Peter’s First Easter

This Zonderkidz book tells the story of Jesus’ last days through the eyes of his apostle Peter.  That point of view makes the story especially poignant, as it mixes the feelings we all have when we think of Jesus’ brutal death -- the guilt of  betrayal, the intense pain of seeing a friend suffer so needlessly, and the devastating sorrow of experiencing the death of a person close to us.  At the same time, it is written at a level that children can understand.  The story is depicted through the luminous paintings of Timothy Ladwig who also worked with author Walter Wangerin Jr. on the popular Christmas book Mary’s First Christmas.

The Easter Cave

This book opens with Matthew’s Biblical description of Jesus being placed in the tomb after his death.  It then moves on to repetitive prose similar to the nursery rhyme “This is the House that Jack Built.”  Each page’s text builds upon the text of the previous page (“This is the cave that the friend gave/This is the bird that crowed near the cave the friend gave..”)  It recalls Christ’s passion on Good Friday, then moves through the sorrow of his followers and their surprise on finding the empty tomb on Easter Sunday.  Colorful yet simple drawings enhance the book.  Recommended for ages 4-7 and especially for emerging readers.

The First Easter Bunny

I must admit that I groaned inwardly when reading this book's title.  I thought “oh no, not another book commercializing Easter and disguising its true meaning.”  But I should not have been so hasty in passing judgment, because this is actually a sweet little book that successfully meshes the bunny legend and Christ’s passion and resurrection.  Written by a Catholic priest, it tells the story of a rabbit who is the silent observer during Jesus’ last week on Earth.  In the story, Jesus himself gives the bunny a special role each Easter.  The child-like crayon drawings will especially appeal to young children.  My daughter is entranced by the simplicity of this book.

The Jesus Garden: An Easter Legend

This book touches my heart every time I read it!  It tells the story of Christ's passion through the eyes of the flowers and animals in the Garden of Gethsemane.  We learn why the robin’s breast is red, why the morning glory blooms only in the morning, how bleeding hearts got their name, and why the dogwood tree has blossoms shaped like little crosses.  These are skillfully interwoven into the story of Jesus' last days in such a way that it does not scare young children.  The crisp yet gentle illustrations will truly touch your heart, too.  This book deserves to become a classic!

The Very First Easter

This Gold Medallion Book Award finalist is a companion  volume to The Very First Christmas written by Paul Maier.  Ten year old Christopher learns the true story of Easter, not the one of Easter bunnies, jelly beans and chocolate candy. Instead, he learns bout  Jesus’ ministry, trial, death and resurrection.  The illustrations are my favorite part of this book.  They are truly gorgeous!  The right hand side of each page has a full color illustration of the text on the facing page.  The artwork is soft and luminescent; even the sorrowful images seem to glow with a special light. At the end of the book,  Christopher learns that he has his own special link to the first Easter.   (This special link will delight any child whose name is also Christopher!)  

The Thornbush

This book provides another unique perspective on Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection.  It is told from the point of view of a little thorn bush growing near a big palace in Jerusalem.  The thorn bush feels sad and neglected because people avoid it, not wanting to hurt themselves with its prickly branches.  But one day, a man stops and shows kindness to the little bush.  The bush sees how the people mistreat this gentle man.  One day, some of his branches are cut off, and a little while later he recognizes those same branches on the head of the kind man.   That same man leaves a symbolic little gift on the bush’s blossoms, turning them from a dull yellow to beautiful, multi colored flowers.  The water-color type artwork in this book is gorgeous, and the story will enchant adults and children. 

The Legend of the Sand Dollar: An Inspirational Story of Hope for Easter

In this story, eight year old Kerry explores the beach with her cousin Jack.  She finds a sand dollar and Jack explains how its markings  tell the story of Jesus’ life.   You and your children will never look at the sand dollar in the same way after reading this story!  The illustrations are delightful too.   This book would be perfect with a "beach" themed Easter basket.  Fill a  new sand bucket with a sand dollar (of course) and some other shells (to start their collection), sand toys, sunglasses and other items they could use for their days at the beach. 

 


Benjamin's Box and Resurrection Eggs
Another one of our family classics, this book and its accompanying eggs are a great "hands on" way to learn the Easter story.  Read a separate review of these items on this page.


Do you have any favorite Easter books?  Please let me know my posting a comment on my blog at

http://creative-gift-giver.blogspot.com/

You can post your suggestions on the related "Favorite Easter books" blog.