Friday Book Review: The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes

Just in time for Easter, what a classic this book is! "The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes" by Du Bose Heyward, pictures by Marjorie Flack would be a welcome addition to any child's wholesome bookshelf! Written in 1939, this lovely tale is about a little girl bunny with a dream to be one of the *five* Easter Bunnies who deliver eggs to the children of the world. Typically, it is the male bunnies who earn this title, and the others laugh at her notion, but she never gives up, even after she has grown and become a mother to her large brood of 21 baby cottontails!

She teaches her babies how to care for the house and runs a tight ship before they make their way to the Palace of the Easter Eggs to see "Old Grandfather" who will be choosing a new Easter Bunny to join the team of five...

Never giving up her dream, Little Cottontail Mother watches as the other bunnies compete for the spot. Old Grandfather takes notice of her and calls her forward with interest. After a series of engagements, he recognizes she is wise, kind, swift (from chasing all those babies around), and clever and he names her as the fifth Easter Bunny!

The tale continues with her most important mission on Easter morn, to deliver a very special egg to a little boy who has been ill for a year. The journey is most difficult and is entrusted to this special momma bunny...with great effort, she makes it over the mountain, but then an accident happens and she tumbles down the to the bottom, injuring her foot, just as the sun is about to rise.

Before all hope is lost, she feels a tap on her shoulder from Grandfather Bunny who commends her for her bravery and awards her Gold Shoes, which he places on her feet and she flies up over the mountain to safely deliver the egg to the beautiful sleeping boy. She returns home to her well tended house with her 21 bunnies sleeping peacefully in their beds and on the wall of her home, she hangs her special pair of tiny little gold shoes.

Here is a clip of a post I wrote on this book last year:

~ Speaking of bunnies, one of the cutest books I've read about them recently is entitled, "The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes" by Du Bose Heyward. It is an Easter story about a female country bunny who dreams of becoming one of the Five Easter Bunnies, is laughed at by the other bunnies, yet never loses sight of her dream, even after becoming a very busy momma bunny to 21 youngsters! It definitely has a feminist twist to it, despite it being written in 1939 & brought a few tears to my eyes. She does put her bunnies to work at a young age, is rather strict with them, but they have a nice rhythm going & it served the story well. My girls enjoyed it, as well & I loved the magic of the little gold shoes...it was recommended to me by another Waldorf momma out there :)

You can read much of the book here to decide if it's one you'd like to read to your children. The illustrations are absolutely precious. I wanted to review it with enough time to order it from your library or pick up your own very special copy! It will appeal greatly to little girls of the world and was so needed in the 1930's during a time when there was much oppression of the female race.

Hope you enjoy "The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes"!

p.s. another adorable book for this holiday reading was recommended by Lynn of Raising Little Shoots is Tasha Tudor's adorable story "A Tale for Easter". We checked it out from the library and really think it's beautiful. It has gorgeous illustrations for which Tudor is so well loved. The story is sweet and simple, encompassing traditions from days bygone, but never forgotten...two gems for your Easter reading!