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Easter: An Engaging Introduction to Easters History and Traditions for Early Learners
A joyful, fun, and delicious holiday has a very interesting history!
Is a toddler in your life celebrating Easter for the first time? Guide them through the basics of the sweet holiday with this simple board book. Colorful, detailed illustrations accompany an easy-to-read description of Easter’s history and traditions. Maybe the Easter Bunny will even make an appearance!
Award-winning science author Gail Gibbons shows that it is never too early to learn with a book that is perfect for any Easter basket. Pairs perfectly with Bunnies , another board book by Gail Gibbons.
Is a toddler in your life celebrating Easter for the first time? Guide them through the basics of the sweet holiday with this simple board book. Colorful, detailed illustrations accompany an easy-to-read description of Easter’s history and traditions. Maybe the Easter Bunny will even make an appearance!
Award-winning science author Gail Gibbons shows that it is never too early to learn with a book that is perfect for any Easter basket. Pairs perfectly with Bunnies , another board book by Gail Gibbons.
18 pages, Board book
First published January 1, 1989
About the author
Gail Gibbons
192 books172 followersFrom gailgibbons.com: I was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1944. Even as a little child, I was always busy putting books together. Sometimes I would bind them with yarn to hold the pages together. I've always loved drawing and painting. I was also a very curious child. My parents tell me that I was always asking lots and lots of questions.
Later, I went on to the University of Illinois, where I studied graphic design. Then I moved to New York City, where I got a job doing artwork for television shows. Eventually I was asked to do the artwork for a children's show. While doing that show, some of the children asked me if I had ever thought of doing children's books. My mind immediately recalled how much I enjoyed doing that type of thing when I was a child. So I put an idea for a book together and right away a publisher bought it. That book was called Willy and His Wheel Wagon. Since then, over 170 books that I have written and illustrated have been published. The type of books I write are non-fiction books. This is because I love researching so much. I get to ask lots of questions, just like when I was a kid. I also get to travel and meet lots of interesting people. While doing research for my book Nature's Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests, I traveled to two islands where there are tropical rain forests, Saba and Dominica. I also had a great time writing and illustrating the book. I get a lot of pleasure from doing the type of work I do.
Later, I went on to the University of Illinois, where I studied graphic design. Then I moved to New York City, where I got a job doing artwork for television shows. Eventually I was asked to do the artwork for a children's show. While doing that show, some of the children asked me if I had ever thought of doing children's books. My mind immediately recalled how much I enjoyed doing that type of thing when I was a child. So I put an idea for a book together and right away a publisher bought it. That book was called Willy and His Wheel Wagon. Since then, over 170 books that I have written and illustrated have been published. The type of books I write are non-fiction books. This is because I love researching so much. I get to ask lots of questions, just like when I was a kid. I also get to travel and meet lots of interesting people. While doing research for my book Nature's Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests, I traveled to two islands where there are tropical rain forests, Saba and Dominica. I also had a great time writing and illustrating the book. I get a lot of pleasure from doing the type of work I do.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 29, 2018
This is a good book to introduce and explain the origins of Holy Week on a religious level for school age children . The illustrations are colorful, precise for the plot and the characters. The story is written in simple and compound sentences that form short paragraphs. This is a book that can be classified as religious and seasonal because it helps the children understand the reasons for the celebration of Easter.
In addition, he talks about the traditions during Easter such as the hiding of eggs, food, and clothes . One of the aspects that I will be reinforced after reading the book is about how there are celebrations and religions that celebrate easter, but in different ways.
In addition, he talks about the traditions during Easter such as the hiding of eggs, food, and clothes . One of the aspects that I will be reinforced after reading the book is about how there are celebrations and religions that celebrate easter, but in different ways.
April 15, 2019
This seemed much cuter when I saw the cover in my library's catalog and looked it up on here. The illustrations are that style I don't like, really simple and childlike with patchy splashes of watercolors.
The writing is also really simple, with short sentences that don't convey much. Like saying "Easter Sunday is in the spring." When in the spring? That's really vague. She also wrote that Jesus was born many years ago. I don't think so. You need to specify that was thousands of years ago because this wording makes it sound recent. I knew then how inadequate this teaching would be.
She said he started preaching and teaching and performing miracles but didn't give any examples of those things.
She skipped so much and told it in a stop and start kind of way, in short little bursts. He went to Jerusalem for Passover and people put branches on the ground for the donkey to walk over and blessed him as the King of Israel. At the Last Supper He announced to his 12 disciples that one would betray him and He would die. They ate and that was that. It felt so incomplete.
