Introduction: Why Easter books are important?
Hip hip hooray! Just a few more sleeps and Easter will be upon us.
I love everything about Easter from planning and prepping the whole day with a fun breakfast to egg hunt in the backyard, making bunny crafts to spending time together doing Easter activities. But what I most love about Easter is that it brings us so many opportunities to have conversations with our kids. And what other time of spring could be better than this to develop reading habits in children?
That’s why having books about Easter, flowers and springtime is important for us. In a few scrolls I’ll be sharing my best Easter books for kids that I have at home and that some of my mama friends loved and recommended. Rest assure, all of these will get your little ones elated.
What can children learn from Easter books?
Easter books are not only an egg-cellent way to celebrate the holiday with your children but also a great way to introduce them to the significance of Easter and what it symbolizes. In this regard, planting seeds and flowers is an interesting activity to explain the rebirth or resurrection. Children’s Easter books can also be a good way to teach them about the history of Christianity and what it means to be Christian.
Other than Easter, reading aloud and together with kids in their early years of growing up plays an important role in their overall intellectual development. They become more than ready for kindergarten years with better listening skills, enhanced cognitive, social and emotional development, enriched creative imagination and expanded vocabulary. Parents are children’s first teacher and books help us create a memorable parent-child bond that we are going to cherish in later years of our life. Therefore being a role model for our kids is crucial. If they see us reading then they are more likely to adopt reading in their daily routine.
Ebook vs Printed Easter books: What’s Best for young kids?
In this tech-savvy age of metaverse you might wonder if e-books are OK for kids? or if reading books on e-reader is same as picking up a paper book? Most of the studies suggest that reading from a printed book offers better comprehension and less distraction. Besides, learning from a live person has more advantage over learning from a person on screen, tells us Bezos lab over at the University of Washington that researched on eight to ten month old babies. So what happens is that when kids see us on a screen then parent-child bond is interrupted by a third party and it’s not as effective as teaching by an actual book.
Best Easter Books for Kids of all Ages
Finding books for Easter that are well-written, beautifully illustrated and clearly communicates the message can be challenging. That’s why I decided to take your pain away and save time by thoughtfully curating a range of different Easter book that are trusted by parents, teachers, ministries and above all loved by children.
There are books for every age in this mama-recommended list of best Easter books. There are sturdy board books for little hands, magical picture books for toddlers and provoking information-rich books for slightly older kids. Some of them educate about the spiritual and religious aspect of Easter while others take them on joyous egg hunts and Easter adventures. In addition, if you’re looking for non-candy ideas for your kids Easter basket so it won’t be just candies and stuffed bunnies then look no further as these must-have Easter books will take care of it.
So without a further ado, here are the 15 best Easter books for kids of all ages listed in order of age groups from infants to young and older.
Llama Llama Easter Egg
Best for Ages: 0 – 3 years
Llama Llama Easter Egg is a short story for babies and toddlers with catchy rhyming words. Similar to Dewdney’s other Llama Llama books, this one also has popular characters that kids already adore.
It’s a quick and sturdy book for little hands, designed to develop early reading habits with no religious aspect of Easter.
Available on: Amazon
Hippity, Hoppity, Little Bunny (Finger Puppet Board Book)
Best for Ages: 0 – 3
Another adorable board-book surprise for newborn and toddlers. This cute little rhyme book comes with a finger puppet bunny that you can wiggle to play hide-and-seek with baby boys and girls.
Available on: Amazon
Pat the Bunny (Touch and Feel Book)
Ages: 0 – 3 years
A timeless classic for generations, Pat the Bunny this touch-and-feel book is a staple for your toddlers library. The illustrations are very simple and easy to process for tots. There are tangible interactive features that not only enhance sensory learning of your little but also engages them to play.
Available on: Amazon
Poppy and Sam’s Easter Egg Hunt
Best for ages: 2+
A perfect board book for toddlers by Usborne. We already know how much fun and interactive their books are for our little bunnies.
Poppy and Sam’s Easter Egg Hunt is about helping them in their search for Easter eggs on Apple Tree Farm. It’s a short and sweet story with wonderful illustrations and small sentences. The book is thoughtfully designed to engage tots with its peeping hole finger trails which enhance their sensory learning. Kids absolutely love the idea of tracing cute little animals through it. Plus, there is a fun activity of finding the duck hiding somewhere on each page.
Available at: Amazon
How to Catch the Easter Bunny
Best for Ages: 2 – 10
Your Easter bookshelf will be incomplete without this highly-praised fun story of an Easter bunny who beats the traps in order to deliver eggs and candies. Be sure to expect giggle while your kids flip through the pages until the end trying to catch the hippity-hoppity bunny.
#1 on Newyork Times, USA Today and Amazon Bestsellers, How to Catch the Easter Bunny a solid 40 page book at a great price with beautiful illustrations. Perfect for Easter baskets if you happen to be on a hunt
Available at: Amazon
Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure
Best for Ages: 3 – 8
Pete, the coolest cat around, is back again. This time to help the Easter bunny save his big day by collecting, painting, and hiding all the Easter eggs! This book comes with an activity poster, punch-out cards, and stickers.
