Benjamin's Box: A Resurrection Story

by Melody Carlson, Barbara Rainey (Foreword), Jack Stockman (Illustrator)

A young boy follows Jesus through Jerusalem, collecting mementos to share with others and to remind him of Jesus's teachings. Ages 5 to 10.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Christian, Holiday, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Religion

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 1997

About the author

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.

She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.

Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here’s a great book to incorporate into your Easter Egg Hunt, with the various colors of eggs representing different themes/ideas of Resurrection Sunday.

Benjamin lives in Jerusalem. His uncle, a shepherd, gifted him a little wooden treasure box that contains a piece of straw - straw taken from a manger that a baby slept in. His uncle tells him that some day that baby will be king. When Benjamin hears that a king is coming into town riding on a donkey, he goes to watch and manages to get a little tuft of the donkey’s fur. He sticks it into his box. And so the story continues until the miraculous resurrection.

Ages: 3 - 10

[Della Tingle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-have Easter book for every Christian home!!!

This book is precious and works as a stand-alone book. However, it also pairs with Resurrection Eggs which are color-coordinated and filled with items from the story. I have also participated in a Bible study where we made our own “Benjamin’s Box” and filled the little wooden box with the items mentioned in this book. So there are a lot of different ways to enjoy this story and to share the love of Christ with others. ❤️

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun addition to our Resurrection Eggs.

4/17/22 Read with Naomi, Julia, Riley, Caleb, Joseph, & Timothy

4/9/23 Read with my preschool class

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I very much disliked this book. I understand the draw, and the reasoning behind it, but the whole thing is on rocky ground, and I'd much rather just read my kids the story straight from the gospels. It's certainly safer to do so.

A few thoughts:
The author inserted a kid into the story and had him interact with Jesus and the disciples (Judas, mostly) in a way that is dangerously close to adding to the Scriptures.

The way Jesus is presented is contrary to the gospels. This book's all-loving all-forgiving Jesus is not the Man who came to bring "not peace, but a sword", and drove the money-changers out of the temple, and mocked the Pharisees.

Lastly, the title character thought he was to blame for Jesus' death, and carried that guilt until he learned of the resurrection and felt that he was forgiven. This bothered me quite a bit. The kid didn't actually do anything wrong, but the narration is at best unclear about whether or not he's correct to feel guilty. He's implicated in Judas' crime, and I think that was a huge mistake. Kids need to have clear lines drawn about where responsibility begins & ends, lest they take guilt on themselves which is not theirs.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is meant to be a companion for Resurrection eggs that can be purchased through the company that sponsors the book. When my children were younger, my mom made an Easter egg advent for my children featuring 12 numbered plastic eggs with a scripture verse and a small item inside that went along with the verse. I think the same thing could be done here.

I checked this book out from the library because I have been reading women's fiction books by the same author and I wanted to see what her children's book was like. I enjoyed revisiting the story of Easter, seen through a child's perspective.

I also appreciated the Ten Tips to Leading Children to Christ at the back of the book. I felt the tips were sensitive and appropriate, allowing for choice and growth. Recommend ruins such as keeping it simple, sharing about Jesus, letting them share with you, using visual aids, inviting them to decide for themselves if they are ready to have a personal relationship with Jesus, teaching them to pray, encouraging them in developing their relationship and to study the Bible, and then to share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. Beautiful.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story about a boy named Benjamin who lived in Jerusalem. His grandfather, who was a shepherd, left Benjamin a treasure box when he died. The only thing in the box was some straw that his grandfather told him came from the bed of a baby who was born in a stable. His grandfather said that baby would grow up to be a king. Later Benjamin sees Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey and being greeted as a king. Benjamin places some of the donkey's fur in his treasure box. As the week continues Benjamin adds more items such as a denarius from Judas, a piece from a broken cup used during Jesus's Passover dinner, and more until finally Benjamin adds a stone from Jesus's tomb. As Benjamin gathers these items he learns about Jesus and his message. Afterwards, Benjamin uses the items in the box to tell Jesus's story and share Jesus's Good News. This picture book does a good job of telling the story of the events of Holy Week. A useful book to read and share during Lent and Easter.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story set during Passion Week (Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday/Easter) about a boy who witnesses all the events and saves little objects in his treasure box to remember. This perfectly accompanied the Resurrection Eggs, so we read it while looking at the eggs.

Age recommendation: a long story, so probably best for preschool through grade school, depending on attention level (though it can be broken down to several readings)

[Suzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We own the digital version of this book, which is a little wonky, but overall I think it’s a nice scripture-based re-telling of the Easter story through the eyes of a child. My nine and six year old got a little squirmy during it. Not sure if the book is too long for one sitting or if they were just tired from a long day of playing!

