I use affiliate links in some blog posts. If you click through and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to yourself. Thank you for your support.
I’m not unaware that the Christian Easter story is a difficult one for children.
Even aside from a gory crucifixion (arguably the worst form of punishment the human race has ever known), you have betrayal, denial, skies going black, Jesus in agony – oh yeah, and don’t forget the disciple who sliced off the ear of one of those coming to arrest Jesus.
But if we avoid the story altogether, opting instead for a safe, comfortable Easter of chocolate eggs and bunnies, we risk our kids growing up without the central belief of our faith: the one thing which makes sense of life and death, our one hope for eternity. Without the cross and the resurrection, we don’t really have much of a faith at all – and we definitely can’t know God personally, which is a key truth I imagine we’re all trying to embed in our children’s lives.
So here’s a rundown of the best Christian Easter books for kids: books which share the actual Christian Easter story, but in age-appropriate ways which will introduce your child to the events of Holy Week gradually, learning more detail as they get older.
I’ve put the books in ascending order of stage (preschool, primary-aged children, tweens), and I’ve tried to give a more specific age indication for each, but please take these as a very rough guide. You know your child best.
(Oh, and if you’re looking for Fabulous Lent Devotions for Families I have a separate blog post for that! Do click across and find what you’re looking for there.)
Easter Story Books for Preschoolers
Here are the best Christian Easter books for little hands to hold (and mouths to chew!) with succinct stories and engaging illustrations. Some of them are board books too.
And for a more interactive way to share the Easter story with your preschoolers, why not make a set of DIY Resurrection Eggs? They honestly don’t take long, but will provide your family with years and years of Easter storytelling fun!
Are We Nearly There Yet? (Alison Brewis)
Age suggestion: 2-4
This is a wonderfully-unique take on the Easter story for little ones, using the common refrain heard on long (or even short, let’s face it) car journeys.
The story starts in the car on the way to Grandma’s – it’s such a long way, so Mum and Dad offer to tell them the Easter story while they wait. As they hear what happened, they realised the disciples, too, were effectively asking “Are we nearly there yet?” as they expected Jesus to be made King in their timeframe.
The rhyming text will appeal to small children, as will the whimsical illustrations by Jenny Brake. It would make a great toddler group giveaway, so do head on over to the 10ofThose website (UK and US only) as they have a brilliant discount when you’re buying in bulk!
Easter (Karen Williamson)
Age suggestion: 0-3
This is a sturdy, board book for very small children, with appealing visual ‘tabs’ protruding from each page. I particularly love how the images chosen to go on the tabs are so very key to the story: Judas slipping away from the Last Supper, the cross, a lamb, and so on.
The story is told in very simple language for even the shortest attention spans – but if your child is at the “grab a book and flick through each page as fast as possible” stage (been there!) then the very busy, engaging pictures – with plenty to spot – will provide enough storytelling fodder.
The Easter Bible Storybook (Maggie Barfield)
Age suggestion: 0-3
You may be familiar with Scripture Union’s fabulous Big Bible Storybook, as well as the shorter spin-off books which have come from it. This is the Easter one, and it’s fab for tiny hands. I love it for three reasons.
Firstly, it’s a board book so nice and hard-wearing. Secondly, the little fabric characters are a bit quirky, different and highly endearing. Thirdly, it focuses on the resurrection, which I really like! The first page simply reads: “Jesus died. His body was put in a cave, with a stone in front”. And the rest of the book focuses on Mary and the disciples discovering the empty tomb and seeing Jesus in the flesh. Most of the pages end with “Jesus was alive!” or “Jesus is alive!” so by the end of the book children are in no doubt about the message of the story!
The Easter Fix (Steph Williams)
Age suggestion: 1-4
A beautifully simple little book for toddlers and preschoolers which shares the story of Jesus’ life leading up to his resurrection and crucifixion – all through the lens of God ‘fixing’ our broken world. The story is told simply and comprehensibly, with bright engaging illustrations. It would make a lovely addition to your Easter storytelling basket this year (or perhaps will start it off if you don’t yet have one!) – and, at just £2.99, would be a wonderful give-away for church/toddler group families.
The Easter Story (Juliet David)
Age suggestion: 0-3
There’s a time and a place for helping young children apply the Easter story to their lives, but there’s also great value in just simply sharing an account of what happened, and allowing comments and questions to flow naturally.
