Today Is Easter!

Rating:
Summary: It's OK but it's not the book I'm choosing for my 3 year old
Review: Many Easter children's books feature Easter egg hunts, but steer clear of the religious significance of the holiday. Today Is Easter! describes almost all of the wonderful things that children do on Easter, including the joys of the religious part of this wonderful Christian holiday.

The only favorite memory of mine that the book missed was going to Eastern sunrise services outdoors with my parents. The book covers the beauties of spring, Easter baskets, Easter egg hunts, getting dressed up to go to church, Easter church services, an Easter parade, spending time outdoors playing games, and Easter dinner (including saying grace).

The illustrations feature the vivid colors of spring, as suggested by the text (lavender morning light, for example). One fun one leaves an Easter egg unfound, so the young reader can look for it.

I did find the illustrations troubling in two places. First, the sister and brother ostentatiously share a bedroom (with different beds). This is shown twice in a short book. Second, they are displayed changing in their underclothes. I really didn't see how this advanced the story, or made the book more Easter-like. It seems to me like the illustrations could have carried off the story without getting into the bedroom and dressing arrangements at all. I would not comment on it, but the images seemed at odds with the rest of the story and illustrations. I graded the book down one star for this unnecessarily jarring note.

Fans of displaying images that are free of racial and sexual stereotypes will be interested to know that the sermon is presented by a female minister, and that the faces in the book come in many hues.

If you decide to purchase and read this book, I suggest that you do so before Easter to help create a sense of anticipation for Easter activities. In fact, you can use the book to plan your day with your child . . . if you like.

The book is a good one for about the first grade reader in the second half of the year or the beginning of second grade.

I found it invigorating to think ahead to Easter on a wintry day in Boston with melting piles of snow all around.

After you read it, you'll also be saying:

"Thank you for Easter! It's a wonderful day!"

Rating:
Summary: A Happy Family Day of Easter Festivities and Religious Rites
Review: Many Easter children's books feature Easter egg hunts, but steer clear of the religious significance of the holiday. Today Is Easter! describes almost all of the wonderful things that children do on Easter, including the joys of the religious part of this wonderful Christian holiday.

The only favorite memory of mine that the book missed was going to Eastern sunrise services outdoors with my parents. The book covers the beauties of spring, Easter baskets, Easter egg hunts, getting dressed up to go to church, Easter church services, an Easter parade, spending time outdoors playing games, and Easter dinner (including saying grace).

The illustrations feature the vivid colors of spring, as suggested by the text (lavender morning light, for example). One fun one leaves an Easter egg unfound, so the young reader can look for it.

I did find the illustrations troubling in two places. First, the sister and brother ostentatiously share a bedroom (with different beds). This is shown twice in a short book. Second, they are displayed changing in their underclothes. I really didn't see how this advanced the story, or made the book more Easter-like. It seems to me like the illustrations could have carried off the story without getting into the bedroom and dressing arrangements at all. I would not comment on it, but the images seemed at odds with the rest of the story and illustrations. I graded the book down one star for this unnecessarily jarring note.

Fans of displaying images that are free of racial and sexual stereotypes will be interested to know that the sermon is presented by a female minister, and that the faces in the book come in many hues.

If you decide to purchase and read this book, I suggest that you do so before Easter to help create a sense of anticipation for Easter activities. In fact, you can use the book to plan your day with your child . . . if you like.

The book is a good one for about the first grade reader in the second half of the year or the beginning of second grade.

I found it invigorating to think ahead to Easter on a wintry day in Boston with melting piles of snow all around.

After you read it, you'll also be saying:

"Thank you for Easter! It's a wonderful day!"

Rating:
Summary: It's OK but it's not the book I'm choosing for my 3 year old
Review: This book is a cute, rhyming explanation of what happens on Easter, from when you get up to the end of the day. This is good as it's what preschoolers want-concretely, what do we do? The problem is it has stuff in it that my area DOESN'T. I don't want my [yound child] to expect "glorious" weather and lots of flowers because we often don't have this in New England. Likewise, this book has games with balloons, and a band, and a parade on Easter afternoon. Not around here! The LAST thing I want to do is make Easter a let-down because there are no balloons, no parade...so we'll skip this book.

Rating:
Summary: Energy, excitement and joy!
Review: What a rare find! This book captures the energy, excitement and joy of Easter. Written in delightful verse, the story covers everything from the fun of an egg hunt to the awesome power of Jesus' resurrection. I was so taken with it that two copies came home - one for our family and one to give away!