This didn't sugarcoat that people wanted Jesus to die and they shouted for Him to be crucified. Obviously this had to be delicate about it. It didn't show any blood, or Jesus actually on the cross. It showed his body wrapped in a sheet, being carried away after, and she said he was nailed to a cross.
She talked about His body being placed in a tomb and a big stone blocking the entrance. 3 days later the stone was moved and His followers remembered that He had said He would rise from the dead. Over the next 40 days He appeared several times to His followers. Then He went to heaven.
So Easter is about His death and rising from death. Candles are lit to remind people that light comes after darkness. I'm not familiar with that custom at all and wondered if this is an outdated, old thing that people used to do, or if a particular branch of Christianity practices it.
Easter came from the word Eostre which is the goddess of spring. What goddess Idk, she didn't even mention the culture! Come on, you can't do that!
Eggs are a symbol of new life. It was a custom for thousands of years for eggs to be given as gifts at spring festivals. I had been wondering recently why eggs are dyed for Easter, so I'm glad that was explained.
She mentioned dying eggs and having Easter egg hunts. The White House has an egg rolling contest. She said many kids believe the Easter bunny brings them their eggs. It started as a legend "many years ago" which I'm assuming means at least hundreds of years. A woman dyed eggs for her kids at Easter and hid them in a nest, and when the kids found them a rabbit hopped away and they thought the rabbit had brought the eggs and that's how the story spread. That was odd to me because kids don't receive eggs for Easter. They get candy and things.
Another custom is for people to buy new clothes and wear hats. It's not only a religious holiday, it's a time of hope and joy.
I really liked the inclusion of Easy holy days, because I don't know much about Easter dates.
"Lent is the 40 days before Easter Sunday. It reminds us of the 40 days Jesus spent praying in the wilderness before He went out to preach His message. For some, Lent is a time for prayer and sacrifice.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. In church, some Christians have a cross marked on their foreheads with ashes. It symbolizes their mortality.
Holy Week is the last week of Lent.
Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week. It reminds us of the ride Jesus took on a donkey into Jerusalem, when people waved palm branches.
Holy Thursday is celebrated in memory of the Last Supper, Jesus' last meal with His disciples.
Good Friday is in memory of Jesus dying on the cross. His death is called the Crucifixion.
Easter Sunday is the celebration of Jesus rising from death. His rising is called the Resurrection. The palms in the churches stand for peace, and the Easter lilies are symbols of new life and hope."
I didn't like the illustrations or the writing and what the author chose to talk about and how she said it. The best part about the book is the dates, because I had been wondering about them and wanted to know on what days the religious events happened. That's good to know and was the most valuable info the book had to offer. The rest was simple and generalized and didn't go into detail about anything--at all. So this would be a starter book for kids just coming to terms with religion and the events of Easter.
The writing is also really simple, with short sentences that don't convey much. Like saying "Easter Sunday is in the spring." When in the spring? That's really vague. She also wrote that Jesus was born many years ago. I don't think so. You need to specify that was thousands of years ago because this wording makes it sound recent. I knew then how inadequate this teaching would be.
She said he started preaching and teaching and performing miracles but didn't give any examples of those things.
She skipped so much and told it in a stop and start kind of way, in short little bursts. He went to Jerusalem for Passover and people put branches on the ground for the donkey to walk over and blessed him as the King of Israel. At the Last Supper He announced to his 12 disciples that one would betray him and He would die. They ate and that was that. It felt so incomplete.
This didn't sugarcoat that people wanted Jesus to die and they shouted for Him to be crucified. Obviously this had to be delicate about it. It didn't show any blood, or Jesus actually on the cross. It showed his body wrapped in a sheet, being carried away after, and she said he was nailed to a cross.
She talked about His body being placed in a tomb and a big stone blocking the entrance. 3 days later the stone was moved and His followers remembered that He had said He would rise from the dead. Over the next 40 days He appeared several times to His followers. Then He went to heaven.
So Easter is about His death and rising from death. Candles are lit to remind people that light comes after darkness. I'm not familiar with that custom at all and wondered if this is an outdated, old thing that people used to do, or if a particular branch of Christianity practices it.
Easter came from the word Eostre which is the goddess of spring. What goddess Idk, she didn't even mention the culture! Come on, you can't do that!
Eggs are a symbol of new life. It was a custom for thousands of years for eggs to be given as gifts at spring festivals. I had been wondering recently why eggs are dyed for Easter, so I'm glad that was explained.
She mentioned dying eggs and having Easter egg hunts. The White House has an egg rolling contest. She said many kids believe the Easter bunny brings them their eggs. It started as a legend "many years ago" which I'm assuming means at least hundreds of years. A woman dyed eggs for her kids at Easter and hid them in a nest, and when the kids found them a rabbit hopped away and they thought the rabbit had brought the eggs and that's how the story spread. That was odd to me because kids don't receive eggs for Easter. They get candy and things.
