The Easter season is full of stories of sorrow, hope, and joy that can capture any child’s imagination. This season, consider reading books to help your child explore Holy Week and the resurrection. Reading together provides a chance to reinforce what they hear in church and Sunday School and allows you to discuss the meaning behind each part of the story. Choosing a few titles from your bookshelf or adding new ones can help your child understand the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and why Easter is such an important part of the Christian faith.
Easter Sticker Pack with Arch® Books
This first resource isn’t an individual book but an entire bundle of Easter fun! It includes a fold-out Easter scene with fourteen reusable stickers children can place upon it—following Jesus from Jerusalem to Calvary to the empty tomb—as well as three Easter Arch Books: The Week That Led to Easter; Loving Jesus, Died for Me; and The Easter Gift. With this bundle, children not only place stickers on the scene but put themselves there too, as they take in the emotions of what Jesus did for them through His death and resurrection.
The First Easter: A Lift-the-Flap Book
This board book introduces the full Holy Week narrative for younger children. Beginning with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and moving through the events of the cross to the joy of Easter morning, the book presents the story in short, easy-to-follow sections. The lift-the-flap format invites children to actively participate as you read together, making the resurrection both concrete and memorable, especially for toddlers and preschoolers encountering it for the first time.
Best-Loved Easter Stories
Best-Loved Easter Stories is a volume that includes six of the most cherished Easter Arch Books from Concordia Publishing House. The collection features titles such as Good Friday, Barabbas Goes Free, The Resurrection, and more. This book is perfect for Easter time, as the stories trace the days from Palm Sunday through Easter morning. By combining these stories into one volume, children can follow the sequence of events, experience the sorrow of Christ’s suffering on the cross, and see how each moment leads to His resurrection and God’s plan of salvation for the world.
The Very First Easter
This title by the late Paul Maier may have some more complex words and themes, but as you read with your child, Maier encourages parents to “take time to explain them and share the story of your own faith.”
The Very First Easter is narrated by parents who tell their ten-year-old child of Jesus’ resurrection. This narrative adds historical detail to the resurrection account in an engaging way and helps readers imagine what it was like to experience Easter as it first unfolded in real places, among real people, and at a specific moment in history.
Jesus Christ Is Risen Today!
The title of this book is taken from the early 15th-century Easter hymn “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today,” which tells the beautiful truth of Christ’s triumph over sin, death, and the devil. Full of colorful depictions of the Easter story, this book walks children through the resurrection account while emphasizing the victory and celebration of Easter morning. Its clear retelling helps children grasp the joy of the Christian faith: Jesus Christ is risen today! Alleluia!
That Easter Morn
This beautifully illustrated book brings the Easter story to life through the words of the historic hymn “O Sons and Daughters of the King.” Rather than paraphrasing the resurrection account, the book allows children to experience the events of Easter morning through the lyrics. As readers follow the women to the empty tomb and the following events of Easter Sunday, the hymn’s stanzas emphasize both the wonder and joy of the resurrection.
By reading these stories together with you, your child can begin to connect what they see on the bulletin cover or hear in church with the events of Holy Week and Easter morning. This shared reading time provides teaching opportunities and encourages discussion about the Bible, helping children grow in their understanding of Christ’s death and resurrection and the hope it brings.
Help your children experience the story of Jesus’ saving death and resurrection, again and again, with the new Easter Sticker Pack and Arch Books.
