Empty!: Can something empty ever be good?

I like the way ‘Empty’ draws kids in from the very start by talking about things that aren’t good when they’re empty – e.g. cookie jars, piggy banks and your hamster’s cage. The examples go on and on to even more ridiculous things that you never want to be empty. But then ‘Empty!’ reminds us that some things are GOOD when they’re empty: your homework folder, the sky when it’s ‘empty’ of clouds, amusement parks. This is the perfect lead-in to talking about the significance of Jesus’ empty tomb.

The story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is told very succinctly, to get the point across that the empty tomb means life for us, and a conquering of death. If I’m being super picky, the reasoning behind what the empty tomb means for us could have been a little better linked and more clearly described, but that’s really splitting hairs in what is a fabulous book to help primary-aged kids understand the Easter story a little better.

Despite ‘Empty!”s diminutive size, it’s not really for preschoolers. Some of the concepts and amount of words per page would make it more suitable for older primary-aged kids, whilst I think younger primary will get the most from it.