Easter Books, Unwrapped

Since Easter is the queen of the feasts, we do a little Easter gift-giving in our house, usually a religious book.  Aubri and I thought we'd review the books we will either be reading during Holy Week or gifting on Easter.   It's much harder to find Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter books for children than Christmas books, so we would love your own reviews, too!   What do you give your children on Easter?

Aubri:  Here are the books I've read to my kiddos during Holy Week and Easter.

Since none of my children are reading yet I'm a bit more forgiving with the text. Unless something is just in bell ringing error, I'm ok with skipping some words. I'm also big on adding to the text more explanation than what is given in most childrens' books.

For the most part these books simply spell out the story of the Resurrection and the events that led up to it. You won't find an application of Christ's Resurrection in most of these.

"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. We have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." From I Corinthians 15

Now, a GREAT kids book would probably go into some of this, but I have yet to find one of those childrens' books and I'm ok with that. Explaining this is one of my jobs as the reader and the parent.

The Very First Easter Board Book by Paul Maier

This is a board book, so it's a condensed version of Maier's book The Very First Easter. This one is on the level of a very young child. Straight foward historically accurate events; miracles, Palm Sunday, Last Supper, and ends with the disciples touching the risen Christ. Wonderful, realistic illustrations.

Easter Surprise Lift the Flap Board Book by Vickie Howie

My kids really like flap books, I don't. I'm endlessly tapping the little flaps back into the book, but that never stops me from letting them have some. What I liked about this telling of the story; Last Supper scene Jesus tells them the bread and wine are His body and blood, given for the forgiveness of sins and we see Judas sneaking off to betray. Cons on this one; Mary on her way to put spices on Christ's body is surprised by a butterfly coming out of it's cocoon. I think I understand why it's in there, I could have done without it.

What Is Easter? Board Book by Michelle Medlock Adams

The first half of this book is leading the reader to ask themselves "what Easter means". Is it about the fluffy stuff that Easter brings, candy, eggs, new cloths, toys? Then answers with a No, then briefly tells the Easter story. It is sprinkled with a bit of Calvinist theology, today Jesus sits right next to God in Heaven and wants to live inside you too. This is an example of where I would substitute my own text in a book. Thankfully on this page Jesus holds a little lamb, great for talking about our Good Shepherd. Also, included is an "Easter Bunny" reference. We don't do the Easter Bunny at our house but I'm not going to through a fit over that one. I still like this book because in our home, we do enjoy the candy, the gifts, the new cloths. I want my children to know that those are fine and fun but as the book does make pretty clear, "It's all about God's Son."


The Story of Easter Board Book by Patricia A. Pingry

I have several of Pingry's books. They are very simple and have cute illustrations. Nice for my toddler and my preschoolers like them, but there are some things to watch for in these. As for this book, it's very weak on it's theology so a lot of editing is involved when I read it. On the crucifixion she writes; "But some men didn't like Jesus. They put Him on a cross to die." No mention of sin and unfortunately the picture painted here is that everyone "loved" Jesus except for a few men. Not good. This book ends with the line "He gave His life for us so that we can live too." The illustration here is children playing by a pond. My husband really doesn't like that, "Living doesn't mean playing at the lake".


The Easter Victory Arch Book by Erik Rottman

This is probably the best one on my list. I'm usually pretty impressed by the Arch books I've read. This one is not written at the level my kiddos are currently at but we still read through it. It's better for ages 5-10. This book largely focuses on Jesus' work and what it gives us. It isn't light on His suffering. It mentions the disciples abandoning Jesus, Jesus having being tied up, kicked, hit, spat on and dragged down the street! And ends with "Because of Jesus' death and life you have God's Word of peace. Through every Sunday morning's Word through water, wine and bread God's people are assured that they shall rise up from the dead." I like that.

The Time of Easter by Suzzanne Richterkessing

This book is one in a series on the Church year. Two young mice are led through lessons on the church year by an older church mouse. This one begins with an explanation of Lent, explains what sin is, then it moves on to Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter and Ascension.

I was very pleased that this book does touch on what Christ's Resurrection gives us, "Now Gods' people know they will have eternal life." "It means God's people will live in heaven with Him forever."

It's cute and educational. I'm sure children won't be the only ones to learn something in these books.

Katy: My choices are less Easter-orientated but no less relevant to Easter!  I checked out some of these books from our church library, and was surprised how much my kids liked them, so we had to get them for our own library.   

