1 comments about Little Critter: It's Easter, Little Critter! (Little Critter).

1. Easter has arrived at Little Critter's house. It is a day for baskets and surprises, a visit to Grandma and Grandpa, an egg hunt, and a new friend. Egg the Bunny is a special rabbit indeed!
   
   This Little Critter book has right-side foldout flaps that allow readers an extra peek into more of the story. It is a simple, fun, and gentle installment to the beloved series.
   
   Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
   01/18/2007

1 comments about The Easter Story: According To The Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John from the King James Bible.

1. This book is a wonderful way to introduce children to the bible at Easter time. The illustrations are truly gorgeous. The author trained at the Stroganov Academy of Fine Art in Moscow, and the illustrations are very much in the Russian tradition of religious art. What a beautiful book.

3 comments about Dancing with Dziadziu.

1. I bought this book for Easter, since many teachers use this library for seasonal books for their classrooms. It's a little sad for the happy Easter season of bunnies and colored eggs, outside the Christian observance, but it will nicely serve a more pressing need. The is about a dying Grandmother, Babci, retelling her fondest memories of her youth before and after her immigration from Poland. Her granddaughter's dancing reminds her of her late-husband, Dziadziu, and the way they used to dance together. Mother's preparations for Easter reminds Babci of her mother's baking and of the chickens with feet painted blue to distinguish them in the community flock. Through Babci's remembering, the granddaughter sees Babci's desire to dance with Dziadziu again. Children often must face the death of a grandparents and other loved one and this book can help them come to terms with this inevitability.



2. It brings back so many memories of the good times had with grandparents and illustrates how special they can be in a child's life. It is truly a heartwarming story! I bought one for all of my aunts. We miss our Babci and Dziadziu very much!



3. This is a sweet and gentle story of a young girl's relationship with her grandmother.

   Gabriella loved dancing and would practice her ballet for her dear Babci who was very old and bedridden. As the child danced, Babci would start to reminisce about when she was young, and would tell Gabriella stories about her former life in her native country, Poland. She told of dancing with her husband Dziadziu and how handsome he looked in his white shirt. Another of her favorite stories was how the family raised chickens and had to paint their feet blue to distinguish them from their neighbors birds, and she then would talk about the difficult trip across the ocean to America. The book ends with Gabriella and her mother preparing to give Babci a wonderful Easter meal.

   The detailed illustrations are memorable. There is one of Babci on board a ship coming to America, and she's trading her Polish pottery teapot for food. Another illustration is of Gabriella braiding Babci's long hair. Each picture is a special treat! The drawings were beautifully done by Annika Nelson. This wonderful story would make a worthy present for any person who has had a loving grandmother. I still have a great memory of my Babci tucking me under a huge feather bed when I was six years old, and kissing me good-night.

1 comments about The Legend of the Sand Dollar: An Inspirational Story of Hope for Easter (Legend of).

1. Illustrated with a superb elegance of grace and form by Rick Johnson, The Legend Of The Sand Dollar: An Inspirational Story Of Hope For Easter by Chris Auer is the story of an eight-year-old girl who learns the story of Easter in the sand dollar. The five holes in the sand dollar shell (only dead sand dollars wash up on beaches, and live sand dollars shouldn't be collected, the author notes in the very back of the book) symbolize the nails and the spear that pierced Jesus Christ, who died for humanity's sins. And when the sand dollar is broken, there appear five white particles representing doves and their promise of new life - the promise of Easter. A tender and heartwarming story of renewal.

2 comments about Sawdust Carpets.

1. The girl's family is visiting her aunt's family in Antigua for Holy Week because her baby cousin is going to be baptized on Easter. The tradition of glorious sawdust carpets, temporary art (like Navajo sand paintings) meant to be destroyed by the processions, is seen though her eyes. She is sad at her carpet's destruction, but able by Easter to plan next year's design. The rugs, a neighbor tells her, are "offerings to life."
   
   There are very few good picture books about Easter, outside of retellings of the Easter story itself, that give a hint at the feast's religious depths (Eric Kimmel's The Birds' Gift, Patricia Polacco's Chicken Sunday). This belongs on that select list. It's not for the sort of conservative Christian who looks negatively at other religious traditions. (On a shelf in the cousins' house, there "stood the Virgin of Guadalupe next to the Kuan Yin, our Chinese goddess. I thought they looked like friends. Incense swirled around them, bringing them together.") Liturgical Christians will appreciate it as the only picture book that connects Easter with baptism!



