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| The Easter Story, by Brian Wildsmith |
In my next few posts, I'm going to focus on some of my favorite books about Lent and Easter for children. My kids are 3-years-old and 18 months, but most of my favorites are probably intended for kids a bit older,
so if your kids are older, please don't think these posts will not relate to you! And actually, some of these books are just so great that you could read them by yourself. The book I'm talking about in this post is definitely
one of them!
The first time I read The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith, I wept. (And if you were to ask my husband Dominic, he would gladly tell you that I am not a crier, except occasionally when I have to apologize 😬 But that is beside the point.) I wept, because this book caught me so off guard.
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| Jesus prays in dark Gethsemane |
To begin with,
the illustrations are gorgeous. Not only are they colorful (angels are often illustrated with a full rainbow of color!), Wildsmith also uses gold foil—for the sunrise, for the darkness, for interior rooms in which something sacred is happening. Not only is the gold foil beautiful, it also makes this book seem like a treasure among books, the sort of thing that is only brought out during one of the most important seasons of the year (and see also his incredible
A Christmas Story). And to top it all off, Wildsmith worked in conjunction with the Israel Tourist Board, and this is reflected by his
authentic representations of Jerusalem's topography and architecture, which transport the reader to another time and place and give the experience of a pilgrimage to this holy city.
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While Jesus prays, the disciples sleep.
The donkey, however, keeps watch. |
In addition to the beauty of the illustrations, what is so captivating about this book is the way that it
retells the story of Holy Week from the perspective of the donkey who carried Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Despite the fact that this donkey disappears from the Gospel narratives, Wildsmith imagines that this humble beast followed Jesus and his disciples throughout their time in Jerusalem and was a first-hand witness to the events that occurred there (an idea that seems quite plausible to me, in fact). Wildsmith plays close attention to so many scenes in the Gospel narratives. Just a few deserve special mention: after his entry into Jerusalem,
the donkey observes Jesus giving the Lord's Supper through a window; he stays awake while Jesus prays in Gethsemane, with the disciples using him as a pillow; and when Jesus struggles to carry his cross, the donkey wants to help him. And we're not even to the part of the story that made me weep.
I don't want to spoil the rest for the book for those who have not read it, so I will simply say that the donkey is a witness to Jesus' death, that he plays an active role in Jesus' burial (
cue weeping), and that he is the first witness to the empty tomb. The story ends after Jesus' ascension, with one of Jesus' disciples taking the donkey home with him.
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| The crucifixion |
In summary, if you're looking to begin or expand your collection of books for the seasons of Lent and Easter,
I would put this book in unrivaled first place for must-buys. What it offers is a beautiful and simple retelling of the Gospel narratives, with one clever twist—the reader witnesses these events through the eyes of the donkey—that nevertheless does not distract from the biblical story itself. There are plenty of great Easter-themed books out there, but for the most moving stories, your best bet is to stick to books that retell the biblical narratives themselves. After all,
nothing can be more compelling than being a first-hand witness to Christ's great love for us as displayed in his death, resurrection, and ascension—and all while in the company of a donkey.
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