Like Aubri, I fill in and explain where the books lack or are not clear about Christ's victory over sin, death, and the devil, and how his death and resurrection is for you. 


Easter ABCs by Isabel Anders

A simple book all of my kids (ages 1-5) will enjoy.  It has the letters of the alphabet and it rhymes--what else do you need for very small children?  The poem is mediocre (containing clunkers like "he was gone, all right!" and "EXcited is the way we feel.")  The two lines I have theological qualms with is "Searching for Him will not do--For Jesus lives in me and you," and another line that seems to channel the infamous hymn "I Come to the Garden Alone."  As Aubri mentioned above, children's books on the Easter story usually are just narrative.  I'm happy to say Easter ABCs also has theologically winning lines such as "Joy is now our happiest thought--For our salvation He has bought" and "No one can deny that we from the fear of death are free!"  Unfortunately, the binding doesn't seem too strong, so it may only last one Easter in our house.

Little Folded Hands

This is one of the books I stumbled across in our church library, and the kids love it.  My oldest read all the prayers all the way through to her brothers.  Many are sing-songy rhyming poems, sometimes bordering on moralism without mentioning Christ, however there are beautiful little poems like this

The morning bright
With rosy light
Has waked me from my sleep;
Dear God, Thy own
Great love alone
Thy little one doth keep.

All through the day,
I humbly pray,
Be Thou my Guard and Guide
My sins forgive,
And let me live,
Blest Jesus, near Thy side. Amen.

The evening prayers refreshingly speak of death and dying and going to heaven, often seeking forgiveness for sins of that day.  I find this unusual for a children's book of prayers.  If your kids have Luther's Morning and Evening Prayer down pat, this is good place to start expanding their "prayer treasury"--memorized prayers they can turn to when in need. 

My Very First Holy Bible

We are starting a tradition this year to buy a Bible for our children on Easter the year they learn to read chapter books on their own.  Our 5-year-old is rather precocious, and I thought a real Bible would challenge her.  I used to be against categorizing Bibles and hymnals (see the next review), but this Bible has three things I like 1) it has respectful, realistic illustrations 2) the pages are thicker, so tearing is less likely 3) the print is slightly larger for new readers.  I remember the first Bible my parents gave me (I still have it) and I treasured it for years.  The best gift a parent can give their child is the Word of God.

My Very First Hymnal

I remember when Issues, Etc., had this as book of the month, and I thought, "What?  My kids will grow up with the real hymnal, the family hymnal that everyone uses.  We don't need simplified songs!"  This is yet another book I checked out of our church library and the kids loved it.  My daughter (and beginning pianist) could read the simple music notes, and she likes to carry it around to just read the hymns.  Even though we have most of the evening and morning prayer liturgies memorized, Claire also likes to find where we are and read the text for us. 

It helps me choose what easier hymns to sing for each season in the church year.  I am tone-dead (and tune-dead), so the simpler the better when teaching my kids songs. It has a short list of Psalms I intend the kids to memorize.  It introduces a simple liturgy of Confession and Absolution, encouraging family members to confess sins to one another.  The artwork is bold and colorful.  The only problem I have with it is leaving out verses from hymns. But I have a problem with LSB doing that, too.

No need for this to replace family worship with the "real" hymnal, but it's a wonderful supplement. 

My First Catechism

This book has Luther's Small Catechism along with Bible stories to further explain "what does this mean?"  For example, for commandment 1, you shall have no other gods, they give the story of the three young men who refused to bow to an idol and were thrown in the furnace.  Under the explanation ("We should fear, love, and trust God above all things") they tell the story of Abraham trusting God and preparing Isaac as a sacrifice.  I intend to use this book for school devotions during the Easter season.  The book includes the Table of Duties, a short explanation of our creeds and confessions, and a list of the feasts and festivals of the Church Year.  At the very back are three hymns: "I Am Jesus' Little Lamb", "God's Own Child I Gladly Say It," and "Lord, Help Us Ever to Retain."

Things I See at Easter by Julie Steigemeyer

We love this series of books and this year I bought Things I Hear at Church  and Things I See at Baptism for my 19-month-old.  Things I See at Easter is on sale for $2.50 at CPH!  They are boardbooks that very, very simply explain to the very small child what is happening at church.  The only complaint I have is, if you buy the whole series, you start to notice recycled artwork. 

