What do you think?
Rate this book
The Easter Lamb: Jesus, Passover, and God’s Amazing Plan to Rescue Us
32 pages, Hardcover
Published December 17, 2024
11 people want to read
About the author
John Greco
65 books8 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 3, 2024
This book has the cutest drawings! I loved how it explained the Gospel message in such an easy way for a child to understand. I have 4 children under 10 so they loved the pictures and the cute little lamb. It is a hard job to present the Gospel in a way that not only kids will understand but also in language that isn't too harsh. Especially when describing the cross, I was so impressed by this book and the way the author wrote the Gospel. This is one of those books you keep for not only your children but your future grandchildren one day.
February 1, 2025
The Easter Lamb artfully represents the connections between Passover and Easter and why both events hold significance. You don’t often see this type of connection in a children’s book, so kudos to the author for this effort in helping children see Easter firmly rooted in biblical and theological tradition.
The text complexity and illustrations are excellent for an early-mid elementary audience, and the book can make for a good read-aloud. Thematically, though, this is too advanced for the younger crowd (especially 4 to 5-year-olds, as the book advertises itself as being for).
Several theological aspects of the book (sin, atonement, resurrection) are assumed to be, at least, generally understood by the audience and receive little explanation, so this book is best for children already familiar with the stories who are ready to make the deeper connections regarding the allegory of Jesus as a lamb. Even older children, without background knowledge of the stories, would likely struggle to make the necessary connections based on this book alone.
Another consideration for younger audiences is the more violent aspects of the stories. Of course - there’s no shying away from the fact that if you want to teach a child the meaning of the “blood of the Lamb,” you must do more than tell cutesy stories. Still, I’d recommend reading this book between parent and child, especially for the youngest readers.
It didn’t escape the notice of my six-year-old, for example, that the sweet little lamb in the illustrations in the first few pages suddenly disappears when God tells the Israelites to slaughter a lamb to eat. Thankfully, dear reader, the lamb comes back on later pages.
Overall, this is a decent attempt at building an allegorical understanding of the connections between Passover and Easter in children. Further exposition around some vocabulary terms would be helpful for younger readers. Sin, for example, is described as a monster that follows the Israelites around and also lives inside them. In the final pages of the book, the reader is reminded of their sin and compared to Pharoah, who, just a few pages earlier, was enslaving and mistreating Israelites.
Concepts like those above, especially for our literal-thinking young readers, need more than cursory explanation, and elements like this are what holds the book back from being understandable and relatable for most children.
The text complexity and illustrations are excellent for an early-mid elementary audience, and the book can make for a good read-aloud. Thematically, though, this is too advanced for the younger crowd (especially 4 to 5-year-olds, as the book advertises itself as being for).
Several theological aspects of the book (sin, atonement, resurrection) are assumed to be, at least, generally understood by the audience and receive little explanation, so this book is best for children already familiar with the stories who are ready to make the deeper connections regarding the allegory of Jesus as a lamb. Even older children, without background knowledge of the stories, would likely struggle to make the necessary connections based on this book alone.
Another consideration for younger audiences is the more violent aspects of the stories. Of course - there’s no shying away from the fact that if you want to teach a child the meaning of the “blood of the Lamb,” you must do more than tell cutesy stories. Still, I’d recommend reading this book between parent and child, especially for the youngest readers.
It didn’t escape the notice of my six-year-old, for example, that the sweet little lamb in the illustrations in the first few pages suddenly disappears when God tells the Israelites to slaughter a lamb to eat. Thankfully, dear reader, the lamb comes back on later pages.
Overall, this is a decent attempt at building an allegorical understanding of the connections between Passover and Easter in children. Further exposition around some vocabulary terms would be helpful for younger readers. Sin, for example, is described as a monster that follows the Israelites around and also lives inside them. In the final pages of the book, the reader is reminded of their sin and compared to Pharoah, who, just a few pages earlier, was enslaving and mistreating Israelites.
Concepts like those above, especially for our literal-thinking young readers, need more than cursory explanation, and elements like this are what holds the book back from being understandable and relatable for most children.
February 23, 2025
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛 explains the story of the Passover and Jesus’s death and resurrection, emphasizing the true meaning of Easter.