The Easter Story is this type of book: a simple account of the Easter narrative (from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday), told in child-friendly language. It’s a board book, with bright colour illustrations throughout. Perfect for tiny hands!
The First Easter (Karen Williamson)
Age suggestion: 1-3
This is a small, easy-to-post book which very simply recounts the events of Holy Week for young children. It is faithful to the Biblical account, but has been very well simplified and summarised so that toddlers can understand and have their attention held. A good book to have in your collection or to send to special children in your life this Easter.
The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross – board book (Carl Laferton)
Age suggestion: 0-3
This classic children’s book – telling the whole story of the gospel – has now been made into a chunky board book for toddlers. Many of the original illustrations have made it in, but the language has been shortened for younger children. It is a *little* direct and blunt for my personal taste – but would work well alongside other Easter story books in your collection. Even a baby will love to hold/chew this one, and gaze at the gorgeous Catalina Echeverri illustrations!
The Story of Easter (Fiona Boon)
Age suggestion: 1-4
This is another small, thin paperback which would make an ideal gift for toddler groups or Sunday schools. With bright illustrations and large-faced characters, it tells the whole Easter story very simply, in rhyme. I particularly like that each page has a heading (such as ‘Jesus is arrested’) which summarises the story on that page for children who perhaps would struggle to sit still for all the words (although there really aren’t many).
I also like that the story is given an application at the end, explaining why Jesus had to die and how we can know him forever. The final page contains the Lord’s Prayer.
The Story of Easter (Juliet David)
Age suggestion: 2-4
I’m always going to get a little emotional about this book, as it was at the end of it several years ago that my eldest child, then 3, decided he wanted to be Jesus’ friend 🙂
But it is a really good board book which faithfully tells the Easter story from start to finish, and is well worth getting a copy of if you have small children – even if you have to buy it secondhand (it’s a few years old now).
Alternatively, just buy ‘Easter’ (Karen Williamson, see above), which is a newer version of the same book. The illustrations are different, some of the wording is different, but it’s similar enough to do the same job.
I just feel All.The.Feels for the original – can you blame me?!
Easter Books you can Read to Children (4-8)
Here are the best Christian Easter books for older preschool/early primary age – great to read aloud, or for independent readers to read to themselves.
The Amazing Journey (Susie Poole)
Age suggestion: 4-7
Not specifically an Easter book, The Amazing Journey is still one to have in the collection because of how well and comprehensively it tells the whole story of salvation. Setting the context of creation, Noah and the flood, and Abraham, it beautifully explains Jesus’ birth, life and ministry, leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection. It would make a wonderful bedtime read over Lent or Holy Week.
The storytelling, accompanied by Susie’s own fabulous illustrations, strikes a great balance between retelling the Biblical narrative in child-friendly language and offering explanations as you go along. It’s a lengthy picture book, so probably best told in instalments.
The Biggest Story (Kevin DeYoung)
Age suggestion: 6-11
The main attraction of this book – again, not specifically an Easter book, but the whole story of salvation – is Don Clark’s stunning artwork: geometric patterns and abstract art sit alongside more literal pictures and symbols. I love it!
The text summarises the whole of salvation, with relatively short blocks per page – so it would give a child a really good foundational understanding of our faith as Christians. It offers more Old Testament background than, say, The Amazing Journey, covering all the ways God brought His people back to Him prior to Jesus: the flood, the 10 commandments, judges, priests and kings. It sets up the scene for Jesus really well, and I like the language it uses to help explain what Jesus did on the cross and the relevance for us.
This book is divided into 10 chapters, so is easy to read in instalments.
Dave the Donkey (Andrew McDonough)
Age suggestion: 3-8
This book is one of our Easter favourites – we’ve had it for years! With colourful, animated illustrations, and a lot of humour, this is a retelling of the Easter story told from the perspective of the donkey, and it focuses on the disparity between Jesus being ‘King’ and how he was treated.
Dave is the donkey who carries Jesus into Jerusalem – but then he goes home, so asks his Grandpa (who stayed in Jerusalem) what happened. The realisation gradually dawns on Dave that the crowd who were cheering King Jesus on Palm Sunday did not continue to elevate him to that status. Grandpa shares that the sad news that the King was crucified – but the exciting news that he rose to life three days later!
This will really engage your little ones, and has always been a read-aloud favourite in our family.
