Lent and Easter Picture Book Basket

The Beautiful Story of Jesus by Maite Roche
Maite Roche chronicles the story of Jesus’ life from the Annunciation to the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

I purchased this book from the Daughters of St. Paul at our local Catholic homeschool conference and I am happy that I did. Patrick really enjoys listening to it.

Easter Eggs for Anya: A Ukrainian Celebration of New Life in Christ (Traditions of Faith from Around the World)

Easter Eggs for Anya: A Ukrainian Celebration of New Life in Christ by Virginia Kroll

Anya’s family is poor because Papa is at war. Anya has watched her mother decorate Easter eggs, since she was small, but this year they do not have any to decorate. When a fox kills a goose, Anya finds an abandoned nest with four goose eggs inside. She decides to surprise her family with Easter eggs, traditional Ukrainian pysanky. Little does she realize that there is a surprise in store for her.

The Parables of Jesus by Tomie dePaola
This book presents seventeen of the parables told by Jesus, including “The Good Samaritan” and “The Lost Sheep”.

My Path to Heaven: A Young Person’s Guide to the Faith by Fr. Geoffrey Bliss, SJ
Fr. Bliss’ book provides a wonderful little retreat for children during Lent. The black-and-white pictures have intrigued some of my children. They can be copied, printed and given to children to color.

Petook: An Easter Story by Caryll Houselander
My eldest wrote the following review of Petook when she was six:

“The story takes place on a farm near Jerusalem when Jesus was alive. Petook and Martha are the main characters. Martha and Petook had 12 little chicks. Petook though a boy was going to step on the chicks. He saw the boy admiring the chicks. Years later, Petook saw someone die on a cross. On Easter, a chick came out of its egg. I like the story because it is about Easter.”

She still likes the story.

Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco
Catherine, Bernadette, and I discovered this wonderful book on a library shelf about ten years ago. Babushka, who makes prize-winning pysanky, finds a wounded goose and brings it into her house. As the goose, Rechenka begins to heal, she flies around knocking over Babushka’s paints and ruining her Easter eggs. Babushka is upset until something miraculous happens. This story appealed to my children and the beauty of the eggs intrigued them.

Thanks to Deirdre, Rechenka’s Eggs, and Easter Eggs for Anya, we will be doing more than just dyeing Easter eggs this year; my older children will hopefully begin a tradition of making Pysanky using this kit from the Ukrainian Gift Shop.

The Story of the Easter Robin by Dandi Daley Mackall
As Tressa worries about the robin eggs outside Gran’s window, Gran tries to ease her worrying. While she and Tressa make egg birds, Gran tells Tressa about the legend of the robin’s red breast.