We love selling books this time of year as folks think about children’s books to give as Easter gifts; we even hear about Easter baskets and books given out at egg hunts and more. What fun

I trust you saw last week’s listing of eight excellent books to pre-order (some of which, like the new James KA Smith (Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark), The Pastor as Gardener (by Matthew Erickson) and Mako and Haijin Fujimura’s Beauty & Justice have already arrived. Others on that list include the forthcoming Kate Bowler, Michael Gorman, Malcolm Guite, Alan Noble, and Tish Harrison Warren.

For now, here are a few newer Easter books for children. Did I hear something about Easter baskets??

By the way, I’ve written about children’s books for this time of year HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE (among other times.) The discounts on these remains 20% off even if the older prices may have changed…

(MOSTLY) NEW EASTER BOOKS

God’s Colorful Easter: The Good News Is for Everyone Esau McCaulley, illustrated by Rogeria Colho (Tyndale Kids) $16.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

I hope you recall my enthusiastic highlighting of a handful of recent children’s Bibles (see HERE) in which we celebrated Rev. Esau McCaulley’s God’s Colorful Kingdom Storybook Bible which not only has multi-racial characters (as most kids books do these days) but draws out the multi-ethnic themes and trajectories in the Bible itself. From the very beginning, the back cover says, “God’s plan has been for a beautifully diverse family.” This new Easter edition has new content and a newly designed set of great illustrations from the bigger Bible. This engaging re-telling doesn’t start with Holy Week, but with Simon and the death of Jesus. Of course it explains the resurrection, the reaction of His followers, has a page on the Great Commission and a final page about how we are Christians today because somebody spread the good news. The story starts by pointing out that Simon, who helped Jesus carry his cross, had traveled from Northern Africa.The last pages ask kids if they remember that part of the story, recalling that Christ’s followers are all different colors from every continent! Yay.

The Great Waking Up: The Story of Easter Sarah Shin, illustrated by Shin Maeng (Waterbrook) $15.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $12.79

I love so many children’s Bible stories and appreciate so many great Easter tales. I listed some of our favorites in previous columns (see the links above.) Yet, I sometimes wonder how to communicate to little ones the remarkable news that Jesus came back to life, resurrected, after his death. Saying the tomb was empty may not make sense. New life can become a metaphor detached from Christ’s bodily resurrection and defeat of Death. This new one might be one of my all-time favorites.

Sarah Shin (author of the excellent Beyond Colorblind, by the way) did her previous children’s book about Christmas called The Deliverer Has Come. With Shin Maeng’s Korean art and Shin’s storytelling chops, this new one brings the Jewish girl Anastasia back as she tells about her favorite dream, which she calls “The Great Waking Up” (the day when there will be no more death.)

This amazing little book tells movingly about stories that should help us anticipate the resurrection and which informed Anastasia’s dream, namely  Ezekiel’s dream of dead bones coming to life, of the healing of Jairus’s daughter, and of the healing of Jesus’s friend, Lazarus. This girl knows the stories of hope from her Scriptures and friends but when Jesus is killed she is bereft. But, wait? Jesus is alive?? Is this the beginning of the “great waking up”? This nice book explains the big picture dream of dreams and how it comes true in Jesus’s resurrection. As a bonus there are a handful other Scripture’s she offers at the end, inviting kids to study more. And don’t miss the symbolism and special scenes embedded in the outfits and landscapes. This book is amazing.

Jesus’s Easter Journey: A Resurrection Story Carine MacKenzie, illustrated by Daniele Fabbri (Christian Focus) $13.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $11.19

This Scottish Bible teacher has done dozens and dozens of often small paperback children’s books, usually Bible stories, inexpensive and solid. As a conservative Reformed thinker, she is impeccable about being true to the text and yet has a charming storytelling style. Nothing clever or made up, just a re-telling of Scriptural stories. We appreciate her style and found this one to be pretty unique. It has the “cleansing of the temple” during Jesus’s last week, a goo description and explanation of the last supper, and other vivid scenes (the prayer in Gethsemane, is moving, the betrayal by Peter isn’t often told.) It’s a marvelous, accurate story with tremendously artful but pretty realistic art stylings.

Here is one unique feature and I hope this doesn’t turn you off; this publishing house, or at least this pair of writer and illustrator, don’t believe we should speculate on the look of Jesus. If we are Trinitarian and take the gospels and Christian theology serious, Jesus is God. And we dare not make images, they insist, so there are no illustrations of Jesus in these excellent, allusive renderings. The text is thorough but advisable and the artwork is good. Agree or not with their conscience on the prohibition of painting pictures Jesus, this book is very nicely done, and will make for nice conversations with children as you read it to them.

Sparrow’s Easter Garden Roger Hutchison, illustrated by Ag Jatkowska (Beaming) $17.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

I’m not going to lie — I wasn’t sure about this one. Roger Hutchison has done some excellent books on depression, some about using the arts, allusive and thoughtful. He has another really great book for children called Sparrow’s Prayer (where other animals teach him ways to pray when he can’t quite work up the energy to sing or be grateful.) In this new one, Sparrow is eager to get the garden spruced up for Easter. They’ve got 40 days and every animal helps. (Kids will love seeing Buck, the deer, using his antlers to dig up the ground for seeds.) But on Good Friday, a storm blows in and all the creatures are scared. Will the garden even survive? It’s seems like the end of their dream. They’ve got work to do, but on “Holy Saturday they rest.”