The Day the Earth Shook (Helen Buckley)
Age suggestion: 3-6
Here’s another nifty little book small and cheap enough to give away en masse to your toddler group or Sunday School class (click here for the bulk buying option from 10ofThose).
This one focuses purely on the death and resurrection of Jesus, and what that means for us, from the angle of the earthquake. We are reminded throughout the book that when Jesus died the earth shook, with the oft-repeated refrain “I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. God’s Son died. No wonder the ground couldn’t stay still.”
It’s a nice idea – I’m not sure it quite works, in that the concept might be a little too abstract for tiny ones to get their heads round. But it’s not a bad book to have in your collection – it’s a little different, it focuses on the earthquake, and your kids will understand it more and more each year!
The Easter Story (J John)
Age suggestion: 5-8
This is a beautiful account of the Easter story from Palm Sunday to the Ascension, with a prayer children can pray at the end of the story if they’d like to ask Jesus into their lives.
J John really has done an awesome job at retelling the Biblical narrative, with explanations and commentary where needed, in language primary-aged children will warm to. The illustrations are bold and inviting, with the shiny gold text on the cover making the whole book feel extra-special.
There’s a decent amount of text per page, so younger children might like this read to them in instalments, perhaps during Holy Week in the build-up to Easter Sunday, whereas older children might be able to stomach the whole thing in one go.
The First Easter (Sally Ann Wright)
Age suggestion: 4-7
This is as ‘straight’ a retelling of the events of Holy Week that you’re likely to get, apart from reading the unabridged Biblical narrative. It’s fairly wordy, so would suit a child with a longer attention span, although the colour illustrations on every page give the eyes a treat too.
There is nothing added in this book – no quirky angles, no application, no fancy characters. It’s a faithful, traditional retelling of the Easter story in a small pocket-sized book.
The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross (Carl Laferton)
Age suggestion: 4-8
This gorgeous A4-sized hardback has now become something of a classic in the world of Christian children’s literature, as it tells the whole story of the gospel. It’s also available as a chunky board book for toddlers, an Easter calendar/family devotional and Sunday school lessons.
Illustrator Catalina Echeverri has worked her usual quirky magic to elevate this book into something truly beautiful. Some of the language might be a little direct for younger children, but alongside other Easter story books in your collection it balances out well. I think the way it covers the gospel for children is enough to warrant its place on any Christian family’s bookshelf.
Heaven’s big secret (Karen Langtree)
Age suggestion: 3-7
A beautifully illustrated large paperback of two small angels going on a journey to discover what happened at the first Easter. If you want a different angle on the Easter story for children who already know the story back to front, this is an engaging way in.
It’s a book which will sit comfortably on a shelf full of secular story books for this age group: the production of this (both text and illustration) really does feel very high quality. Our kids really enjoyed it.
How can they call it ‘good’? (Anika Lillicrap)
Age suggestion: 4-8
Anika Lillicrap is one of my favourite Christian writers for children. Her rhyming words (yes they rhyme AND scan – joy!) flow so beautifully with rich gospel truth, here exploring what happened over that first Easter weekend, and the significance for us. This book moves me to tears! It expresses such powerful truth in simple language that younger children can understand.
Kezia Hulse’s collage-style illustrations are simple and striking. The whole book looks and reads brilliantly, and deserves a place on every Christian family’s bookshelf for its helpful explanation of what Easter means for us.
Inspector Smart and the Case of the Empty Tomb
Age suggestion: 5-8
This is a fab book for introducing young children to the idea of the evidence for the resurrection. Inspector Smart interviews three key people in the Easter story. Firstly, a Roman general – Inspector Smart asks him if he’s sure that Jesus really did die. Second, Mary Magdalene – Smart wants to know whether someone might have stolen Jesus’ body. Finally, Thomas the disciple. Did Jesus really appear to him? Had he really died and come back to life?
A brilliant first look into the apologetics surrounding Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The Story of Easter (Alexa Tewkesbury)
Age suggestion: 3-7
This is a really beautiful Easter story book for pre-schoolers and early-schoolers from Pens author Alexa Tewkesbury. It’s pretty straight down the line – no crazy angle or weird add-ons. As such, you may not need this in your collection if you already have lots of Easter storybooks. But if you don’t, and are looking to start your collection, this is a great one to get. Beautifully told and illustrated. A winner!
