Blog

Tag: Easter

Easter Books to Usher in Spring

by Siobhan
Animals & Nature + Art & Photography + Humour / April 20, 2011

Growing up in Northern Ontario, I always thought the image of Easter you see on TV was a bit off... I mean, how could you possibly have an Easter egg hunt outdoors when the ground is still blanketed in snow — or worse, slush? (Wearing poufy pastel dresses, no less.)

And then I moved to Vancouver... and now I get it (except for the pastel dresses; I think I may be a bit old for that now). While some (most?) of the country is still bracing for snow, it's feeling quite Spring-like and Easter-y here in Vancouver. The cherry blossoms are out and it's bright and sunny outside. There are daffodils poking up all over the place. Sorry, rest-of-Canada, but it's true.

But there's hope yet. In the spirit of Easter, here are a few books to usher in Springtime, no matter how cold, wet or snowy it may be outside. Just curl up with a book that's full of Springtime goodness, and use your imagination... Chocolate eggs also help.

Chicken and Egg is one of my personal favourites from Chronicle's Spring list. In it, food writer Janice Cole shares her adventures of deciding to take on raising chickens in her backyard. This book is not only lovely to look at (thanks to the crack design team at Chronicle), it's also topical, as allowing "urban poultry" seems to be an issue that's been raised in several Canadian cities in the past couple of years, and also downright delicious... Did I mention that the book also includes 125 recipes for delicious chicken and egg dishes?

Read a guest post by the author on the Chronicle blog.

Read the spread on Chicken and Egg in a recent issue of HELLO magazine (PDF).

Another gorgeous book with a Springtime feel is Nests: Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them. This book featuresamazing photography drawn from the collections of the California Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UC Berkeley, and the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology. Close-up photos of nests are accompanied by short portraits of the birds that constructed them. The variety and detail is fascinating. Here are a few spreads from the book... (Click on the images below to see them larger.)

And for something that's just plain fun(ny), check out One Chick to Another. Full of quips and funny one-liners paired with cute photos of, you guessed it, chicks.

Peeps and Prejudice and Zombies

by Siobhan
Craft + Food & Drink + Humour / March 30, 2010

Peeps Show 2010 is perhaps not what you think. No scandal here, just good ol' sugar coated fun. But I bet you won't be able to tear your eyes away...

For four years now, the Washington Post has been hosting an annual Peeps Diorama Contest: the classic Easter candy is styled and dressed up in various hilarious scenes. They received more than 1,100 sugar-inspired entries, and the Washington Post is sharing some of their faves online.

This year's entries featured many book-themed diorams: Goodnight Moon, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Where the Wild Things Are, The Book of Bunny Suicides, Madeline....

But of course the one I found brilliant was "Peeps and Prejudice and Zombies" based on the mash-up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!

Based on the best-selling novel by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, dioramists Dayle Cristinzio of Silver Spring and Kasey Gillette of the District depict a ballroom scene with traditional dancing and zombie mayhem in "Peeps and Prejudice and Zombies." Note the period costumes, original Peep oil painting above the mantle and working chandelier.

Some other awesome Peeps dioramas include scenes of Shaun White at the Olympics, Wii Sports, old school Mario Bros, President Obama walking his dog and Michelle Obama playing skiprope in the Whitehouse garden. View the slideshow of the finalists on WashingtonPost.com