I love that this children’s book goes straight to the matter of what Easter is all about, and how the focus of Easter is on the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. The book begins with Pharoah’s harsh treatment of God’s people and concludes with the resurrection of Christ—the most important gift we’ve ever been given.
Young readers will discover that Easter is about Jesus’s resurrection, rather than focusing on modern traditions like candy, eggs, and bunnies. Because the book contains themes that may be intense for sensitive readers, parental guidance is recommended to help them navigate the plagues of Egypt and Christ’s crucifixion.
This is a heartfelt and meaningful story to help us celebrate Easter with joy and thanksgiving. I love the central theme of this book is that Easter is all about the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
First Line: The first Easter was the most important and amazing day that ever was or will be.
Genre: Children, Easter
Author: John Greco
Page Count: 32
Reading Age: 6-10
Content: The plagues of Egypt, mistreatment and death are included, so parental guidance is paramount.
#CoverLoverBookReview received a complimentary copy of this book.
Opinions are 100% my own.
I love that this children’s book goes straight to the matter of what Easter is all about, and how the focus of Easter is on the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. The book begins with Pharoah’s harsh treatment of God’s people and concludes with the resurrection of Christ—the most important gift we’ve ever been given.
Young readers will discover that Easter is about Jesus’s resurrection, rather than focusing on modern traditions like candy, eggs, and bunnies. Because the book contains themes that may be intense for sensitive readers, parental guidance is recommended to help them navigate the plagues of Egypt and Christ’s crucifixion.
This is a heartfelt and meaningful story to help us celebrate Easter with joy and thanksgiving. I love the central theme of this book is that Easter is all about the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
First Line: The first Easter was the most important and amazing day that ever was or will be.
Genre: Children, Easter
Author: John Greco
Page Count: 32
Reading Age: 6-10
Content: The plagues of Egypt, mistreatment and death are included, so parental guidance is paramount.
#CoverLoverBookReview received a complimentary copy of this book.
Opinions are 100% my own.
July 4, 2024
Thank you to Zonderkidz Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
Passover is mentioned in the by-line and this is where the story starts. This is an overview however without mentioning Moses or most of the related things but concentrating on the plagues of Egypt. This probably works well for people who already know the full story but for newcomers it is rather truncated. It then makes a move into the overview of the life of Jesus ending with sacrifice and the lamb imagery repeated from the Passover story at the start. There is nice repetition and is clear regarding loving others and other Christian messages.
By and large the book is nice, it has good pictures, gives an overview of two Christian stories linked, and repeated the love and other Christian messages several times. However, it is a lot to pack into one short children's book. It only really works if the child already has a background with both stories already for them to appreciate the link trying to be made. I'm not a deep Christian but wanted a Christian story to share with my young son. We found the book to be ok but due to this being early in the Christian stories exposure for my son the brief overview nature didn't enthral.
Passover is mentioned in the by-line and this is where the story starts. This is an overview however without mentioning Moses or most of the related things but concentrating on the plagues of Egypt. This probably works well for people who already know the full story but for newcomers it is rather truncated. It then makes a move into the overview of the life of Jesus ending with sacrifice and the lamb imagery repeated from the Passover story at the start. There is nice repetition and is clear regarding loving others and other Christian messages.
By and large the book is nice, it has good pictures, gives an overview of two Christian stories linked, and repeated the love and other Christian messages several times. However, it is a lot to pack into one short children's book. It only really works if the child already has a background with both stories already for them to appreciate the link trying to be made. I'm not a deep Christian but wanted a Christian story to share with my young son. We found the book to be ok but due to this being early in the Christian stories exposure for my son the brief overview nature didn't enthral.
March 16, 2025
I think this is a bit unusual for an "Easter Lamb" story book. It has a deeper theological meaning though it isn't actually spoken. The story book shows the Biblical story from the early days in Bible times when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. The lamb is pictured there as a little lamb on the pages. Present, sad, sorrowful. He travels out of Egypt with the people.
Then the pictures show the birth of the Christ child, His growth, His perfection. The story proceedes with Christ ministering to the people. And then the little lamb looks on as the darkest day happened. Jesus' death. But it wasn't over, Christ rose.
