Easter with Max & Ruby DVD – Easter Cartoons
Nick Jr. Children's Television Show Easter Episode Reviews
Mar 24, 2009
The Easter-themed Max & Ruby cartoon episodes collected on the Max and Ruby DVD Easter with Max & Ruby all celebrate family values, sibling bonds, creativity, and joy in simple things such as art and nature.
Ruby's Easter Bonnet
In this Easter cartoon episode, Ruby must transform a plain sun hat into a beautiful Easter bonnet to win the Bunny Scouts Easter Bonnet Competition. Her attempts to decorate her hat, however, are interrupted repeatedly by Max taking her decorating supplies to try to convince a garden frog to do tricks.
Children interested in craft projects and making things fancy will enjoy Ruby's pronouncements on how to create beauty in spring. All kids will find Max's attempts to get the frog to jump hilarious and enjoy the climax of the episode, when Max's frog puts in a special appearance at the Easter bonnet competition.
Max's Easter Parade
In the second Easter cartoon episode, Ruby and Louise paint and decorate Easter eggs, while Max pines to hold an Easter parade. Ruby instructs Max to be careful with the Easter eggs so they will not break, but does allow him to carry the finished decorated eggs to an Easter basket for Grandma. Max takes the eggs on a detour on the way to the Easter basket, using an array of wind-up toys to create his own charming mini-Easter parade.
Younger siblings will relate to how Ruby (gently) bosses Max over and over to be careful. Then, they will be delighted that he triumphs and proves that he is capable of creating an Easter parade in his own way. Preschoolers old enough to decorate Easter eggs will be interested in the different ways Ruby and Louise paint and beautify their eggs.
Max and the Easter Bunny
In the final Easter cartoon episode, Max plays Easter Bunny. While Ruby and her fellow Bunny Scouts hunt for eggs in the Annual Bunny Scout Easter Egg Hunt, he keeps sneaking the eggs they find out of their baskets and hiding the eggs once more. The Bunny Scouts keep finding the same eggs over and over again.
Preschoolers will understand that Max plays Easter Bunny because he enjoys the fun of hiding the eggs, not out of maliciousness. At the same time, they will be tickled at the mischievous trick he is playing on the Bunny Scouts. This story can serve as a fun introduction for children to how Easter egg hunts work.
Related Max Books About Easter
Max's Easter Surprise [Grosset & Dunlap, 2008] is a retelling of the episode Max's Easter Parade.
Max & Ruby Easter Activities for Kids
- The hats shown in the Easter Bonnet Competition in the Max & Ruby cartoon are themed in a variety of nature-inspired ways and decorated with creative spring materials such as eggs, flowers, bows, and feathers. Ruby's winning bonnet is decked with flowers, a watering can, and (unbeknownst to her at first) Max's frog. Provide children with a plain sun hat and decorating materials of their own, such as silk or paper flowers, ribbons, small stuffed animals, colored plastic eggs, and so on, and have them craft their own spring Easter bonnets. For a simpler craft project, have children decorate a paper hat cut-out with markers and stickers.
- Ruby and Louise demonstrate how to decorate Easter eggs in creative ways beyond just dyeing them with store-bought kits. Provide children with paint, glue, lace, uncooked macaroni, stickers, and other craft materials and let them decorate their own creative Easter eggs. Kids can display finished eggs in free printable Max & Ruby egg holders from the Nick Jr. Web site.
- Let children take turns playing Easter Bunny and hiding eggs for one another to find. Parents can find an Easter Egg Hunt Max & Ruby free coloring page at the Nick Jr. Web site.
The Max & Ruby DVD on which these Easter cartoons can be found includes additional episodes from the Max & Ruby Show. If children are big fans of Rosemary Wells' bunnies, parents may want to invest in a copy for the family. Otherwise, just rent this Max & Ruby video or check it out from the library.
Parents interested in other Nick Jr. children's television show Easter episode reviews can check out a review of the Dora the Explorer Easter episode Egg Hunt and a review of Max's Chocolate Chicken (another Max & Ruby cartoon episode).
Families may also like to read reviews of other animated Easter television specials for children.
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