As you might guess there is a moral to the story with the rain and wind helping to cultivate the ground causing the seeds to blossom just in time for an Easter celebration. The animal friends “gasp in joy.” “After forty days of tilling the soil, planting seeds, and waiting with hope, new life blooms in the morning light.” And what a happy, colorful scene it is.

The last spread has these words:

They share stories and bless their food, and the hardworking friends enjoy the gift of the garden with their neighbors.

Quietly at first, Sparrow begins singing. One by one, the others join in, their hallelujah’s filing the morning sky.

Twas the Morning of Easter Glenys Nellist, illustrated by Elena Selivanova (Zonderkidz) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

This is not brand new, like most I’ve listed here, but I had to share it. It came out in 2021 and yet somehow many don’t know it. It is richly illustrated — I love the style and respect the Russian illustrator very much — and it follows the cadence of the classic “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” It is not overly forced and it is not cheesy. But it does have that clever play on the famous piece by Clement Clark Moore. I hope you enjoy hearing about it here.

I was happy to previously highlight Nellist and Selivanova’s Twas the Season of Advent: Devotions and Stories for the Christmas Season and her most recent, The Season of Lent: Devotions and Stories for the Lenten and Easter Seasons.

You may know her tremendous “Love Letters from God” series of books that have little letters from God to the children tipped into a little envelope. They are so nice! Try the updated Easter Love Letters from God Bible Stories illustrated very nicely by Sophie Allsopp (Zonderkids; $16.99 // $13.59.)

Perfect Peace Child Steve Richardson, illustrated by Sarah Nunnally (William Carey LIbrary – Mission Kids) $16.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

Do you know the true story of how God used the Sawi people’s own tradition — giving a baby to make peace with an enemy people — to show them that Jesus is God’s peace child? Set in New Guinea this tells this famous missionary story which, as they say on the back, “invites children to see how God’s love brings deep-down-forever peace anywhere in the world.”

I love how this story offers a creative way to understand the nature of Jesus’s reconciling work. Plus, there’s a little lizard on every page.

Jesus, Our True Friend: Stories to Fill Your Heart With Joy Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jago (Zonderkidz) $21.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.59

The last chapter of this lovely, recently released book from the beloved creators of The Jesus Storybook Bible (“where every chapter whispers his name”) is about the post-resurrection story about Jesus making breakfast on the beach for his disciples. It offers several other well told gospel stories and ends with this marvelous event.

Hooray for children’s writer Sally Lloyd-Jones (she has done over 40 books!) and the very creative designer and artist, Jago who has worked with her on The Jesus Storybook Bible.  As you can tell from the title, it is a more limited telling of a few stories about Jesus. And I’d say it is for younger children maybe 4 – 8 or so.

Jesus Our True Friend is slightly larger than most children’s picture books and the colors are vivid and while not exactly whimsical, certainly done with verve. Like the writing, which is bright and conversational, theologically informed, and utterly charming. It starts with a creative paraphrase of parts of John 1.  I love this.

As it says on the back,

The Bible tells the wonderful story of how God loves His children and comes to rescue them. And at the heart of that story is a young hero — the Great Rescuer, Jesus, God’s own Son. He stepped out of Heaven and came to live with us and show us what love is really like.

Stories include The Party That Went Wrong, Our True Friend, The Two Sisters Jesus Loved, Jesus and the Stone Throwers, Jesus and the Deadly Storm, Our True Older Brother, and Breakfast on the Beach.

As she notes in the beginning — on a wonderful page written to “children and their grown-ups” — these are seven Good News stories. “They come from the time when Jesus was on Earth. They start with a party and end with breakfast!” Then she says, earnestly, “I hope they fill your hearts with joy.”

We do too.

Keep Us This Day: A Morning Prayer for All God’s Children / Keep Us This Night: An Evening Prayer for All God’s Children Todd R. Hains, illustrated by Natasha Kennedy (Lexham Press) $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19

Here is what we wrote when we first announced this “Fat Cat” book:

This is one of these great flip books that can be read first one way, and then you turn it over and upside down and the second half is read, also front to back. A delight, no matter which end you start with!

Keep Us This Day / Night is one of the handful of FatCat books that we regularly promote and we’re glad for this gently liturgical resource, offering the rhythms of morning prayer and evening prayer for the child, her energetic family, siblings and, of course, the hidden cat on every page spread.

One need not be Lutheran to appreciate this, but the twin prayers in this book are drawn from Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, published in 1529. The simple phrases are drawn from Psalm 31:5, Psalm 91:11 and Psalm 121.  Hooray.

Another neat part of this book is that the family in the story is Korean, so there is some Korean language print besides the English type, and you will notice it in the home-life scenes. A fabulous book in so many ways, mature, if simple! Kudos.

The Art of Holy Week & Easter: Meditations on the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Sister Wendy Beckett (SPCK / IVP) $17.99  // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39ß

While this obviously is not a children’s book you may know older kids or teens who enjoy good art. This is a devotional rich in color, different styles of vital art pieces, with expert commentary by the late, great art historian, Sister Wendy. I hope you know the someone thicker The Art of Lent…

 

CHILDREN’S STORYBOOK BIBLES? Want a fresh new children’s Bible with great art and thoughtful re-telling of the Bible stories? Check out this column we did not too long ago. If you want a real, full Bible with study notes for kids, reach out to us on our inquiry page or shoot me an email at read@heartsandmindsbooks.com. Knowing what translation you prefer is a good start… we’re happy to help, eager to serve.

 

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