Another custom is for people to buy new clothes and wear hats. It's not only a religious holiday, it's a time of hope and joy.
I really liked the inclusion of Easy holy days, because I don't know much about Easter dates.
"Lent is the 40 days before Easter Sunday. It reminds us of the 40 days Jesus spent praying in the wilderness before He went out to preach His message. For some, Lent is a time for prayer and sacrifice.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. In church, some Christians have a cross marked on their foreheads with ashes. It symbolizes their mortality.
Holy Week is the last week of Lent.
Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week. It reminds us of the ride Jesus took on a donkey into Jerusalem, when people waved palm branches.
Holy Thursday is celebrated in memory of the Last Supper, Jesus' last meal with His disciples.
Good Friday is in memory of Jesus dying on the cross. His death is called the Crucifixion.
Easter Sunday is the celebration of Jesus rising from death. His rising is called the Resurrection. The palms in the churches stand for peace, and the Easter lilies are symbols of new life and hope."
I didn't like the illustrations or the writing and what the author chose to talk about and how she said it. The best part about the book is the dates, because I had been wondering about them and wanted to know on what days the religious events happened. That's good to know and was the most valuable info the book had to offer. The rest was simple and generalized and didn't go into detail about anything--at all. So this would be a starter book for kids just coming to terms with religion and the events of Easter.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2019
In all the shows I’ve watched, like The Bible, and what I’ve heard, I’ve never heard that after the three days after his death when he appeared, he was then on earth forty days after his death before he ascended into heaven.
In church, lighting candles are a reminder of light after darkness, and new life coming after death.
Easter lilies and spring flowers represent new life and hope.
Easter comes from the word Eostre, which was the goddess of spring. Before Jesus’ time, there were festivals thanking the gods for spring.
Eggs are symbol of new life, and were given as gifts at spring festivals for thousands of years.
It mentions the custom of dying, painting, and decorating eggs, and also Easter egg hunts.
Apparently there’s an egg-rolling contest at the White House each Easter, which I didn’t know.
Easter baskets are also used to celebrate the occasion, with candy and things. I remember my mom giving us kids Easter baskets.
I’ve never thought about how the Easter bunny tradition began, so I was glad to learn it here.
It started with a legend about a woman dyeing eggs for her kids and hiding them in a nest. When they went to the nest, a big rabbit hopped away, and they thought the rabbit brought the eggs, so that’s where the Easter bunny began.
These books are dated and too specific at times. It said there may be an Easter ham (not sure what that is), or lamb with mint sauce, which is probably too fancy for a lot of people. There’s no specific foods to eat for Easter.
It also said there are parades, and some people dress in new spring clothes and wear Easter bonnets. I’d say bonnets are outdated for Easter.
It ends saying Easter isn’t just a religious holiday, it’s also a time of hope and joy.
Holy Days of Easter:
Lent is the 40 days before Easter Sunday, a reminder of the 40 days Jesus spent praying in the wilderness before preaching. Lent is a time of prayer and sacrifice for some people.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. In church, some people have a cross of ashes marked on their foreheads. It represents their mortality.
Holy Week is the last week of Lent.
Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week. It reminds us of Jesus’ ride on the donkey into Jerusalem, when people waved palm branches.
Holy Thursday celebrates the memory of the Last Supper, Jesus’ last meal with the disciples.
Good Friday is for Jesus dying on the cross; the Crucifixion.
Easter Sunday is the celebration of Jesus rising after death; the Resurrection. Palms in churches represent peace, and Easter lilies symbolize new life and hope.
This was ok. I liked learning new things about the holiday.
In church, lighting candles are a reminder of light after darkness, and new life coming after death.
Easter lilies and spring flowers represent new life and hope.
Easter comes from the word Eostre, which was the goddess of spring. Before Jesus’ time, there were festivals thanking the gods for spring.
Eggs are symbol of new life, and were given as gifts at spring festivals for thousands of years.
It mentions the custom of dying, painting, and decorating eggs, and also Easter egg hunts.
Apparently there’s an egg-rolling contest at the White House each Easter, which I didn’t know.
Easter baskets are also used to celebrate the occasion, with candy and things. I remember my mom giving us kids Easter baskets.
I’ve never thought about how the Easter bunny tradition began, so I was glad to learn it here.
It started with a legend about a woman dyeing eggs for her kids and hiding them in a nest. When they went to the nest, a big rabbit hopped away, and they thought the rabbit brought the eggs, so that’s where the Easter bunny began.
These books are dated and too specific at times. It said there may be an Easter ham (not sure what that is), or lamb with mint sauce, which is probably too fancy for a lot of people. There’s no specific foods to eat for Easter.
It also said there are parades, and some people dress in new spring clothes and wear Easter bonnets. I’d say bonnets are outdated for Easter.
It ends saying Easter isn’t just a religious holiday, it’s also a time of hope and joy.
Holy Days of Easter:
Lent is the 40 days before Easter Sunday, a reminder of the 40 days Jesus spent praying in the wilderness before preaching. Lent is a time of prayer and sacrifice for some people.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. In church, some people have a cross of ashes marked on their foreheads. It represents their mortality.
Holy Week is the last week of Lent.
Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week. It reminds us of Jesus’ ride on the donkey into Jerusalem, when people waved palm branches.
Holy Thursday celebrates the memory of the Last Supper, Jesus’ last meal with the disciples.
Good Friday is for Jesus dying on the cross; the Crucifixion.
Easter Sunday is the celebration of Jesus rising after death; the Resurrection. Palms in churches represent peace, and Easter lilies symbolize new life and hope.
This was ok. I liked learning new things about the holiday.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2026
I thought this book did a great job of giving an overview of Easter and what it means. Obviously this is just an entry level read to learn about Easter. You could definitely go deeper with each of the stories of Jesus that she mentions in her book but I do think it gives a good overview! I also liked how she included the Easter holy days in the back of the book and explained all of the days leading up to Easter and what they symbolize
March 30, 2018
Very good on origins (i.e., history of Jesus, the word Easter, bunnies and eggs). Helpful last page on Lent, Ash Wednesday, and Holy Week specifics.
I wasn't a fan of the lines "Some people believed he [Jesus] was the Son of God" and "Easter is a religious holiday and much more. It is also a time of hope and joy." Odd dichotomy.
3.5 stars.
I wasn't a fan of the lines "Some people believed he [Jesus] was the Son of God" and "Easter is a religious holiday and much more. It is also a time of hope and joy." Odd dichotomy.
3.5 stars.
March 9, 2022
First board book I have encountered from Gail Gibbons a prolific nonfiction author for children.
This is a concise look at Easter for the board book set featuring the attendance at religious services as well as the coloring of eggs, the Easter Bunny. And Easter parades. Your young child see all the components of the Easter Celebration appropriate for their age.
This is a concise look at Easter for the board book set featuring the attendance at religious services as well as the coloring of eggs, the Easter Bunny. And Easter parades. Your young child see all the components of the Easter Celebration appropriate for their age.
May 2, 2022
I was looking for a book to read my students in grades 2-3 that would explain the true meaning of Easter and also the origin of symbols such as Easter eggs, plus talk about how Easter is celebrated in the U.S. This book fit the bill perfectly! I plan to use it ever year.
April 2, 2026
Short and sweet. Good introduction about Easter for elementary level. Used as one of the reading references for an HBE worksheet packet on Easter. Bonus points for bringing up Easter name originating from the goddess of spring, Eostre.
March 24, 2023
I liked the emphasis on the biblical narrative, but then also branding intuitive the history of the other traditions, like coloring eggs, the Easter bunny, etc.
April 2, 2024
Nothing extraordinary or terrible about this book. Neutral.
Colorful illustrations. Basic message about Easter.
Colorful illustrations. Basic message about Easter.
March 27, 2013
This a very simple nonfiction book about the origins of Easter. It might be too religious to share in a public school read-aloud, but it does fill in the basic history of the holiday among Christians and even mentions the origins of more secular holiday traditions like Easter Eggs and the name of the holiday coming from Eostre, the pagan goddess of Spring. I like this book for its simplicity. It's targeted at younger audiences.
March 13, 2015
I read Easter by Gail Gibbons. The book is about Easter. I learned that Easter is about the story of Jesus dying and coming back to life. Also, there is an egg-rolling contest at the White House. I like this book because I like to look for Easter eggs. I would like to try an egg-rolling contest too!
March 17, 2012
A fair treatment of Easter that is accessible to non-Christians. However, it still is a very dated book in terms of illustrations, so be prepared for that. At least it's not as garish as some of the other texts.
April 15, 2019
Easter is quite simplistic in its explanations and certainly described the last days of Jesus' life in terms easy for a young one to understand. The story of Jesus leads to an interesting segue about traditions surrounding the holy day.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
January 19, 2017
This is a religious non-fiction book. It tells the story of Easter and Jesus. The pictures are not great but the story is informative.
April 10, 2017
I rated this book 5 stars because it is absolutely cute and does a fantastic job explaining Easter traditions.
Lexile: AD660L
GLE: 2.5
6 Traits: Ideas
Lexile: AD660L
GLE: 2.5
6 Traits: Ideas
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews