Easter Story

by Patricia A. Pingry

This small book with about 200 words introduces young children to jesus the man, from His teachings to His healing and gently reveals the meaning of the Easter story.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Christian, Holiday, Religion, Own, Kids

22 pages, Board Book

First published January 20, 2000

Reviews

[Holly Griffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The picture book of the The Easter Story allows young readers to learn of the love that God and His son Jesus has for all people, that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. The book begins by stating the reason Jesus came to earth and the reason Easter is celebrated. The book then continues to mention and provide carefully colorful illustrations of some of the miraculous and compassionate actions that Jesus did while He was on earth, specially showing Him healing a dead man, coming into Jerusalem on donkey, washing people's feet, and carrying the cross on His way to death. The book then shows women going to find Jesus in the tomb, but He was not there. Jesus later showed Himself and His disciples saw that, behold, He lives and "is Alive today!" To end the book, the message is given that Jesus died so that we can all have the opportunity to live with Him forever and the reason we celebrate Easter is to give thanks that Jesus died so we can live. The text utilizes short and simple, yet to the point wording and sentence length in order for younger readers to be able to read the story and grasp the powerful message of Jesus dying on the cross to save the world. The illustrations are soft, yet vibrant in color choice when one takes the time to look at the hues of color to make a tree. The technique of color separation is said to be used in order to create the illustrations and some details look as though watercolor could have been used as well. There was an illustration that I questioned due to the rendering of facial expressions of some of the disciples during the Passover, as some of the disciples looked distraught. However, the renderings could be because (something not mentioned in the actual picture book) Jesus informed His disciples that one of them would betray Him. In addition, the book refrains from showing the graphic reality of the stripes that Jesus bore so that we would be made clean and whole. One other notable mention is, after reading over another review of the same book, one thing that is left out of the book is the reason Jesus was sent to die. God gave man free will and when man had sinned against God which caused separation from Him, God sent His only Son to die so that we would not have to be separated from Him any longer. He made atonement for our sins. Overall, the book allows young readers, and even older ones, to learn of Jesus's sacrifice and the works of faith He did on earth and allows readers to be introduced to His message and the true reason we celebrate Easter.

[Cassie Cappelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good, basic Easter book. It goes into some detail about the biblical Easter story mentioning Good Friday, people not liking Jesus, Passover, Jesus being betrayed, and Him being "sent to die". I would say it is a good starter book for a family with young children who aren't able to really grasp all the concepts of Jesus' death yet. The vocabulary is pretty low level when it comes to reading ability, and the story line is basic. It doesn't mention any names other than Jesus'. It doesn't give details about his death specifically. It just mentions a couple of events leading up to his death, his death, and his resurrection. Not super awesome and the best, but definitely great depending on the age of your children.

[Jessica Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very simplified story of Easter, appropriate for very young children. It does leave out mentions of two things I wished it would have. One being the administration of sacrament at the last supper, it merely states that Jesus washed the disciples feet and shows the typical last supper scene in the background. The second being Christ's suffering for us in Gethsemane, it only states they went yo a garden to pray. Which is true, but in my opinion is a little lacking. However, this is a very low level children's book.

Nice illustrations, and many beautiful portrayals of Jesus and children. Plus little symbolic details throughout.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is very simple and easy for younger children to understand. Every person in the book is white. The illustrations are beautiful but clearly the author could have added some other races to the pictures.

[Jessica Mitchum · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7 year old loved it and can read it on her own. Younger children will love the pictures and being read to. It is Biblically accurate and understandable for children.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple retelling of Christ's life, death, and resurrection in board book form.

[Doniell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book for toddlers. Some language could be fixed to be more easily read, but overall happy with the story, pictures and symbolism in the illustrations.

[Mother Goose Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a simple and sweet version of the Easter story.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple and sparse text tells the Easter story competently, but not very interestingly.

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEAUTIFUL illustrations in the board book. The Easter story made simple for children with lots of information about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[Priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

board book, perfect for telling the boys the Easter story.

[Lucy Therese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jesus and learning about his story!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book for my baby's first Easter. Unlike other Easter stories that focus on bunnies, chocolate, and eggs, The Easter Story gives a brief summary of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection in a way that young children can understand. It is biblically accurate, albeit simple. For instance, it skips any details about how Jesus died and doesn't mention sin. That said, it is a great accompaniment to the Gospels surrounding Holy Week.

Recommended age: 3-5 years

Writing style: Simple sentences under the illustrations. Parents will need to read it to their children.

Lexile range (unofficial): 410L - 600L
Decoding difficulty: 4/5
Vocabulary difficulty: 4/5
Sentences difficulty: 4/5
Patterns difficulty: 4/5

Illustration style: Colorful images using realistic faces and poses. They appear to be watercolors and have lots of detail. For instance, the Palm Sunday page shows young children greeting Jesus and others bowing.

Reality-based? This is the biblical story of Easter.

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easter is such a big cultural event that it can be a challenge for Christian parents to orient their kids to the holiday’s Christian meaning. This board book presents the events from Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection at a preschooler’s level, showing that Jesus died and rose from the grave to save us and give us life.

A significant omission is any mention of human sinfulness, the reason humanity needs to be saved. And although the story is presented accurately, it isn’t all that exciting. Jesus’ death and resurrection to save us from sin is the core of Christianity; it’s the most momentous event in the history of the universe. You might expect even a preschooler’s book to convey some of the drama, suspense, and surprise the first disciples experienced. Some parents may prefer to read the same story from a good picture Bible instead.

All that said, however, it does present the Easter story events clearly, and could make a good supplement for hands-on activities such as salt dough Easter tombs or Resurrection Cookies.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful, simple presentation of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. We read it year round. I highly recommend this book.

[Sara B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book for young children to read. It is based on the death and ressurection of Christ. Colorful pictures and children like it to be read to them over and over again.

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to begin introducing the story of Easter to younger children.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this to my daughter from time to time

[Steve Dustcircle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Execution made friendly for kids! Wow. Several pages and no bloody death scene. Waters down sacrifice.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book about Jesus’ death and resurrection in language appropriate for toddlers up to kinder

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Easter story is retold in simple terms with pictures for young children.