Please browse Concordia Publishing House's Easter book sale for more ideas!

Lent in our Home

We use this table in the kitchen as our "family altar". It's here I will put reminders of what season of the Church year we are in.  

Here are some of the ways my family is observing Lent in our home this year.

I made this "prayer jar" out of an old formula container and construction paper. I cut an opening in the top for adding more prayer requests. (My kiddos think it's a biggy bank and really have a hard time not putting money in there!)

This year we decided to pray for a missionary family throughout Lent.

I chose the Eisold family who serve in Peru. Check out the LCMS website for more missionaries you can pray for.

To help me stay on task and more organized this year, I made a Lenten calendar like this one, very simple, just not very "neat" so don't look to closely!

It's not always easy to fit all the Christian practices I'd like to into a busy family schedule.

I've given myself 3 times during the day to fit in prayer, alms giving and our Jesus Tree lessons so if something doesn't get done in the morning I try after school, if not then, then hopefully after supper during our family devotion time. 

With lots of little people in my family I'm learning that I need wiggle room or wiggle time, when teaching them things. And certainly there will be days when none of our Lenten intentions, if I may use that word, get done.

Here's what we're working on through Lent. Typically the themes of Lent are Prayer, Alms Giving and Fasting. Since I'm usually pregnant during Lent and my children are still too young to really understand Fasting or Abstaining, we don't focus on those as much. Instead I try to give them something to learn. 

We'll work on 3 hymns this year and a memory verse.

On each day I wrote what we try to pray for (in addition to a prayer request from our prayer jar). 

Also for each day, there's an item around the house that we will count. The kiddos count how many...beds we have for example, receive a penny or nickle for that amount and then add it to our Giving Jar or Alms Jar. We will take our collection to church for Wednesday night Vesper services through Lent or all at once on Easter Sunday.

We'd love to hear what some of you are doing!

Lenten Project for Children

If you're looking for ways to get children to give or think about those in need through Lent this may be helpful.

Using Christ's words from Matthew 25:

Week One: "I was hungry." Children can collect canned good for a local food pantry.

Week Two: "I was thirsty." Collect can or bottles of juice for food pantry.

Week Three: "I was a stranger." Write cards or letters to residents in area nursing homes or retirement centers. 

Week Four: "I was naked." Contribute diapers, wipes or baby care products and clothing to a local women's or homeless shelter.

Week Five: "I was sick." Donate health products such as shampoo, soap, lotions, toothbrushes and tooth paste to a food pantry or shelter.

Week Six: "I was in prison." Donate paper products, tissues, toilet paper, napkins and paper plates.

Set up a donation box or bag, perhaps let your children decorate it. Collect these items throughout the weeks of Lent then during Holy Week or Easter deliver them to your local food bank or shelter.

We're Expanding!

I've asked my church-year-activity heroine, Aubri, to contribute to The Church Year in the Home.  She has awesome ideas, and is always doing sweet crafty things with her children, like putting glitter on a coloring-sheet face of Jesus for Transfiguration Sunday.

Welcome, Aubri! 

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In addition to commemorating Saint Valentine this month, I wanted to encourage my kiddos to use the "Valentine's Day season" as an extra opportunity to show love and kindness to others.

I liked this Valentine's Day Count Down Chain I used last year and decided to make one this year too. On each of the links is a Bible verse about Love. Also, I added an activity or loving act for my girls to do. I just wrote those next to the verse.

Some of our activities this month are:

1. Give a friend a hug.
2. Visit our shut-in church members with Valentine cards.
3. Tell someone "Hello".
4. Write Thank You notes to our teachers.
5. Make Valentine cards for our Grandparents.
6. Make Valentine treats.
7. Make a card for Daddy.
8. Obey your teachers and Mama and Daddy.
9. Share your toys today.

I started late on this (did February sneak up on you too?!) so I only made 9 links and activities. The girls love finding out what we'll do each day, though some acts haven't been met with as much enthusiasm as others...I'll let you decide which those are.

Here are some other ideas for little ones (mine are preschool aged):

Cut hearts out of paper.
Eat something red.
Call someone and tell them you love them.
Learn to write the word "Love".
Learn to say "I Love You" in sign language.
Make Valentine bookmarks and leave them at a Senior Center or Library.

Spontaneous acts of love and kindness are also encouraged!

For our shut-in church members we made very simple cards.

