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SeaStar
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| Posted: Feb 17 2014 at 1:47pm | IP Logged
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I feel like I have this same dilemma ever year...
I have several books about Holy Week: all well done and beautifully illustrated. They all tell the Easter story.
My dilemma is this: no one wants to read the Passion story over and over and over within the space of a few days (Holy Week), and no one really wants to read about the Passion during the joyful days of Easter.
So each year we read one or maybe two of our beautiful books, and that is all. Perhaps that is how it should be. Or perhaps I should try to read one book every week or two during the whole of Lent- or, if not read them the whole way through, at least study the illustrations as a reminder of how Jesus suffered to save us.
We also have lots of books about the Nativity of Jesus, but somehow we can read countless versions of that and no one ever feels like we have read too many. Strange- but maybe it's just the nature of the subject matter.
After Easter, it's so hard to find books that aren't twaddly.
Anyway- I'd love to hear how others approach Lent through picture books.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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Erin
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Melinda
Are you after some Easter titles that approach The Story a bit differently?
Or would you like titles of excellent Bible story pic bks? Another good focus for Lent.
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Erin
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SeaStar
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Erin wrote:
Melinda
Are you after some Easter titles that approach The Story a bit differently?
Or would you like titles of excellent Bible story pic bks? Another good focus for Lent. |
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Both! I have often wished there were more picture books about families during Lent... stories that show how and what they do. Ex. Picture book about a family getting ready for and attending Stations of the Cross. Not just a book about the Stations- there are plenty of those, but one that would give a glimpse of a family living out this beautiful devotion.
It seems like the market is wide open for that!
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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JodieLyn
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I would think it would be especially appropriate to read the book on Fridays of Lent.. it would help remember why we fast and abstain and help spread it out. Even if it's not every week, maybe every other week?
OH!! Amazon has copies of "Petook" for reasonable prices. Not cheap but there have been times when it was really high and I couldn't get it.. so when I saw it this past week I ordered a copy finally 
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Erin
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Melinda
Well can't help you with that sort of book 
However Ellie has recommended some excellent Bible Story books.
And from our family collection
I would really recommend Benjamin's Box, for a fresh perspective of the Story, and we've homemade little hands on materials to go inside the plastic eggs. On Good Friday we hide them in the yard and the children find them, we then read the book, opening up our eggs to accompany the story. Could do this any day in Lent.
The Thornbush is another fresh look from the eyes of the bush woven into His Crown
Easter Swallows Holy Week included from the eyes of two swallows
Three Trees Three trees dreams and what happened
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Erin
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knowloveserve
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I feel the same dilemma in our house. The pickings are pretty slim for this, the most important of Christian holidays. 
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SeaStar
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knowloveserve wrote:
| I feel the same dilemma in our house. The pickings are pretty slim for this, the most important of Christian holidays. |
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Roll up your sleeves, Ellie, because obviously one of us is going to have to write one
Yes- this is THE Christian holiday, and yet we seem only to have a handful of really great picture books for it.
I like the idea of reading one per week on Friday- that seems fitting.
I do have most of the books Erin listed. The Three Trees is a favorite here all year. I don't have Petook yet, so thanks for the heads up on that one, Jodie.
Hmm... I know there are other books (not picture books) that are worthy to be read during Lent- we've discussed them before. I am such a picture book lover, though. I like having the illustrations, especially for younger children.
Anyway... thanks for all your thoughts!
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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JodieLyn
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hmmm do you have The Tale of Three Trees?
simple folk tale of what the trees dreamed they'd become and how they seemed to fall so very short.. and then realizing what they truly were... the manger, the fishing boat and the cross.
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JennGM
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Melinda, I just agree with your assessment. Lenten books are weak. And then after Easter, there are no books that just focus on EASTER!!! While we are complaining, what about Pentecost picture books?
But I will say I do appreciate that the "Easter Story" includes the Passion and Death and Resurrection, for that is the Paschal Mystery. To me it's fitting to have them combined.
But after we have gone through Holy Week, I want to only focus on the Resurrection.
I take a few approaches for Lent and Easter.
1) Books focused on the Passion, like the ones listed above.
2) I use Inos Biffi's Introduction to the Liturgical Year for an overview of the Liturgy of Lent each Sunday, then use the Holy Week book for the latter part of Lent.
I also use an older hard to find book "Children's Lent and Easter" by the Nuns of Cockfoster. The illustrations are very 1960s, but the text is wonderful.
3) In preparing for the Easter, I focus on the unfolding of salvation history. The Easter Vigil is my inspiration. So I choose some picture books for key events and characters in the Old Testament -- Genesis, Exodus, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Jonah, etc. While I know the Jesse Tree is an Advent tradition, I find fitting these books at this time ties the Paschal Mystery in the fulfillment of the Covenant.
A non-picture book that is excellent for tying all this in is St. Patrick's Summer by Marigold Hunt. I summarized a bit in this past post.
4) Books for various saint or feast days that fall in Lent -- St. Joseph, St. Patrick, Annunciation.
5) Books about customs and traditions of Easter (even secular ones), such as The Story of Easter by Aileen Fisher and Tale for Easter by Tasha Tudor.
6) My favorite category -- Easter eggs, especially pysanky. I probably have the most in this category.
As far as books with people celebrating the holy days, I know of some chapter books with wonderful illustrations.
Up the Hill by Marguerite d'Angeli depicts a Polish family in America. I like to highlight this book because of the eggs.
