Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Jesus Moments

Esther: Finding Jesus in the Story of Esther

Rate this book
Help 4-7s learn how Queen Esther points to Jesus with this beautifully illustrated Old Testament Bible story.This fun, interactive resource will give children skills to read the Bible as they connect the stories and learn that the whole Bible is about Jesus.

Moments in Esther's story when something in the story is a little bit like Jesus are signposted with symbols that children need to spot, helping them to understand the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.

Written by Alison Mitchell, the award-winning author of Jesus and the Lions’ Den and The One O’Clock Miracle, and beautifully illustrated. This book makes a great gift for children 4-7 years old. Can also be used for children’s ministry in church.

32 pages, Hardcover

Published March 1, 2025

7 people want to read

About the author

Alison Mitchell

78 books20 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Alison Mitchell is the Children's Editor at The Good Book Company, where she has written a range of Bible-reading notes for children and families. Alison is also involved with youth training events around the country, including the Growing Young Disciples training days and Sunday School training mornings.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
8 (61%)
4 stars
5 (38%)
3 stars
0 (0%)
2 stars
0 (0%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Profile Image for Zorina Shepard.
143 reviews14 followers
February 4, 2025
If you are farmilar with this series, there is now a new one to add to the collection! This book is the story of Esther. The story is first told and has scrolls hidden throughout on "Jesus Moments". Children get to engage with the story and find the scrolls while they listen to the story. At the end, the answers to where all the scrolls are hidden are given and the "Jesus Moments" are explained. Esther can be a confusing story to understand without the context of Jesus. This story shows how Jesus is foreshadowed in the story of Esther and help children make more sense of how it connects to the greater story of Jesus Christ.
Some examples from the book of "Jesus Moments" in Esther:

Haman is much like the powerful religious leaders that hated Jesus and who plotted to kill Jesus just like he plotted to kill Mordacai.

Esther risked her life for her people and she became queen of Persia for "such a time as this." ➡️ "Jesus was God the Son. He became a human being at just the right time so that he could give his life to save everyone who trusts in him."

This book is a great addition to this wonderful series that helps children make sense of the Old Testament stories in a Christ centered hermeneutics. I highly recommend!!

Thank you @thegoodbookcompanyusa for a copy of the book for my honest review!
Profile Image for Rachel Cummings.
121 reviews3 followers
February 19, 2025
Jesus Moments: Esther by Alison Mitchell with illustrations by Noah Warnes is a faithful and engaging retelling that teaches kids where to find Jesus in the Book of Esther. God used Queen Esther to rescue His people, and even though His name is never mentioned, it’s all about Jesus, “the greatest rescuer of all.”

The Jesus Moments series is not my favorite from The Good Book Company; however, I absolutely love the overall concept of these books. As you are reading, your little ones will be engaged as they search for hidden objects, signifying that they have found a Jesus moment. A Jesus moment is “when someone or something in the story is a little bit like Jesus.” At the end of the book, the Old Testament story is placed side-by-side with a moment in Jesus’ life. For example, in the Book of Esther, the king’s law could not be ended even though the king was angry with what Haman had done. In the same way, God’s law “against sin cannot be ignored either.” While only four moments are included in this storybook, there are many to be found in the Book of Esther.

While this book is faithful to the original text, I did find the layout of the story interesting. It drops you right into Haman being furious, skipping over the first couple chapters of Esther, which I think are crucial to understanding the overall story. It doesn’t mention that it was Haman’s idea on how to honor the man in whom the king delights, or that he built the gallows for Mordecai. At the same time, this version is short, making it easier to captivate younger audiences (ages 3-6). The illustrations are bold and colorful and give you a feel of the culture at that time. The Jesus Moments series is worth checking out; it teaches kids that the entire Bible is about Jesus, who died and rose again to save God's people from sin.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*
Profile Image for Panda Incognito.
4,722 reviews96 followers
March 13, 2025
This new installment in the Jesus Moments series covers the story of Esther, describing some key events from that narrative and highlighting connections with the story of Jesus. Alison Mitchell's writing is engaging and conversational, and at the beginning, she explains to kids that if you look closely, you can see parallels to Jesus in different Old Testament stories. She encourages kids to look for hidden scrolls in the illustrations, because these each signal a "Jesus moment." The target audience of early-elementary-aged kids will enjoy this seek-and-find element.

