HAPPY EASTER from SFIR and Zonderkidz!

Hi guys!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today (for those who celebrate it) is Easter Sunday (happy Easter!). On this day, we celebrate the risen Jesus and the eternal life his defeat over death symbolizes to Christians round the world.  The non-secular aspect of the day consists of baskets left by the Bunny, egg hunts, and feasting.  Those of faith usually reflect on this "finale" to the Christmas story, attend religious services, and join with friends and family for a celebratory evening meal.  Some similarities, some differences, but whichever group you may fall in, today's featured titles are a matched set for a family reading session.  So, gather your loved ones around from the tall to the small, and let's get to today's featured title times three!  First up...

The Berenstain Bears' Easter Sunday

by

Mike Berenstain

9780310749028

Easter Sunday with the Bear Family is everything you dreamed it would be.  Mama, Papa, Brother, and Sister are all dressed in their Sunday best to join the congregation for prayer and fellowship at the Chapel in the Woods.  We learn why bright colors are favored for the festivities (and it's not because it's Spring!), remember the Jesus' life, death, and rising, and just what part eggs play in the whole Easter celebration.  It's a great walk through the day for little ones through adults with companions we've come to trust through the years.

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The Princess Parables:  An Easter Story

by

Jeanna Young and Jacqueline Kinney Johnson

Illustrated by

Omar Aranda

9780310748700

In this enchanting tale, we've five princesses making new friends and learning life lessons all whilst preparing for the annual Easter celebration.  Challenges arise both fun and daunting and the girls must trust themselves and each other to do the right thing in order to see it through.  In doing so, they prove that class is not what makes a princess a princess, but the size and charity of her heart.  They willingly put aside a win in order to help another....and isn't that a lesson that He sought to teach us Himself?  A wonderful read for your little princess with bright, cheerful images to dazzle the eye.

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The Legend of the Easter Robin

by

Dandi Daley Mackall

Illustrated by

Richard Cowdrey

9780310749646

This was a story that I truly had never heard and yet it's beauty touched my heart.  Within these pages, a doting grandmother shares the tale of a small robin that sought to help Jesus as he struggled with His (or perhaps better put OUR) burden through the streets of Jerusalem and whose efforts were resulted in the robin's red breast.  I feel I must warn you though, the story is not without heartache and the illustrations are very moving (think Passion of the Christ) so the youngest of young readers may need to opt out until they can understand all that transpired a bit more.  In the end though, we are left with a formidable tale that reminds us how much was sacrificed in our names and His love that endures to the very end of time.

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Special thanks to Liane and the whole Zonderkidz team for the chance to bring these titles to you.  (THANKS!)  For more information on these featured titles, the authors, illustrators, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.

Until next time...happy reading!