The illustrations in these books are quite whimsical, and some of the characters remind will remind you of Rocko’s Modern Life, an old Nickelodeon show. If you haven’t got any of Pete the Cat’s other books, you should. They’re fun visual delight that kids will enjoy, especially if they love kitty cats.
See deals at: Amazon
The Story of the Easter Bunny
Best for ages: 2 – 8 years
If you’re looking for a book that explains the concept of Easter bunny to little one then this is your pick. The Story of the Easter Bunny tells the story about how Easter bunny came about without any religious mention. The books explains that originally it was an elderly sweet couple who used to weave baskets and paint eggs for the local children. But when they aged and became feeble, their bunny takes the responsibility to carry on the tradition.
The text is easy enough that even a 2 year old can easily grasp. The illustrations have a timeless vintage feel. It’s a modern classic that will stay relevant for many years to come and can be re-read. It can also be passed down as part of your Easter tradition.
Tip: Read few days before Easter bunny comes to visit you home!
Available at: Amazon
Emma the Easter Fairy
Best for Ages: 6 – 10
A must-have for girls Easter basket, Emma the Easter Fairy is about 3 magical Easter eggs that Emma paints every year to celebrate Easter. But this time, Jack frost and his goblin ruins her plan by stealing these eggs. Will all her preparation be in vain? Who is gonna help her to save the big day?
Part of Scholastic’s Rainbow Magic series, this book excites the young girls and turns the theme into early readers. The book also provides an egg-cellent way for girls to band with others girls they would love sharing talking about Emma the fairy.
Available at: Amazon
Special Mention:
Antiracist Baby Picture Book by Ibram X. Kendi
Age: 2 – 6
Racism starts at home. But so does antiracism. Although this book is not about Easter or springtime, it’s a modern day essential to have in a child’s book library especially for those who are still in formative years. Antiracist Baby centers on a idea that a child is bred and not born a racist. A beautiful and thought provoking full-size book by a black author that teaches children how to be accepting and loving of those of different races in nine illustrated steps.
Trending hot on Amazon both in sales and reviews.
Buy Now: Amazon
The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross by Carl Laferton
Best for Ages: 3-7 years
The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross is a 32-page beautifully-illustrated story for young kids. It teaches about the gospel so that they can learn and develop an understanding about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Parents can be pretty picky when it comes to extrabiblical kids’ books but this book will hold up to your expectations. Its biblical accuracy is far superior and the message is relayed more clearly than many other children’s books.
Although the book is written for young kids, adults will find it equally riveting based on its design and layout. The tone of illustration changes as you progresses – starting bright and colorful, turns muted-brown and harsh-looking by the mid, and end with a returning to the colors to compliment the tone of the message.
See deals on: Amazon
The Easter Storybook: 40 Bible Stories Showing Who Jesus Is by Laura Richie
Best for ages: 5+
The Easter Storybook by Laura Richie relays most-loved bible stories in a bite-size fashion with rather calm and cozy illustrations that will keep your children invested. Also, each story has a prompt at the end to help you continue discussion with kids.
Dubbed as a Must-Have for Lent, it’s a great book for families to read together and learn about the real meaning of Easter. All 40 day are clearly labeled and each story includes biblical scripties and cites reference for full version.
The book is a rather new addition to the family of Children’s bible, and provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the most important holiday together with kids. The book can be used as a resource for years and makes an ideal Easter gift with value.
Available at: Amazon
The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones
Age: 4+
The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all of the bible stories. Children and parents will learn how Jesus is at the centre of God’s great story of salvation. This must-have children’s bible contains 21 best-loved stories from the Old Testament and 23 from the New Testament in an easy-to-understand and illustrated format.
Written by New York Times bestselling author Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by award-winning artist Jago, The Jesus Storybook Bible has been a quintessential book for over a decade. It makes a perfect go-to gift for Christmas, Easter, baby shower and other occasions as it remains relevant for life and pass-on Easter traditions.
Available at: Amazon
The Easter Story by J. John
Best for ages: 3 – 5 years
A lovely retelling of an Easter story to read together or enjoy alone. The story starts with Jesus arriving in Jerusalem and told through illustrations and text. This book will help children come to know and understand what Easter celebration is all about.
Here is an animated preview of the book on youtube: The Easter Story by J. John
Available at: Amazon
The Day the Earth Shook by Helen Buckley
Best for Ages: 4+
A short story that focuses on the day of Jesus’ death. The book introduces our little ones to the historical significance of the day that shook the Earth using repetitive phrases.
Take a peep inside the book on youtube: Bedtime Story – The Day the Earth Shook
Available at: AMAZON
Other related books for Kids:
- The Ultimate List of Best Halloween Books For Adults, Teens & Kids
- Christmas Reads for Adults: 20 Best Books You Must Read This Christmas
- Omg! The Best Christmas Books Ever!
- ‘Tis the Season for Best Holiday Reads 2021!
The article is written by former children’s librarian Jansen who is also a mother and blogger. She loves to make for parents on how to incorporate reading into your family and share reviews about children’s literature.
Twitter handle: @EverydayReading
