I already wrote a rather lengthy review of book 1 in this series so I'll try to skip over that. I will repeat that this is a chapterbook series principally targeted at very young children, so don't expect too much if you're a "Rise of the Guardians" fan over the age of nine. If you'd like some decent film-related "Rise of the Guardians" backstory, go read Rufftoon's webcomics (just google Rufftoon, go to her deviantart gallery and look at her "Rise of the Guardians" folder). They're really wonderful.

If you like the Australian, boomerang-throwing, heavily tattooed, Easter-obsessed Bunny you saw in the film, then put the book down and go see him again. He's not around here and I doubt he'll show up any time soon. It's also heavily implied in the film that Bunny was actually born as a bunny and simply became magically endowed somewhere along the line, becoming the warrior he is throughout much of the film (or at least that's my interpretation). Bunnymund in the book is at once a darker and far more neutral character than that in the films. He's far wiser (perhaps THE wisest character in the universe) and powerful and is even more obsessed with eggs than Bunny is.

The series continues with its playful rewrites of history and 'science'. The Earth was apparently egg-shaped at one point and eggs are, for some reason, the most perfect shape in existence. There's no explanation for why a rabbit-like creature would obsess over eggs (ignoring the rather interesting actual history behind the connection between rabbits, eggs and Easter) other than that he simply does. He's also not really a rabbit. He's some sort of 'alien' or ancestor creature that's been on Earth since long before anything else.

If you're still waiting for Jack Frost to show up at some point, you'll have to wait a bit longer. If I recall correctly, he's hinted at near the end of book 4, but even then he still hasn't shown up. He's not Nightlight in disguise or a later transformation of Nightlight so far as I am aware. But he still won't show up here. The next book is Tooth's, though and we get to learn more about Pitch in book 4 so don't give up here if you've gotten this far! Just read through the rather silly novel and keep going. ( )

Awesome! I love this series and can't wait to see the movie in November! William Joyce is an excellent storyteller. The action is so detailed and the magic feels so real and you can't help but love all the characters. I'm normally a slow reader but this series is so good that I find myself zipping through pages just to find out what happens next. Well book one put a twist on the Santa legend and this book brought the Easter bunny to a whole nether level. Can't wait to see what he does with the tooth fairy which in book 3! ( )

William Joyce returns with a second volume in his Guardians of Childhood series, this one even more delightful than the first (if that were possible). The mysterious Pooka, Bunnymund, adds a lot to the story, and while the final confrontation feels a little bit thin, the journey getting there is an awful lot of fun. Joyce is clearly in his element with these tales, and their slightly old-fashioned quality is very appealing to anyone who grew up on early 20th century children's literature. (There are clearly some old-fashioned references, too: the idea of the Pooka, while mythological in origin, is almost certainly distilled by Joyce via the film Harvey, and there's a laugh-out-loud-if-you-recognize-it dialogue steal from Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles).

Plus, this is the first story I've read that adequately explains the Easter Bunny's fascination with chocolate - despite the fact he never eats any! Joyce continues to mine those little childhood "why"s and "what-if"s we take for granted as adults for charming story material. I look forward to the next in the series. ( )

I greatly enjoyed returning to the world of the Guardians after finishing the tale of Nicholas St. North. Casting the "Easter Bunny" as E. Aster Bunnymund, a Pooka, was an inspired choice by author William Joyce. The plot was exciting and also moved the mythology of the world along as well. I cannot wait to start "Toothania" and learn about the origins of the lady we knew in childhood as the "Tooth Fairy". ( )

I greatly enjoyed returning to the world of the Guardians after finishing the tale of Nicholas St. North. Casting the "Easter Bunny" as E. Aster Bunnymund, a Pooka, was an inspired choice by author William Joyce. The plot was exciting and also moved the mythology of the world along as well. I cannot wait to start "Toothania" and learn about the origins of the lady we knew in childhood as the "Tooth Fairy". ( )