Steve lives on the Isle of the Great Easter Bunny, but he’s not looking forward to Easter this year. He wants to win the Golden Egg Cup for the most chocolate eggs, but he hasn’t grown any all year. But his chicken friend, Nugget, tells him not to lose heart.

So Steve decides to try to grow his chocolate egg his own way. He adds his favorite ingredients to the pot, including his last jelly bean. And then his egg starts to grow. And it keeps growing and growing, and then it starts to crack.

The giant egg cracks some more, and it hatches a dragon. And then the dragon flies over the island, pops through the rabbit hole, and goes to the Real World. Steve doesn’t have any choice but to go after him.

As Steve and Nugget watch the dragon fly through the town, they see him gobbling up all the chocolate eggs. He eats every single one, and Steve feels hop-less. Now, how are the bunnies going to make enough eggs for all the kids?

But then suddenly there is a noise, and a bunch of chocolate eggs come flying out of Trevor the Dragon’s bum. Steve, Nugget, and Trevor rush to replace all the eggs Trevor had eaten and get back home before sunrise.

But will it be enough to save Easter? Or is Easter about something other than chocolate eggs and the Golden Egg Cup trophy?

Author Carys Bexington has created a fun, whimsical look at Easter through The Hot Cross Bunny, and illustrator Mark Chambers has brought that vision to life with colorful drawings filled with cute characters. Told in rhymes that are charming and humorous, this story offers a fun perspective of Easter, doing the right thing, making new friends, and following your heart (even if it’s made of a jelly bean).

I thought that The Hot Cross Bunny was adorable, and I think kids will really enjoy it. The rhymes make it fun to listen to, the illustrations are adorable and draw you into the story, and the ultimate theme of Easter being about friendship more than candy will warm the hearts of parents and teachers. Overall, it’s just a really fun book to read!

Egalleys for The Hot Cross Bunny were provided by Happy Yak, of the Quarto Group, through Edelweiss, with many thanks.