, then hang our "leaves" on our "thankfulness tree" built out of branches we find in the yard. In the winter, we donate toys to children in need and cut down our own tree at the local farm. At Christmastime, our Elf Sparkle brings us a Christmas book to read each day and leaves a new version of The Night Before Christmason Christmas Eve each year.

We have smaller traditions and rituals like having pizza every Friday night, going out for dessert on Thursday evenings and reading exactly three books before bed.

Today I'm sharing a new book, Carrot Saves Easter, that will inspire our newest family tradition.

Created by Amanda Macielinski, a local Philadelphia mother of two and speech pathologist, Carrot Saves Easter teaches children about the importance of doing good deeds. While the book is about Easter, it isn't overtly a religious story. The creator's intent in writing the book is to bring families closer through a new tradition, in hopes that families enjoy reading all of their good deeds together, year after year.

The tale of a bunny helper

The story of Carrot Saves Easter takes place on Easter Island, where a magical factory relies on kindness to help make sweet treats for little boys and girls to eat on Easter. But a problem arises when the Easter Bunny realizes the supply of good deeds is running low. A bunny helper named Carrot comes to Easter's rescue by traveling far and wide to bring stories of good deeds back to Easter Island.   

Each copy of the book comes with its own bunny helper like Carrot, who reports back to the Easter Bunny all the good deeds that your child does during the Easter season. Children are encouraged: "Each night before Easter tell your bunny helper the good deeds you have done" so that Easter can be saved year after year. There is a journal in the back of the book to record all of your child's acts of kindness.

What do I love about this book?

• It provides great talking points for parents and children to discuss what it means to be a kind person, perform selfless acts, and why these things are important. Discussions like these are important for receptive and expressive language development.
• It's a book that truly encourages parent-and-child bonding time in an age of technology. 
• It gives specific examples of children doing good deeds.
• It provides the opportunity for children to practice writing skills with the inclusion of the journal (pictured at right).
• It makes a wonderful family keepsake to look back on each year.
• It's a sturdy and well-made product! The book will withstand being a favorite and the bunny helper is high quality to withstand cuddles from any child for many years. 

In addition to my being a fan of the book, my children really enjoyed reading it, too. The illustrations are full of vibrant colors and include one hidden egg on each page (which my children thoroughly enjoyed finding). This book inspired my daughter to make me breakfast in bed one morning (it was not yummy at all, but so cute), and I'm very impressed with her desire to do good deeds. My son is younger and only beginning to understand what it means to be a "good" person, but I know this book will help him this year and in the future!
 

If you'd like to adopt your very own bunny helper and make this new Easter tradition a part of your family, books can be purchased online at Carrotsaveseaster.com and at the King of Prussia Mall at Layla's Boutique. 

Marissa Kiepert Truong, PhD, is a Chester County, PA mom and early education consultant. This post is adapted from her blog Land of Once Upon a Time.