Easter

by Lois Rock, Christina Balit (Illustrator)

This retelling of the story of Jesus' death and resurrection draws together the moving episodes recounted in the Bible, in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Genres: Picture Books

26 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Lois Rock is the Commissioning Editor for Lion Children’s Books, as well as a highly respected and trusted author in her own right, acclaimed in many different countries for her books of prayers, Bible stories, and non-fiction books about the Christian faith.

Lois lives in Oxfordshire, is married and has 3 children, all of whom are now grown up. She enjoys cycling and walking and has helped to lead church children’s groups for many years, an experience that she draws on when writing books for children.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

British author/illustrator team Lois Rock and Christina Balit, who have also collaborated on such titles as The Lion Bible: Everlasting Stories ( Everlasting Stories: A Family Bible Treasury here in the states) and The Lion Book of Tales and Legends , join forces again in this picture-book retelling of the Easter story. The narrative follows the events of Easter Week, from the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), through his time in the temple, the Passover celebration with his disciples (Last Supper), his betrayal by Judas in the garden of Gethsemane, and his trial and crucifixion. The book concluded with the Resurrection, and Jesus' last days with his followers...

I am a great admirer of Christina Balit's work, and greatly enjoyed reading Rock and Balit's Everlasting Stories: A Family Bible Treasury , so I was pleased to have the opportunity to also read Easter: The Everlasting Story. It is the third picture-book retelling of the Easter story that I have read this season, following upon Brian Wildsmith's The Easter Story and Elizabeth Winthrop and Charles Mikolaycak's He Is Risen: The Easter Story . On the whole, I enjoyed it. Textually, it is about the same length as the Winthrop, which was based upon the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, but the language is more contemporary. The illustrations, as expected, are lovely, utilizing the brilliant color palette and stylized figures that I associate with Balit's work. If half stars were available, I would give this a 3.5 rating, but as they are not, I have rounded up to four. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for a retelling of the Easter story, as well as to fellow admirers of Balit and her artwork.