I made hearts with Bible verses and let the girls cut them out and glue them on to pretty paper.

You can download the hearts HERE and HERE.

We then attached the requisite chocolate!

We had extra Valentine cards that we were able to take to our doctor's office last week. We gave one to our nurse. She hugged my daughter and told her "You made my day!" That was fun. 

I think I'll also leave some on the kitchen counter in case anyone stops by this week.

Lenten Literature

Some reading material I hope to use this Lent:


A Confession Mirror (Beichtspiegel) " (free pdf download courtesy of Emmanuel Press.)  "A Beichtspiegel (confession mirror) is a tool used for reflection and self-examination in preparation for private confession and absolution or for the Divine Service."

When God Becomes My Enemy: The Theology of the Complaint Psalms

"A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth"
          by Paul Gerhardt, 1607-1676
                             

        1. A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth,
        The guilt of all men bearing;
        And laden with the sins of earth,
        None else the burden sharing!
        Goes patient on, grow weak and faint,
        To slaughter led without complaint,
        That spotless life to offer;
        Bears shame and stripes, and wounds and death,
        Anguish and mockery, and saith,
        "Willing all this I suffer."

        2. This Lamb is Christ, the soul's great Friend,
        The Lamb of God, our Savior;
        Him God the Father chose to send
        To gain for us His favor.
        "Go forth, My Son," the Father saith,
        "And free men from the fear of death,
        From guilt and condemnation.
        The wrath and stripes are hard to bear,
        But by Thy Passion men shall share
        The fruit of Thy salvation."

        3. "Yea, Father, yea, most willingly
        I'll bear what Thou commandest;
        My will conforms to Thy decree,
        I do what Thou demandest."
        O wondrous Love, what hast Thou done!
        The Father offers up His Son!
        The Son, content, descendeth!
        O Love, how strong Thou art to save!
        Thou beddest Him within the grave
        Whose word the mountains rendeth.

        4. From morn till eve my theme shall be
        Thy mercy's wondrous measure;
        To sacrifice myself for Thee
        Shall be my aim and pleasure.
        My stream of life shall ever be
        A current flowing ceaselessly,
        Thy constant praise outpouring.
        I'll treasure in my memory,
        O Lord, all Thou hast done for me,
        Thy gracious love adoring.

        5. Of death I am no more afraid,
        New life from Thee is flowing;
        Thy cross affords me cooling shade
        When noonday's sun is glowing.
        When by my grief I am opprest,
        On Thee my weary soul shall rest
        Serenely as on pillows.
        Thou art my Anchor when by woe
        My bark is driven to and fro
        On trouble's surging billows.

        6. And when Thy glory I shall see
        And taste Thy kingdom's pleasure,
        Thy blood my royal robe shall be,
        My joy beyond all measure.
        When I appear before Thy throne,
        Thy righteousness shall be my crown,-
        With these I need not hide me.
        And there, in garments richly wrought
        As Thine own bride, I shall be brought
        To stand in joy beside Thee.

Your redemption is drawing near...

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.                                                               1 John 1:5-9 

Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.                    Matt 9:15

LENT 2013

Lenten topics previously covered on this blog:

Shrovetide (Fat Tuesday) and Shrovetide 2

Family Altars (send me a picture of yours and I'll post a collection in a few weeks)

General history of Lent and some activities from last year and the same from 2011

Jesus Tree


Lenten activities from other sites:

Lent pretzel

Crown of Thorns

Lenten Lamb Calendar

Burying the Alleluias (detailed history of the practice and craft)

The church year never fails!

This is so exciting to me.  I don't know how I ever missed  forgot it! [Follow the link for a clearer explanation]

[The Gesimas are] particularly of value for us Lutherans, because the readings for each of the three Sundays of Gesimatide correspond with what came to be called the three "solas" in the Lutheran Reformation!

Septuagesima Sunday, "70 Days". By Grace Alone. (27 Jan 2013)
Introit.Psalm 18:5,6,7. Verse Psalm 18:2,3.Collect.O Lord, we beseech Thee favourably to hear the prayers of Thy people that we, who are justly punished for our offences, may be mercifully delivered by The goodness, for the glory of Thy name, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Saviour, who liveth etc.Epistle.1 Cor 9:24 - 10:5.Gospel.Matthew 20:1-16. The Workers in the Vinyard. Sola gratia, by grace alone.

