In this beautifully illustrated story, children learn that God had planned Easter a long, long time ago--even before the world was created. The book swiftly moves along from creation and the Fall of Man, to the birth of Jesus, His ministry, the Last Supper, Jesus' death and his glorious Resurrection.
Sutherland did an excellent job of providing young readers with a book that explains the Easter story in greater depth than many books do. While it is a large picture book (30 PDF pages/28 printed pages) the explanations provided by the author will be helpful in assisting readers to grasp the full message.
The book opens by asking the reader, "Do you ever wonder what Easter is all about?" Immediately the author works to engage the reader. This is a nice style, and one I think young readers will enjoy.
Julie Hammond's artwork is lovely. The soft, warm colors keep with the peaceful tone of the book.
My only slight criticism is that I felt the book would end on a more powerful note without the last page. The second to the last page talks about how we become Jesus' friends by believing He is God and that He died and rose again as payment for our sins. The final page acts like a summary of the entire book, and ends with the words, "And that's why we celebrate Easter." I truly felt that last page deflated the strong words of the page before it.
That aside, Why Do We Celebrate Easter? by Mark Sutherland is a great way to share the Easter story with the child in your life.
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