Thank you for reading

Do you have any questions (or answers!) about Easter Island?

Here are some letters we've received:

The story was good. I like the part when the dolphins were carrying Easter baskets around. Why do they help the Easter Bunny? Zachary

Dear Zachary, Dolphins are wonderful creatures aren't they! The two in the story, Dawn and Delphi are also the Big Eared Bunny's best friends. They know the seven seas better then any other living being on Earth & they also know that the most precious thing in all those seas are the "little flippers"!

I think that the Easter Island was a cool idea. Where those Easter eggs in the tree? It was sad when the bunny fell in the ocean, but it had a happy ending. Brooke

Dear Brooke, Yes, the beautiful eggs do grow as fruit on the popcorn trees. And about the big eared bunny getting separated from her old home and friends, that is sad, and scary.

But sometimes things like that happen. And it doesn't end up near as bad, or as scary as you'd think it would. And it makes for great stories to tell!

The story was great! It was a exciting story! Julia; Sydney, Australia.

Dear Julia, I'm glad you liked the story. Easter must be different in Australia since it's not a springtime holiday. What kind of special activates do you do in Australia?

I enjoyed the story very much especially when the dolphins took the rabbit onto the island. Kezia, England

Dear Kezia, It wouldn't be Easter without dolphins!

I like the part where the Easter eggs were on the tree. Can I grow an egg tree? Bradley, AK

Dear Bradley, No, if you plant an egg it'll grow very smelly long before it grows sprouts!

You can make a pretend egg tree, however! My 1st grade class makes egg trees each spring. A group of students get a bare branch and hold it upright in a plaster-of-paris in coffee can base. First, the egg tree sprouts flowers (we'd glue on popcorn for blossoms... ) Here in Texas the fruit trees are just starting to bloom. I'm sure that's not the case yet for you in Alaska.

Then the trees sprout leaves (green crape paper). This helps feed the trees and their growing fruit. Finally the students make their prize.... we decorate eggs and hang them from the trees!

Dear Mr. Gralish, I was so surprised that you were answering my students' e-mails. I wanted my third/fourth graders responding and your comment section was perfect. Your bunny story is part of a reading contract the children must complete. We live on an isolated island in southeast Alaska. Let me know if you would like some information about our part of the country. Robin; Ketchikan, AK

Dear Robin, Thank you for sending your class my way. It helped break up the day. For the last couple day's I've been non-stop programming the final touches on eSpring, a program with Spring themed activities. (The story is a small part of that program) It's almost complete!

If you have your class do any extension activities with the story, like what would Easter Island, and Easter traditions be like if it were an isolated island in southeast Alaska instead of tropical, I'd love to see the results!

I like the part when he fell off of the ship. He landed in a basket and floated off to the island called Easter island. Then he found some friends. Tommy

Dear Tommy, SHE was lucky the basket was there!

Kelsey (age 8) & Erin (age 6) loved the story. They liked the pictures and the dolphins.

Dear Kelsey and Erin, How wonderful! My daughters are Melissa (8) and Shelly (6). They worked beside me most of the time while I was cutting out the pictures for the book. That's Melissa and Shelly's hands on the last page of the book.

They also like looking for Popcorn trees. We have quite a few of them blooming around our house!

Marice, in Delaware, USA

I was going to use your story to tie into Easter and learning about Easter Island and the statues and people who had once lived in a paradise but used all its resources, kind of like the Lorax by Dr Suess. We will be learning its geography and writing prose on the Lorax and editing it into a speech on environment industry pollution. It Dr Suess's Birthday this month and of course Easter. Earth day is around the corner and thought it would all tie together as a unit study for my son as I homeschool him.

My question: Is there a hidden meaning in the story of the Adventurous Bunny and Easter Island in conjunction with Easter Island, Chili? Its a sweet story and I think it would be a lovely addition to our unit study this month.

Dear Marice,

I hope you share your wonderful ideas with other traditional and homeschool teachers! You help our children make very good connections.

We do have section devoted to Easter Island, Chile, and its history. Yes, it is the embodiment of the Land of the Lorax.

There is not a hidden meaning in the Adventurous Bunny and Easter Island. There is a very open message. "The Earth is reborn with each spring, and mankind is reborn with each little hand."

©2000 by Mike Gralish