BOOK REVIEW: Simon and the Easter Miracle; A Traditional Tale for Easter

Kregel Books gave me the opportunity to review Simon and the Easter Miracle; a Traditional Tale for Easter by Mary Joslin & Anna Lauraschi. Since it is a children’s book and my mom works with children I let her read it and write this review. Make sure to go check out her blog about Life Long Formation!

This book is a simple folk tale about the resurrection.  It mirrors the story of Jesus on Good Friday till his Resurrection on Easter Sunday. While there are pieces of the story missing there are many similarities. The pictures are well done and the message although simple is easy to understand for the youngest of children. I think it is a good story to use to introduce children in Pre-School, Kindergarten and Grade 1 to the Resurrection Story.

Some of the ideas that you can use to teach an important lesson from would be:

• Simon’s journey into town to sell his goods.
• The idea that the soldiers were mean and angry.
• The way Simon just stopped and served God without asking for details.
• Jesus’ meek and mildness and kindness toward Simon.
• The place of crucifixion.
• The Sabbath as a day of rest.
• His joyfulness when the doves appeared in his olive grove.
• Doves as an example of peace; 12 as a metaphor for the number of apostles.

I would recommend this book to my catechists to share with their class in grades Pre K, K and 1.

*I received a free copy of Simon and the Easter Miracle; a Traditional Tale for Easter by Mary Joslin & Anna Lauraschi from Kregel Books. However all opinions in this post are my own.*