Mitchell retells this familiar story in an engaging way, and even though this short retelling glosses over some important plot elements that I would have liked to see represented here, she covers the essentials. She also covers the end of the story and the creation of the Jewish holiday Purim. Most retellings of Esther conclude with Haman getting caught, and I like that this one goes a bit further.

The illustrations from Noah Warnes are vivid and interesting. They include lots of details and cultural flavor, and I also appreciate that these illustrations are higher-contrast than some of the ones in previous books in the series. These illustrations will work for a group read-aloud in a setting like Sunday, since the lighting and color contrast make each page fully visible from a distance.

This is a great book for families and church leaders who want to help kids understand and appreciate the parallels between this Old Testament story and Esther's rescue of her people, and Jesus's rescue of us. This shouldn't be the only Esther storybook that someone uses, since it does gloss over some important details, but this book's unique focus will enrich people's understanding of the story.

I received a free copy from the publisher, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Profile Image for Mandy.
462 reviews20 followers
February 19, 2025
Queen Esther is one of our favorite Bible Stories and this new addition to the Jesus Moments collection is fantastic! With beautiful depictions of Esther’s time in King Xerxes palace, this book covers the highlights of the Biblical account of Esther while comparing many of the moments in that story to the life of Jesus, the greatest Rescuer of all time.

This is a story of courage and of faith. My daughter (almost 7) adored this story as the wicked Haman hatches a plan to have all the Jewish people of the time killed. But, Queen Esther bravely approaches the King and reveals the vicious plan, thwarting Haman’s attempts and saving her cousin Mordecai and the Jewish people.

There are several parallels that this book connects for young readers, making the connection between Jesus’ story and that of Queen Esther in a simple, easy to understand way. It encourages children’s hearts and minds and draws deep illustrations that will stick with them.

The book is interactive, short, easy to read and exciting! It's appropriate for boys and girls, as well.

With vibrant, expressive illustrations, this book offers thick, durable pages and a solid hardcover. It comes highly recommended from our family to yours and would be great for any child’s library, including children’s ministry programs, in homeschool and private schools.

* I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.
Profile Image for Lauren DuPrez.
220 reviews5 followers
May 27, 2025
This review contains affiliate links

I received Jesus Moments: Esther compliments of The Good Book Company in exchange for my honest review.

Jesus Moments: Esther is a paraphrase of the biblical account for children, and it is one of the installments in the Jesus Moments series. Like the other books in the series, this one has children looking for an object throughout its pages so they can trace the Jesus Moments, or points in the story where the main character foreshadows Jesus.

In this book, children look for scrolls scattered throughout the story. Upon reading it, I knew that the book of Esther doesn't mention God, so I was curious to see how it points to Jesus. Although this is a children's book, it helped me understand how this biblical account points to Jesus and how Esther herself was a type of Christ. We love the Jesus Moments series and are so grateful to have this volume in our home library. I highly recommend this book for families and children's ministries wanting to instill Bible literacy skills in their children early on.
Profile Image for Emily Waits (emilylovesreading_).
344 reviews101 followers
February 17, 2025
[Thank you to @thegoodbookcompanyusa for my gifted copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.]

I adore this series. These books are so well-written and beautifully illustrated.

Finding Jesus in the Story of Esther is the third book in this series that I’ve been able to review, and each of these titles are precious in our children’s library. My kids LOVE finding the “clues” in these books and looking for the “Jesus moments.” I love that these books teach kids to look for and recognize ways that the Old Testament points us to Christ.

If you are unfamiliar with this series, each book tells a Bible story with hidden (think: seek and find) images throughout. These images appear when someone in the story is acting in a way that points us to Christ–when they are being a “type” of Christ, to put it into literary terms. As children find these images, there is an opportunity to discuss together in what ways this character might be reminding us of Jesus with this action. In the end, the book will revisit each hidden image and reveal how this part of the story points forward to something that Christ has done. Each story points readers to the gospel.

I can’t recommend these sweet books enough!
Profile Image for Rebecca.
2,370 reviews166 followers
April 9, 2025
Wonderful perspective! Children and their parents will love reading this story together and looking for the hidden "Jesus Moments"!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.