There’s a book for every Easter basket, no matter how small the child or the basket.

Three different miniature novelty books by publishing giant Simon & Schuster offer unusual opportunities – opportunities too specialized to be produced by smaller publishers with far fewer books in their catalogs.

“Baby Farm Friends,” by Jeanie Lee ($12.95), is called a “flips and flaps book,” and there’s plenty of both in this clever volume. By pulling cardboard flaps, children (aided by adults) release a series of rapidly flipping pages that take them through an animal’s growth cycles.

A chick grows slightly with each flip until it becomes a rooster. A calf starts out diminutive and ends up encompassing the last flipping page as a cow. Because the flipping pages are so small, it’s possible to fit a whole series of them in this kid-size book.

The concept has a touch of creative genius. It’s sleight-of-hand at its very best. The text, in basic rhyme, has plenty of bounce, and preschoolers will squeal with glee as the flaps are pulled and the pictures fly.

The ubiquitous Dora the Explorer celebrates Easter with “Dora’s Rainbow Egg Hunt,” ($6.99) by Kirsten Larsen, with illustrations by Steven Savitsky. A lift-the-flap book, it offers the thrill of finding eggs coupled with the educational benefits of learning color names in both English and Spanish.

This is no ordinary egg hunt. Kids visit the jungle, the beach, the troll bridge and a floral garden before reaching the promised rainbow.

There are so many colors in this book that the term “rainbow” is almost inadequate to encompass them. There are, in fact, innumerable shades, one reason for the egg-shaped book’s immense appeal.

Dora's Rainbow Egg Hunt book.

On Easter night, parents can put little ones to bed with the board book “Lullabies Under the Moon” ($6.99), a very small moon-shaped treat that shows how Little Bunny manages to avoid sleep until the very end.

Written by Giovanni Caviezel and illustrated by M. Pledger, the book offers lovely nighttime scenes splashed with color and filled with a variety of lovable animals. It is a comforting story that provides serene thoughts and a welcome, soothing ending.

The book’s biggest benefit is a 25-minute CD tucked in the back. It offers not only a narration of the book but musical composition, an exceptional benefit for child and parents alike. Words and music work together felicitously.

– Lois Henderlong is a freelance writer who has reviewed children’s books for publications across the Midwest. She lives in La Porte, Ind., and can be reached at loisirene@csinet.net.