The deeper thought for me is that this picture book pictures Christ as the sacrificial lamb. And though Christ had not yet come, He always existed and He has always been the lamb of promise.
I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.
Then the pictures show the birth of the Christ child, His growth, His perfection. The story proceedes with Christ ministering to the people. And then the little lamb looks on as the darkest day happened. Jesus' death. But it wasn't over, Christ rose.
The deeper thought for me is that this picture book pictures Christ as the sacrificial lamb. And though Christ had not yet come, He always existed and He has always been the lamb of promise.
I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.
September 2, 2024
My review will be live on my blog - donnasbookblog on 17 December 2024 - publication day!
I read this book with my daughter and she really enjoyed it.
She attends a Catholic school so is aware of some of the stories mentioned and she liked being able to sit down and read this one with me - she liked that the story uses the Easter Lamb to tell the story of Jesus.
For me as a parent, the book is more than an overview and summary of the story with some of the main parts missed out, or skipped, but the message the author wants to share does come across, my daughter has just turned 7 so it was ideal for her.
The illustrations in the book are great and work well to tell the story. They are nice, bright and clear.
It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended
I read this book with my daughter and she really enjoyed it.
She attends a Catholic school so is aware of some of the stories mentioned and she liked being able to sit down and read this one with me - she liked that the story uses the Easter Lamb to tell the story of Jesus.
For me as a parent, the book is more than an overview and summary of the story with some of the main parts missed out, or skipped, but the message the author wants to share does come across, my daughter has just turned 7 so it was ideal for her.
The illustrations in the book are great and work well to tell the story. They are nice, bright and clear.
It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended
September 23, 2024
"The Easter Lamb Jesus" is a Christian kid's board book explaining the links between the Exodus Passover and Easter, showing why Jesus died (and rose) to save us. The author assumed the readers have some knowledge about the Passover and Easter events, so it's probably less impactful to kids with no biblical background. I liked how he linked the events, and he used words suitable for explaining things to young kids. The pictures were interesting to look at and illustrated the text, so kids will stop to look at them rather than rush through the book. Overall, I'd recommend this book to parents wanting to teach the salvation message to young kids.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
June 13, 2024
Because Easter is all bout the Lamb of God who came to rescue us.
Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29
A wonderful resource that tells the account of the Easter Lamb. Starting in Egypt when God's chosen people were freed from "the rule of sin" to the land of milk and honey. It then goes on to explain why Jesus is the Easter Lamb that was foretold in the Old Testament and what it means for us today. Very understandable for young hearts and old. Highly recommend.
A special thank you to Zonderkidz Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29
A wonderful resource that tells the account of the Easter Lamb. Starting in Egypt when God's chosen people were freed from "the rule of sin" to the land of milk and honey. It then goes on to explain why Jesus is the Easter Lamb that was foretold in the Old Testament and what it means for us today. Very understandable for young hearts and old. Highly recommend.
A special thank you to Zonderkidz Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
January 28, 2025
The Easter Lamb: Jesus, Passover, and God’s Amazing Plan to Rescue Us by John Greco is a beautifully written and illustrated book that introduces young ones to Passover and Easter and it's purpose. I loved how the book explained in easy terms what Passover is, how Jesus celebrated Passover, and how Jesus is the Passover Lamb. I also love the illustrations and how a lamb was in many of the pictures. I highly recommend The Easter Lamb: Jesus, Passover, and God’s Amazing Plan to Rescue Us by John Greco! Than you to NetGalley and the Publisher for letting me have the opportunity to read this book. My review is also on Facebook.
July 12, 2024
This book is a well illustrated and easy to follow introduction of the Easter story, perfect for the intended audience. The language used gets the point of the story across with being to harsh and the illustrations equally follow that. I feel it is the type of book that could be passed through the generations to aid the education around the Easter celebrations.
April 11, 2025
Excellent book that goes through the Old and New Testament explaining how Jesus is our Passover Lamb. It does a great job of showing how it was God's plan that Jesus would be the sacrifice for all and ties the story of Scripture together.
March 27, 2025
The Easter Lamb was a fantastic read for my daughter. Through the story, she learned about Egypt, the Pharaoh, Jesus’ crucifixion, and His resurrection.
May 13, 2025
the illustrations were beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews