It’s that time of year. At Easter, parents will buy their kids cute outfits and fill baskets with plastic eggs and chocolates. Holy Week provides an opportunity to invite neighbors to Sunday worship and to hunt eggs with the kids in your backyard.
Most importantly, this is a time to share the story and joy of the resurrection. Here are 10 great resources to help.
Storybooks
1. The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross: The True Story of Why Jesus Died and Rose Again by Carl Laferton, illustrated by Catalina Echeverri (The Good Book Company, 2016), ages 3–6. Laferton’s book in the Tales That Tell the Truth series has become a classic. It takes children on a journey from Eden to new creation, showing how sin keeps us from God but Christ’s death brings believers through the curtain to his presence again. The book now has an accompanying coloring book and a 15-day countdown-to-Easter calendar.
2. The King of Easter: Jesus Searches for All God’s Children by Todd R. Hains, illustrated by Natasha Kennedy (Lexham Press, 2023), ages 4–8. Through interactive illustrations, this book tells the story of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection by highlighting some of the people—Adam and Eve, Mary, Zacchaeus, Lazarus—whom Jesus came to seek and save. I love Kennedy’s illustration of the dying thief, who clings to Christ’s cross through the end of the book.
Easter is a time to share the story and joy of the resurrection.
3. Jesus Rose for Me: The True Story of Easter by Jared Kennedy, illustrated by Trish Mahoney (New Growth, 2020), ages 2–5. This board book, which is part of my Beginner’s Gospel Story Book series, traces the events of the first Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Easter, when Jesus rose for us. I emphasize Jesus is our King and all who trust him are part of his forever family.
4. Something Better Coming by Megan Saben, illustrated by Ryan Flanders (Literaritea Press, 2022), ages 3–6. This rhyming storybook shows how some of Jesus’s healing miracles point forward to both his resurrection and that of Christians in the future. Flanders beautifully pictures God’s unfolding promise with recurring illustrations of a blooming Easter lily.
5. The Donkey Who Carried a King by R. C. Sproul, illustrated by Chuck Groenink (Reformation Trust, 2012), ages 3–8. Sproul teaches about how Jesus was the Suffering Servant who carried his people’s sins, by telling the fictional story of Davey, a bored young donkey who carried King Jesus into Jerusalem.
Tools for Family Worship
6. Mission Accomplished: A Two-Week Family Easter Devotional by Scott James, illustrated by A. E. Macha (New Growth, 2015), ages 5–11. A practical devotional to help you teach your family about the events leading to the cross as well as about Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension. Each devotional includes a Bible passage to read, discussion questions, application activities, and a hymn to sing during family worship.
7. A Jesus Easter: Explore God’s Amazing Rescue Plan by Barbara Reaoch (The Good Book Company, 2022), ages 3–12. Reaoch emphasizes how Jesus’s resurrection fulfills the hopes of God’s people as expressed throughout the Old Testament. Each devotional includes a space to journal together with your family.
8. Resurrection Eggs (Cru/Family Life), ages 3 and up. This is the first Easter devotional resource I used with my daughters. The kit includes a dozen plastic eggs with a figurine inside each to symbolize a part of Jesus’s journey to the cross. An accompanying booklet (in English and Spanish) points parents to Bible passages that explain each symbol.
9. Darkest Night, Brightest Day: A Family Devotional for the Easter Season by Marty Machowski, illustrated by Phil Schorr (New Growth, 2022), ages 5–11. This book is a great tool for helping young children gaze intently at Christ’s life and work. With attention to detail, Machowski carefully guides families through the events of Holy Week and the days between resurrection and Pentecost. Read through the week of “darkest night” devotionals with your family, then turn the book over on Easter Sunday to read about the bright benefits of salvation that Christ has won for his people.
10. Free Easter Crafts from Gail Schoonmaker and Crossway, ages 8–12. Crafts depicting a scene, character, or object from a Bible passage reinforce that story by prompting kids to retain and retell it as they show off their craft. Follow the link above to download two free Bible crafts from Gail Schoonmaker’s Big Picture Bible Crafts (Crossway, 2018).
This Easter, let’s pull out a storybook or devotional and rehearse the good news with our children and neighbors. Let’s joyfully confess with Job, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (19:25).
The Gospel Coalition