2. Our family has enjoyed this book.
   We spent 8 months living in beautiful Antigua last year and this book brought back memories for us!
   As a mother of 5 Guatemalan children - I found this book a delightful way to introduce our children to the tradition of Semana Santa ( holy week).
   We have enjoyed Ms. Carling's book and would recommend it to anyone hoping to introduce young children to the traditions found in Guatemala.

2 comments about Happy Easter, Biscuit! (Biscuit).

1. This is a fun book for parents and young children to share together. As the little girl and her puppy, Biscuit, hunt for Easter eggs, children will want to join in by lifting the flaps to discover where the colorful eggs are hidden. A little mouse joins the girl and her puppy on each page and some children will have as much fun looking for the mouse as they do looking for the eggs.



2. extremely cute book about easter with biscuit. the story follows biscuit on an egg hunt. as you read through the story, there are flaps to lift to find eggs. a recommended read for any one with a young child at easter.

5 comments about The Egg Tree.

1. The Egg Tree is a great story about a little girl's Easter morning egg-hunting experience. Though she is unsuccessful, she does uncover a wonderful Easter suprise. The little girl, and the reader, is introduced to the Pennsylvania Dutch technique of painting eggs, when she finds a cache of her grandmother's beautifully decorated eggs. The examples of folk art throughout the book are wonderful, and easily accessible for children. This book will prompt your family to begin their own egg decorating tradition.



2. Easter egg trees just haven't caught on to the same extent their Christmas tree brethren have. In today's high tech, fast-paced, Internet age it's a calming thing to stop a think a little bit about Easter eggs, and the trees on which they hang. "The Egg Tree" won its Caldecott medal in 1951 and became the selection of choice of the Institute of Graphic Arts. Here, author Katherine Milhous has taken the lively colors and sweeping designs of the Pennsylvania Dutch and applied them to a tale of Easter discoveries and mild fame.

   Siblings Katy and Carl are spending their Easter seasons with their Grandmom and cousins. This being their first Easter with such relatives, they are woefully unprepared for the annual Easter Egg hunt. Katy is disappointed when she cannot find any eggs, but discovers a cache of beautifully hand-painted eggs tucked away in the attic. This leads to Grandmom teaching all the kiddies how to paint their own eggs, culminating in an egg tree that displays their work (and garners widespread fame as well).

   Children unfamiliar with the Pennsylvania Dutch lifestyle will undoubtedly wonder why the characters in this tale look Amish. Some simple explanations (always assuming the parents themselves understand the distinction) may be in order. After that, expect to be fielding requests for egg painting as well. Helpful instructions detailing how one goes about egg painting are included on the back of the book jacket. Certainly the book and the instruction make egg blowing seem to be the simplest thing in the world. Just don't be surprised if you have a mighty difficult time blowing egg yolks out of tiny tiny holes.

   On the whole, the book is strong. The colors are a little more muted than those of books today. And apart from Katy's initial fears that she would not find a single egg, there's not much in the way of dramatic tension. But that's all right. This book's a class act through and through. It may seem a bit dated, it's true. Just the same, it's nice to see a book looking at one of the less lauded holidays once in a while.




3. We use this book as a basis each year for an Egg Tree in Kindergarten. We read the story, then water color 2 dimensional construction paper eggs, and I paint the trunk on a bulletin board. The result is so cool--it is wonderfully colorful. I also have some Czech decorated real eggs to show them. This is a great book. For those worried about a religious setting for Easter (I'm not), this story has no mention of Easter as a religious holiday. It is an old story, but sometimes the old stories are the best. I wish the pictures were a little more colorful. I have never seen a publication of this book with more than 3 colors. Maybe it's because I'm a grandma, but I often wish that the older books would be republished. The kids like colors and gravitate toward those books that have newer graphics. But, some of the authors from the 40's, 50's and 60's are wonderful books, such as Margaret Wise Brown, and this one.



4. The Egg Tree started a new tradition in my household. The children loved to create eggs and place them on the branches.



5. This book contains a wonderful story that children of all ages will enjoy, and should be exposed to. It is a great story to be told around Easter time, and it is a must have for any accomplished or imaginative readers' collection. It may be a children's book, but that is no reason why you shouldn't check it out for yourself! I hope that this may help you decide to look into it, and I am certain you will like it.

5 comments about One Duck Stuck.

1. I picked up One Duck Stuck because it reminded me of Ducks in Muck but for more advanced readers. The two books use similar rhymes but One Duck Stuck is three times the length and the rhymes border on tongue twisters.
   