The Tale of Three Trees
Age suggestion: 5-8
For primary-aged children who are familiar with the Christian Easter story, this is a different take on it: a traditional folk tale which has intrigued and delighted through the ages. It’s not the Easter story per se, it’s a story of three trees and their dreams of what they want to be made into when they grow up, but (without giving away any spoilers) it ends up very poignantly coming back to the cross of Jesus.
The Very First Easter (Beginner’s Bible)
Age suggestion: 4-7
This storybook, with text taken from the popular Beginner’s Bible, is a thorough account of the Easter story. It starts with setting the context for Jesus’ life, then takes the reader through from Palm Sunday through to the Ascension. You get more detail than in the baby/toddler books, but the language is still clear and succinct.
The actual crucifixion is sensitively described for young children, without too much gory detail, and the illustration simply shows the bottom of the cross, i.e. just Jesus’ feet, not his whole body.
The book suggests a 2-5 age range, but there are quite a few words on each page, hence my suggestion of an older range. A 2- or 3-year-old with a long attention span could manage it, and because each section is helpfully titled (with Bible references – another win!) you could read this easily in instalments. But on the whole I feel 4-7 is a more appropriate age bracket for this well-written storybook.
A Very Happy Easter (Tim Thornborough)
Age suggestion: 4-7
My twin boys have loved this story for the last couple of Easters (when they were 5 and 6), and I’m pretty sure they’re going to enjoy it again this year.
It’s a vibrant Easter offering, which encourages young readers to make appropriate faces for each of the different emotions described through the story. This interactive element makes it highly popular with preschoolers and early-schoolers. Definitely one for your Easter library!
What a beautiful name (Brooke and Scott Ligertwood, Ben and Karalee Fielding)
Age suggestion: 4-7
Not an overtly ‘Easter’ book, this enchantingly whimsical tale is based on the popular worship song of the same name, which includes the lines “Death could not hold you, the veil tore before you”, so would be totally appropriate for Easter reading as well as all year round.
“What a Beautiful Name” follows a small boy as he goes on a journey to remember which name is so beautiful. The illustrations are quirky and fun; the story engaging and thought-provoking. Perfect bedtime reading fodder: think Oliver Jeffers, but with more words and in rhyme! A lovely book which my 6 year old twins enjoyed.
Christian Easter Activity Books
Does anyone else find it helpful to have a few activity books to hand, for whipping out at restaurants, waiting rooms, or even for a calm-down after-school activity?
I love having a few seasonal items to help ramp up the excitement towards the main festivals – Easter especially! So here are some of the best Christian Easter books featuring activities, puzzles and games to help embed the joyful truth of Jesus in your kids’ lives this year.
Come Celebrate Easter (Beginner’s Bible)
Age suggestion: 3-7
This is a lovely A4-sized activity book featuring stickers, colouring, wordsearches, spot-the-difference puzzles and simple number/letter activities. A younger child would get plenty from the stickers and colouring, whereas a child starting to read and write would enjoy the more advanced activities.
The activities follow a chronological order of events in Jesus’ final week and beyond (Palm Sunday to Ascension), and you get a few sentences of story on every page, before the activity.
One little heads-up: because this book has been produced in the USA where children are taught to read using different methods to the UK, all the letter activities use upper-case rather than lower-case letters. This shouldn’t be a problem to many UK kids, however, and there are plenty of activities to keep children busy even if you ignore the letter-based ones.
Easter Activities (Bethan James)
Age suggestion: 5-8
This inexpensive little book is a wonderful mix of story and activity – each page boasts a bit of both. I really love how the activities connect chronologically to the story, rather than just being a random bunch of vaguely Easter-related games. The book includes wordsearches, spot-the-differences, quizzes and much more – in fact, the variety of different activities in such an unassuming little book is really impressive. My 7yo loved this book, and the clever way that the activities tie in to the story motivated him to read it for himself in a way I could never have done!
It would make a great Sunday school prize or Easter event giveaway for your primary-aged children.
Easter Puppets (Victoria Beech)
Our family really enjoyed using these puppets last year. Victoria Beech (Godventure) has produced an incredibly helpful resource. You get a really good selection of images printed onto thick cardstock – your job is simply to cut them out and stick them together. They’re really good quality – we’ll definitely be able to use ours again this year, and probably for a few years to come!