These two are longer and older chapter books, but excerpts could be read, and both have chapters on Easter.
Nino by Valenti Angelo
The Good Master by Kate Seredy. (I can't tell if the current reprint has all the illustrations. The preview doesn't show any.)
One very small booklet that is hard to find but has wonderful illustrations including families living their faith through Lent is Spring and Lent by Rosemary Haughton.
For Easter, if we have not read all the Easter egg books, we continue in that manner. We don't have any, but I know there are picture books for the Divine Mercy Sunday, which is the second Sunday of Easter.
The next Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday, and so picture books on Psalm 23 are perfect for this week.
My other approach has been to make my own "Via Lucis" that has a collection of various art depicting the whole Resurrection story. We don't always pray along with it, but the binder has been well used of just thumbing through, singing the verses to "O Filii et Filiae" and retelling the stories of the Resurrection by reading aloud the Scripture passages.
And really, the verbal retelling and actual reading of the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles is gripping and beautiful and having these works of art really is the best picture book.
Sorry for going on and on...just working out my plans and this has been on my mind!
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Erin
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Adding Little Colt's Palm Sunday
Agreeing with Jenn re no books focusing just on Easter and yes I want some Pentecost books!
Could there be some and we just don't know? Nah impossible. 
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St. Ann
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Jenn, you didn't mention Patricia Polacco's Rechenka's Eggs
I just stumbled upon it but have never laid hands on it.
Interesting?
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Stephanie
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JennGM
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St. Ann wrote:
Jenn, you didn't mention Patricia Polacco's Rechenka's Eggs
I just stumbled upon it but have never laid hands on it.
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Yes, I love it! I've got a whole list of egg books I need to post, in print and out of print that really capture my boys. We love to do pysanky here, oldest to youngest -- nothing professional, but it's relaxing and enjoyable family time.
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I really struggle with Lent and Easter for my children because they are still so little (all under six). Most picture books about Easter mostly focus on the Passion, and I am uncomfortable with that for this age. We are a couple of years away from the stations of the cross yet.
They are pricey, but I may order this set of gospel narratives to use at home.
http://www.cgsusa.org/products/little-gospels-paschal-narrat ives/
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Michelle
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SeaStar
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Michelle:
The Little Gospels... I wish I had known about these when my dc were younger.
They attended CGS, but I never saw these (maybe our atrium did not have them). Anyway, they do look lovely, especially for little ones.
Jenn, would love to see and egg post- what fun!
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JennGM
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SeaStar wrote:
Michelle:
The Little Gospels... I wish I had known about these when my dc were younger.
They attended CGS, but I never saw these (maybe our atrium did not have them). Anyway, they do look lovely, especially for little ones.
Jenn, would love to see and egg post- what fun! |
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Egg post will be coming...just trying to get through some deadlines.
The Little Gospels are definitely new. In the atrium the catechist usually makes the scripture booklets to accompany each presentation. One of Reasons why there is such richness in the atrium is that the Bible is not watered down, but given in its fullness. But this is an area that has been a stumbling block for some catechisms, to make the Scripture booklets beautiful and appealing.
The Little gospels provides the Scripture passages in an appropriate translation and then has little illustrations from Sofia Cavaletti's own booklets from the original Rome atrium. They are hard bound and in a slipcover.
In the CGS there are different color codes for the Grouos of presentations. Infancy Narratives are white for light, Parables are blue, and Paschal narratives are red for blood. Later the miracles will be green.
These translations are more for Level I presentations for ages 3-6. There are plans to have booklets for the next levels.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Erin
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JennGM wrote:
| 3) In preparing for the Easter, I focus on the unfolding of salvation history. The Easter Vigil is my inspiration. So I choose some picture books for key events and characters in the Old Testament -- Genesis, Exodus, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Jonah, etc. While I know the Jesse Tree is an Advent tradition, I find fitting these books at this time ties the Paschal Mystery in the fulfillment of the Covenant. |
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I'd love to know which authors you'd recommend for these stories. I do know some having poured over your posts. Such as
Noah's Ark - Peter Spier
and the Book of Jonah
Hard to Swallow Tale of Jonah and the Whale - Joyce Denham
and Moses: The Long Road to Freedom by Ann Keay Beneduce
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SeaStar
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At a recent library sale, I found Easter in the Garden
by Pam Kennedy.
It's a sweet retelling of the Easter story, focusing on a little boy and his time in a garden. It touches on Holy Week and then the joy of the Resurrection.
I really liked the pictures- not too scary, yet showing the sorrow of the women especially when Jesus dies. Plus, the little boy is pretty darn cute.
If I had found this when my kids were younger, it would have probably been a favorite of theirs, one to read over and over.
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knowloveserve
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SeaStar wrote:
knowloveserve wrote:
| I feel the same dilemma in our house. The pickings are pretty slim for this, the most important of Christian holidays. |
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Roll up your sleeves, Ellie, because obviously one of us is going to have to write one
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That's it. Adding it to my to-do list.  There are a myriad of brilliant Christmas stories that aren't Nativity specific... why can't we achieve something similar with Easter? We can! Just have to do it.
I wrote a story about Grigio (St. John Bosco's dog)... and haven't seriously sought publication yet. But now, I want to write something reverent and/or fun about the Easter/Pentecost season. Doing it...
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4Real Forums : Picture Book Discoveries
Topic: Easter picture book dilemma...