   The basic plot centers around the stuck duck and her attempts to get out of the muck. She enlists the help of her swamp friends: fish, insects, some birds and a variety of animals. Separately the can't help the duck but what if they work together?



2. I use this book as a speech therapist with toddlers. I simplify the text slightly and it is great for prediction, auditory memory, and word final k stimulation. Once they are familiar with it, I encourage the child to "help" me with the repetitive chorus. As a bonus it is simply a really fun and cute book.



3. This is a great book, especially if you have the tape. Children enjoy this book, I reccomend it for any early childhood program. A great way to introduce numbers.



4. An excellent book for preschoolers. I teach preschool and the book definitely captured the children's interest. After reading the book, we did an art project based on the book. The children painted a piece of paper brown, then added a pre-cut duck shape, and then surrounded the duck with green strips of construction paper to represent the grass. The children giggled as "the duck got stuck in the muck."



5. I've had this book since the five year old niece was a baby :)
   
   It's one of those repetitive books so loved by toddlers, very calming. The one problem I have with it is that, for the format and age group, it's a little long.

5 comments about The Tales of Three Trees.

1. This is a wonderful book for all ages! The meaning is beautiful. Highly recommend!!!



2. This is one of the best books ever; for children and adult. If you have Christian Beliefs, I highly recommend it.



3. I love this book and so do my kids. I'm sure my grandkids will too. I was surprised at what excellent condition it was for a used book. Even the cover looked really good. Thanks much!



4. There is something absolutely timeless about this story--that is probably where the "traditional folktale" bit comes in. I'm not sure just how old the story itself is but I can see why it is still loved today. Ms. Hunt does an incredible job retelling this meaningful and beautiful story of a connection with Jesus Christ through sweet, emotional prose and fantastic pictures. Definitely a keeper.



5. It's a touching story and the illustration is beautiful. I'm glad I found this book on Amazon. But for now, I think I enjoy the book more than my 2 year old. May be in a couple years he can start to understand the meaning of the story.

2 comments about That's My Colt: An Easter Tale.

1. This book offers a unique perspective of Palm Sunday and the week that follows. A young boy tells the story. After longing and waiting, he finally receives his very own colt from his father. The boy lovingly cares for his young donkey and is eager to train him, but preparations for Passover consume his time. Then one day two men take their donkeys, his and his father's. "That's my colt!" he says. The men explain: "The Master has need of it." Hearing this, the young boy's father urges him to let the donkey go. He does, but follows to see what will become of his animal. He sees Jesus and the disciples. When he realizes Jesus intends to ride the colt, he jumps from his hiding spot to warn him that the colt is not yet trained; he has never been ridden. Jesus just smiles and climbs on. Immediately the colt settles down. The boy watches as Jesus rides the colt all the way to Jerusalem amidst waving palms and shouts of "Hosanna!"
   
   That night the boy arrives home to find his beloved donkey returned. Passover fills the week, then the family learns Jesus has been arrested. This boy, who was so upset to have his colt taken, decides to give his donkey to Jesus so that He may ride "far away to safety." But by the time he reaches Jerusalem, Jesus is already dead. The boy mourns, refusing to leave his room. On the third day his parents wake him: "Jesus has risen from the tomb!" After visiting the empty tomb, the boy rides his donkey through the streets of Jerusalem "shouting the good news: 'Hallelujah! He lives!'"
   
   WHAT I LIKE: The illustrations are gorgeous, full of color, detail and emotion. With the excellent quality of illustrations, I'm grateful the crucifixion is depicted from a distance. (Even from a fuzzy distance, this picture, with a blackened sky, soldiers and crosses, still frightens my almost-four-year-old.)I like the unique perspective. Often we glaze over the detail of the colt never before ridden, but this, too, is a miracle! I appreciate the peek into this family's situation from a child's view.
   
   WHAT I DISLIKE: The book doesn't explain why Jesus died or why He rose from the dead. It doesn't even say why we should care. The inside cover flap gives some of this information, including a reference to Old Testament Messianic prophecies, but the book itself, the part kids will read, explains none of this.
   
   OVERALL RATING: Very good.
   
   Age Appeal: 5-9
   
   Tanya -- Christian Children's Book Review



2. This may be the best Easter book I've run across. The author has managed to convey the full message of Christ crucified and resurrected, the entire story of Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, and all in a way children will love and understand. It's a beautiful story that should up as a classic. We plan to read it every year in our house.