My Favorite Easter Books
I will very rarely suggest that you buy things. I don’t think you need to buy stuff to teach. The world is all around us and most of teaching is just pointing to what God has made—pointing it out in such a way that a person who is smaller can revel in it on their own terms.
But, you should buy both of these books if you can find them. They are my absolute favorite books for explaining Easter and the sacrifice and Resurrection to small people. They are not classics with exquisite illustrations…but, they are beautifully true.
The sacrifice of Jesus: Max’s Toys. It, honestly, was my foray into teaching the character of Jesus through Children’s Books (which is one of my favorite things in the whole world HERE). It is a tiny board book that teaches toddlers to count to 10. Max has 1 desire. He wants Ruby’s doll, Emily. He has a house with 2 Chimneys, 3 Soldiers, 4 Bears, etc…but Emily is who he loves. He trades every single one of his toys for her. He trades everything He has for her because He loves her. Does that story ring a bell? Imagine the look on my little person’s face when I told her what Jesus gave away to have her. The back of the cover shows Max, completely satisfied with his choice. She wanted to know if Jesus was that happy to trade His life for her. How amazing to be able to tell her He was.
The resurrection of Jesus: The Parable of the Lily. This is the story of a father who gives an unexpected gift. Maggie, his daughter, sees it and discards it as useless. She throws it away, unsure why her father is so bad at gift-giving. Only later, the dead shriveled present blooms into an Easter lily. From the thing that looked dead and worthless came more life and joy and beauty than anything she had cultivated on her own. See where I’m going with this? Our Jesus, thrown away to die, had a different kind of life inside Him that was stronger than death and different than anyone expected. By dying, He could raise Himself up to become our beautiful Savior. He proved to be the best present a loving father could give us.
I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy these books as much as we have.