Sexagesima Sunday, "60 Days". By Scripture Alone. (3 Feb 2013)
Introit.Psalm 44:23-26. Verse Psalm 44:2.Collect.O God, who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do, mercifully grant that by Thy power we may be defended against all adversity, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord, who liveth etc.Epistle.2 Cor 11:19 - 12.9Gospel.Luke 8:4-15. The Sower and the Seed. Sola scriptura, by scripture alone.

Quinquagesima Sunday, "50 Days". By Faith Alone. (10 February 2013)
Introit.Psalm 31:3,4. Verse Psalm 31:1.Collect.O Lord, we beseech Thee, mercifully hear our prayers and, having set us free from the bonds of sin, defend us from all evil, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord, who liveth etc.Epistle.1 Cor 13:1-13.Gospel.Luke 18:31-43. Healing the Blind Man. Sola fide, by faith alone.

More at Past Elder

Christmas Books, Unwrapped

This Advent and Christmas the kids and I unwrapped a Christmas book a week, and a book a day during the 12 days of Christmas.  It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing it again next year, and adding more books I find at garage sales this summer.

I was very relaxed about what constituted a "Christmas book."  About 1/3 are about Christ's birth, 1/3 are just fun Santa Claus, Nutcracker or Moral Story books, and 1/3 are about snow.  (Does anyone else have an huge collection of "snow" books?  Katy and the Big Snow, White Snow, Bright Snow, Snow, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, The Snowman....)

Our church even gifted the children with an Epiphany book, The Visit of the Wise Men.  

Some of our favorites:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's The Christmas Story.  Beautiful medieval and renaissance art accompanies King James text from the Gospels.  Not a children's book, but the kids love it, because there is so much to look at in the pictures.  

Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck.  A tale of a farm boy finding joy in loving his neighbor, his neighbor being his father.

Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury.  This book is the first I've read of Jan Brett.  Her art is gorgeous and very detailed.  There is a wild, northern European pagan feel sometimes to her tales (see The Trouble with Trolls), but nothing offensive.

Babar and Father Christmas.  We're big Jean de Brunhoff fans here.  How can you not love passages like this? 

 [The dwarves] all set to immediately.  They undress him, and give him a good alcohol rub, working over him energetically with big brushes.  The dwarf chemist give him some brandy.  Then finally, Babar drinks a fine bowl of hot soup with Father Christmas and thanks him from the bottom of his heart."

Some I'm interested in for next year:

The Legend of St. Nicholas

Christmas Cookies: Bite-sized Holiday Lessons 

Stephen's Feast

Good King Wenceslas

Corgiville Christmas

We Three Kings

What's your favorite Advent/Christmas/Epiphany book?

There is Nothing New Under the Sun

Cool Lutheran mama who had the same idea I did:

Of Green Tables


I posted a comment on Aubri's blog about the Feast of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus (January 1) I'll repost here:

I always have a particular season or feast of the year that I enjoy or ponder more than others. The Circumcision and Name of Jesus is it this year: That He began shedding blood for us when He was only 8 days old, that He began fulfilling the law perfectly, that He was given the Name that He then freely gives to us in Baptism.

What is your favorite church year season or feast this year and why?

Internetless Advent

Dear Readers,

It is clear I fell off the blogwagon, mostly because we do not have internet at home anymore (except for the shared network from my husband's iPhone, which means I spend most of my internet time reestablishing a weak connection).  No internet at home is awesome, but not awesome for this blog.

But we have still been observing and celebrating the Church Year, even without the internet.  We finally are actually learning verses and hymns per season, not just intending to learn them.  So far learned/planned:

Ordinary:                 Genesis 1:1-5     My Hope is Built on Nothing Less

Reformation:             Eph. 2:8-10              "                            " ,   Wake, Awake For Night is Flying

Advent:                    Isaiah 9:6-7        Creator of the Stars of Night

Christmas:                Luke 2:7             A Great and Mighty Wonder

Epiphany:                 John 1:1-7          Songs of Thankfulness and Praise

A peaceful Advent and merry Christmas to you all!

BONUS: Free Christmas gift ideas for the little ones

Paperdolls (print out on cardstock)

LEGO patterns (just print out the instructions and stuff them in the stockings, or do what I did and spend 4 hours scouring your husband's 4 Rubbermaid tubs of vintage LEGO, looking for that one elusive brick. It brings back nostalgic memories of childhood frustration and an achy neck).