ChildrensPictureBook.info Review

The First Easter
By Anne De Graaf
Publisher Broadman and Holman Publishers

I hate to say it, but this book is a bit of a disappointment to me. The illustrations are quirky and fun, just right to appeal to the book's 3-to-6-year-old audience. It's hardcover and small (6.25 x 7.25), which theoretically makes it a good cuddle-and-read choice. It's even well written. But...

Reading it, I sometimes felt as if it were trying to tell too much story in too little space, introducing elements that raise more questions than they answer. This is not necessarily a bad thing of course, but it leaves me a bit uncomfortable.

It also has a character - a caterpillar that turns into a butterfly - that acts as something akin to a narrator. It shares brief facts, asks questions, or suggests things the child can do. This is generally a nice addition, but can seem a bit...contrived?

The two-page spread depicting Peter cutting off the guard's ear is a good example of what bothers me about this book. First, the text. It tells about Peter cutting off the guard's ear and ends with (speaking of Jesus) "He picked up the ear and made it better." I understand that the phrase "made it better" is something children can relate to, but I find it lacking in this case. Too, the caterpillar's activity for this page is to rub the ear of the person reading to you and then have them rub your ear.

The publisher says this is a DO book, filled with things for children to find, seek, say and discover, so maybe I'm being too critical. It is a good little book, just something less than I expected.

The First Easter

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