[Sheila Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet fictional story told through the eyes of a child Benjamin, based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It touches on all the significant moments talked about in the Bible and how the little trinkets the boy collected from each of these settings, placing them in his box to remember these main events, were his treasures.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about the Passion narrative from a young child's perspective.

[Heidi Creasman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to use the ressurection eggs at Easter and allow children to engage and understand Passion week at their level.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Theologically light but a good conversation starter.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is our absolute favorite book to go along with the Resurrection Eggs. We read one page and open the corresponding egg in the nights preceding Easter. I highly recommend the book to go along with the Resurrection Eggs, since the booklet that comes with the eggs is quite small. It is a fiction story, so you will want to supplement this book with actual scripture readings for Easter (I have some suggestions if you need them), so your child will clearly understand what the Bible says along with reading "Benjamin's Box".

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had heard about this book in book club and already knew the author. This is a short book for kids age 5-10. This will be our new tradition for Easter. I will be going to the Family Christian Bookstore to see about getting this book for next year. What a great way to teach your children about Easter in a way that they can understand. They have eggs that go with the book and depending on how much they are I think they are a neat idea.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each day goes through one day at a time in the Bible and follow Jesus and His disciples through the whole process from The Lord's Supper to The Resurrection. She LOVED it! Every night she was SO ready to listen to the scriptures I read, see which egg went with it and listen to the stories. It was such an incredible blessing as a parent to watch her grow through this and draw closer to Jesus. It was a sweet time as a family too.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book at a Berean Christian Bookstore a few years ago. It is made to go with a box of a dozen "Resurrection Eggs." I have used it as a Family Night lesson for Easter for several years. I really like it. The eggs make it hands on for the kids and the books makes the story easy to tell without having to make visual aids.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We usually just read this in one go, rather than day by day. Today I read it to my 5 year old and it was a fantastic opportunity to explain the meaning of Easter with him as he asked so many questions during the story. It was a bit awkward explaining that the Easter story was true, but the boy was fictional. Definately a book to read each year.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

We listened to this story read aloud just prior to a church-sponsored egg hunt. The narrative is a bit long for younger children and some of the little ones got quite restless during the story. Still, it's a good book that explains some of the symbology behind the Christian celebration of Easter. We enjoyed listening to this book read to us, and our girls enjoyed the egg hunt even more!

[Scott Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow Benjamin's treasure hunt as he follows Jesus in His last days.

Great book alone and even better if you have resurrection eggs to let your kids open. We read one page and open one egg each night beginning 12 days before Easter.

[Maritza Mejia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benjamin goes through one day at a time in the Bible and follows Jesus and his disciples from The Lord's Supper to The Resurrection. I highly recommend this book to go along with the Resurrection Eggs for children ages 5-10 years old.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book to use with the Resurrection Eggs! Explains each egg and what it means in an easy to grasp story format for kids. Loved it!

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My boys really liked this one.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

We very much enjoyed using this book to accompany the story told with the resurrection eggs this year!! A new traditional read!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a creative way to tell the story of Easter, through the eyes and heart of a child. I loved it and so did my kids.

[Maritza Mejia]

The resurrection eggs is a good book for religious classes and egg hunting with a meaning.

[Tee Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite Easter book ever, other than the Gospels. I purchased this book to use with a group of Sunday School children ranging in age from 3 to 10. (It is a small church). I am so excited that I did. If you are looking for a book that is not bunnies or fluff, but that has enough information about the events of Lent to give the children information in a way they can understand, I highly recommend this book. I also purchased a set of resurrection eggs to use at the same time. I exchanged the rooster in the eggs for a bit of straw so that the eggs matched the book. I hid the eggs before the reading and then read the story to the children. They were enthralled. Even the barely 3 year old. They loved the story. We talked about how Benjamin was a fictional character that could have been any child seeing what was going on around him at the time Christ lived. While he was not real, the events in the story were. I downplayed Benjamin feeling guilty about telling Judas about the reward. I said he felt guilty that he could not do more to save Jesus. I did that so the kids would not get confused about who had betrayed Jesus. After the reading I sent them off to find the eggs. They brought them back to our circle and we went around the circle with each child opening an egg and then telling the group about the object inside. The story had been so well written, and the children so engaged, that even the just barely 3 year old could tell that his object, the donkey, was what Jesus was riding to show peace. One of the 5 year olds got the empty white egg and he totally got it that it was an egg without sin after Jesus died.
Of course I also read this to my grandson, almost 5, and he too loved the book and asked me to send one to his house so he and his sisters and mama could read it together. I of course did.