You also get a storyboard to help children tell the Easter story. This is so important: of course you could tell the story to your children without it, but isn’t there wonderful value in them recounting the story for themselves? The independence and empowerment that they experience in being able to put on a puppet show for you? Not to mention what it’s doing to embed Scripture in their hearts! So the storyboard is a wonderful inclusion to really help children grasp the Easter story for themselves.
Little Bunny’s Easter (Christina Goodings)
Age suggestion: 3-11 (older children will enjoy the crafts, even if the other parts of the book feel young for them)
Despite the title, I assure you this is a Christian Easter activity book! But the enjoyable mix of the Christian Easter story with general springtime celebrations would make it perhaps a slightly more gentle option for, say, sending to a non-Christian friend or godchild.
The book is chock full of springtime crafts, Christian Easter storytelling, sticker activities and puzzles, with an emphasis on crafts (I counted at least 11), so be prepared you may need some additional supplies – although the vast majority of crafts use materials you’ll probably already have.
My Mini Bible Sticker Book – Easter (Sally Ann Wright and Moira Maclean)
Age suggestion: 3-7 (it’s A6 size, so some younger kids may find it too fiddly)
This pocket-sized book is great for popping in a bag and taking with you wherever you’re going in case you need entertainment. It showcases the events of Holy Week, with text and illustration, but with gaps to add stickers (on a tear-out sheet in the middle of the book).
There are just 1-2 stickers per page, so it doesn’t go on for ever and never get finished, like some sticker books we’ve tried! This one is perfectly manageable, will while away a dull few minutes waiting for a dentist appointment – and, when you’re done, will be a lovely little Easter story book to share over and over.
The Real Story of Easter Activity Book (Christina Goodings)
Age suggestion: 3-8
This is a more overtly Christian version of Little Bunny’s Easter (see above) – there is some overlap, so you don’t need to buy both!
This one goes through the Christian Easter story, starting with Jesus’ birth – I like how it starts here, connecting the Christmas story which children will be familiar with. Each page tells a bit more of the story, ending with the resurrection, and Jesus’ command to Peter to care for his people.
Alongside the story, there are sticker activities, crafts (six in total) and small puzzles which relate to the narrative.
Best Christian Easter Books for Tweens
This section of books would suit children aged 8-12. Many of them are designed to be read independently by children of this age, but also work well as read-alouds.
Diary of a Disciple: Luke’s Story (Gemma Willis)
Age suggestion: 8-12
If you’re looking for something to engage your tweens this Easter, something which will raise questions and motivate discussion, you won’t go wrong with Diary of a Disciple.
This is basically Luke’s gospel but in contemporary language, with illustrated text (think Tom Gates) and helpful explanations of tricky concepts, Jewish traditions or complicated ideas which might need some unpacking for this age group (but I found it useful as an adult too!). The chapters work exactly as in the Biblical gospel of Luke, i.e. there are 24, so you could read this throughout Lent, arriving at Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection in time to celebrate it on Easter Sunday.
Hanging out with Jesus Again
Age suggestion: 7-12
Is there a better Christian storyteller around today than Bob Hartman? In this 12-chaptered book, we meet Pip, Tommo and Big Bart (aka Philip, Thomas and Bartholomew) who reflect on what it’s been like to hang out with their mate Jesus, using laugh-out-loud humour which is highly appealing to children!
Chapters 1-6 focus on a variety of stories from the gospels, whereas chapters 7-12 cover the events of Holy Week. This would be a fantastic book to read throughout Lent, perhaps a couple of chapters each week. Or it come become a bedtime tradition for the last 12 days of Lent, leading up to Easter.
Inspector Smart and the Case of the Empty Tomb: Case File (Tim Chester)
Age suggestion: 8-12
This is a version of Inspector Smart (see above) for older children. It’s a great way to help tweens consider the evidence for the resurrection, and asks several pertinent questions such as: Did Jesus really die? Was his body stolen? If so, who stole it? Were Jesus’ followers crazy?!
To be honest, there could be more of an interactive element to this book, with readers being asked to work things out themselves more often – but this does happen at the end, and it’s effective. Plus, the story is written in lots of different formats: newspaper articles, reports and scripts to name a few, which keeps it fun and interesting for the reader.
***
I hope this rundown of the best Christian Easter books around at the moment has been helpful to you as you shop for the special kids in your life. Which ones would you add?
If you’re looking for great ideas for Holy Week Activities for Kids be sure to check out my suggestions!
Thanks for this list! I would love to see some new additions for 2023 with Easter just around the corner.