Just like Christmas, Easter can be a hard time for helping our kids to stay focused on Jesus and the reason we celebrate Easter. I like to pull out these favorite books each year, a few weeks before Easter and read one each day with my kids. You may have additional books to add to this list, please leave us a comment letting us know what your favorite Christ Centered Easter books are!
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1. Journey to the Cross ~ this book is not so much a picture book that you would sit down and read in one sitting. But I LOVE using this book ALL throughout the Easter season! This book has the entire Easter story split up into 40 readings (which would also be perfect to start around the time that Lent starts.) Your elementary kids could also use this book as reading practice to mom during the Easter season!
2. The Parable of the Lily ~ this might be my favorite picture book for Spring and Easter! I love Liz Curtis Higg’s parables for children! This one is the story of a mysterious gift that ends in a joyous discovery weeks later just in time for Easter. I love that Scripture is incorporated into the pages of these children’s parables!
3. Easter Bunny, Are You For Real ~ I love these gentle books by Harold Myra that do not make you feel any condemnation for having easter egg hunts or having FUN with the holiday. He mentions that spring IS a time to get excited about bunnies and new flowers growing, etc. But, he gently points out that the REAL reason we celebrate is because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
4. The Easter Story ~ from “Peek-A-Bible” and ZonderKids ~ we have had this book since my kids were 2-3 years old. There are flaps the kids can lift up and I have to admit, even as an adult, I get excited lifting that huge rock and seeing that the tomb is EMPTY!!
5. Amon’s Adventures ~ this is another book that is not particularly a picture book, but a story that you can read aloud to your whole family throughout the Easter season!! These read aloud or chapter books by Arnold Ytreeide are just fabulous. The stories grab you and have such depth to them. I would say these are probably not for your early elementary kids, maybe save them for upper elementary and older.
6. Benjamin’s Box ~ this book can be used along with the Resurrection Eggs or on its own, you could even be creative and use this in a totally different way if you chose. Benjamin is a curious boy that lives in the time of Jesus, he keeps a treasure box of all these treasures he finds — these treasures are the same things you will find inside the Resurrection Eggs.
7. The Legend of the Easter Egg ~ another fabulous “legend” book by Lori Walburg with MANY references to special events that take place around the time of Jesus death, the cross and the resurrection.
8. The Tale of Three Trees ~ a beautiful story of 3 trees with stories of how they are used to bring glory to God through their “lifetime.” You could add in nature study, as well, to this lovely story! This story is a very creative and a bit unusual way to tell the Easter story! You and your kids won’t forget it!
9. Miracle in the Morning ~ discuss with your children what it would have been like to go and find the EMPTY tomb on Easter morning!!
10. The Legend of the Sand Dollar ~ a trip to the beach reveals the story of Easter in a sand dollar! A small, hidden treasure reveals the miracle of the Resurrection.
I love adding just one new book to my Easter and Christmas collections each year. That makes it a little more affordable. By the time my children are grown, we will have a lovely collection of Christ-centered holiday books that someday I hope to share with my grandchildren!! These books we read each year become a part of our traditions…my children remember them…and I pray these seeds are planted deep in their hearts as they grow and mature in the Lord!
I have some free cursive copy work to go along with the Resurrection Eggs over at my place if you’d like to add that to your Easter school work!
Thanks for sharing these. We have Benjamin’s Box, but not the others. I ended up ordering one by the same author as Amon’s Adventures. I was sad to see that your first book here, which I was most interested in, costs almost $50. I would have ordered it if it were more in the $20 or less range.
Stacy, I hope you see this comment!! I didn’t realize this book was out of print, we’ve had it for so long!! But another commenter said they reformatted the book for kindle and you can get it for $3.99 if you wish! It’s called The Complete Easter Story and it by the same author, Helen Haidle.
The first book, which is out of print, has been re-released under the name The Complete Easter Story on kindle for only $3.99. $50 for a used book is a little out of my price range, so I was happy to find the re-released version! Hope this helps someone else.
Thank you so much, Angela!! I’ve had this book for several years and did not realize it was out of print! Thanks for the update!!
Hello…
I’m William Kemper Wright, author of the children’s book “Olive & Lucy of Oscawana Lake”. It’s currently available on iTunes or iBooks for only $5.99
The story is told with photographs of Olive, a French Bulldog, and Lucy, an Italian Bird Dog with thought clouds as the vehicle for conversation between them. I feel it’s a fun ‘life lessons” book with several opportunities for parents to find teaching moments within the story. I want children to feel as though they are with Olive & Lucy as they interact in real situations and decide to trek up to the top of the lake.
Wishing you a very Happy Easter!
yours truly,
William