Children's Literature
Thinking that the Easter Bunny is a monster, Patrick frightens him away. When he tell SpongeBob Squarepants what he has done, SpongeBob decides to don a bunny costume and hide the eggs himself. Even with the eggs right under his nose, Patrick cannot find them so SpongeBob offers some of his. Patrick takes them all. He brings them back, however, when he discovers an enormous egg. Much to his surprise, when it cracks open, a monster fish comes out and begins to chase them. The end. This insipid little story is an affront to beginning readers. There are poor attempts at humor in both the text and illustrations. The sarcasm of Squidward may have appeal to pre-adolescents who watch the television show but it is inappropriate for primary grade children, and would be lost on older emergent readers. This little paperback comes complete with an advertisement for a SpongeBob Squarepants video game on the back inside cover, making us painfully aware of why this book was printed. "Ready-to-Read" series, level 2. 2004, Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon/Simon & Schuster, Ages 5 to 7. —Sharon Salluzzo