Weekly Read Wednesday: Easter

I love Gail Gibbons books. When I saw her book simply titled Easter, I decided to check it out!


I appreciate how Gibbons' books often have a theme of Christianity in them. The majority of this book focuses on the true meaning of Easter, which, as a Christian mom, I want to emphasis to my daughter even at a young age. The one issue I saw with this book right off the bat, however, was the phrasing on the page pictured to the left: "Many years ago, baby Jesus was born. Some people believed He was the Son of God." Maybe I'm a stickler, but I'd probably choose to read it "He was the Son of God." I know not every shares the same beliefs as I do, but for our purposes, this quick "editing" makes a difference. :)


The story continues with Jesus celebrating Passover.


The last supper is also pictured.


Next, of course, comes Jesus' trial and crucifixion. And this is where I'm needing advice from moms with older kids... how much is appropriate to tell very young children about Jesus' death? I'm certainly not implying that the pictures in a children's book should be graphic at all, but I'm wondering at what point you start to approach this topic more in detail with your kids. I'd love any advice from moms who've been there, done that! :)


Again, this is as detailed as the pictures get... so no worries about fearful illustrations here.


The whole reason we can celebrate Easter -- the resurrection!


The book continues the Easter story with pointing out that Jesus spent time with his disciples after his resurrection. This is an example of why I generally like Gail Gibbons books -- the attention to detail.


The author moves forward to today and incorporating the Biblical account into being the reason we celebrate Easter today.


She also mentions some fun and more light-hearted Easter traditions, such as Easter egg hunts and the annual "egg roll" in the lawn of the White House.


Apparently, tradition says there was a mother who hid colorful eggs for her children to find, and when they did, they saw a rabbit hopping away from the scene. The story stuck, and this was the beginnings of the Easter bunny. Who knew!


While I wouldn't say this book 100% hits the mark for the "true meaning of Easter" message that I want to help my daughter learn, it's overall a good book, with lots of detail and beautiful pictures.