On That Easter Morning, A Review

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Book Description

Rediscover the wonder of the first Easter morning...

Alison Jay has illustrated many books for children, and her beautiful paintings are instantly recognizable. In this book see the death and resurrection story of Jesus interpreted in her own unique style, using vignettes, borders and full page art to accompany a sincere retelling of the Easter story.

There are many intriguing people, animals and landscapes to look at along the way, bursting with new details to find with a young child, as you share the story of that special morning.

Review

I received an eARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.

This picture book does an incredible job telling the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. I appreciate that the Pasquali stayed true to the biblical text when writing this account for children. She is able to take biblical text, which is broken up into different "scenes" and weave them together into a story that flows well together. This is helpful for young children as they learn about the time leading up to Jesus' death and His subsequent resurrection. I believe it will capture their interest and keep them engaged in a much richer than if they were simply read the text from the Bible. 
I also liked how the author took phrases from the Bible that might be hard for young children to understand and phrased them in a way that will help them comprehend the story. For example, the Biblical text says the soldiers cast lots to see who would keep Jesus' clothes. Pasquali's account says the soldiers "played a game", which is a concept that young children will understand. 

As an early childhood educator, my one caution about this book is the length of the text. For young children, there is a lot of text. My initial reaction was hesitancy to purchase this book for our school. I am reminded however of how much our students love Bible time and are often at their stillest when listening to Bible stories. The power of God's word, coupled with lovely illustrations, I think actually makes this a book that would be enjoyed by children of all ages.

As an early childhood educator, my one caution about this book is the length of the text. For young children, there is a lot of text. My initial reaction was hesitancy to purchase this book for our school. I am reminded however of how much our students love Bible time and are often at their stillest when listening to Bible stories. The power of God's word, coupled with lovely illustrations, I think actually makes this a book that would be enjoyed by children of all ages.

I gave this book: ★★★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    ★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it