Family, Faith, and Fridays: Easter Stories- Book review and giveaway

We love traditions in our house. While we tend to blow off some of the lesser holidays, (my apologies to the leprechauns and cupids) we are big into ones like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter. We have certain meals we fix for each, certain decorations we pull out year after year, and certain books we read as a family that point us to the real reason we are choosing to celebrate. Well, the certain books have been slightly lacking during Easter. When the kiddos were younger we read a few Peter Rabbit type books, and even fell into a few Easter Bunny books even though we did/do not "do" the Easter bunny. I felt convicted that we should direct our kids to more God centered stories, but honestly have had a hard time finding many.

When I heard about the book Easter Stories- Classic Tales for the Holy Season I was intrigued. A whole collection of stories, 383 pages, based on the true reason we celebrate Easter as a Christian- wow! And the authors! Tolstoy, Dickens, Wilde and more. Now THIS sounded like a book we could add to our tradition of reading as a family during the holidays.

Jane Tyson Clement The White Lily
Laura E. Richards The Coming of the King
André Trocmé How Donkeys Got the Spirit of Contradiction
Alan Paton The Church of the Washing of the Feet
Clarence Jordan Stories from the Cotton Patch Gospel
Selma Lagerlöf Saint Veronica’s Kerchief
Lew Wallace The Way to the Cross
Selma Lagerlöf Robin Redbreast
Ludwig von Gerdtell The Atonement
Maxim Gorky The Flaming Heart of Danko
Elizabeth Goudge John
Hans Thoma The Legend of Christopherus
Sara Cone Bryant Robert of Sicily
Leo Tolstoy Two Old Men
Ivy Bolton The Golden Egg
Karl Josef Friedrich The Case of Rachoff
Ruth Sawyer The Deserted Mine
Anton Chekhov The Student
Claire Huchet Bishop A Dust Rag for Easter Eggs
J. W. Ooms The Barge-Master’s Easter
Walter Wangerin Jr. The Ragman
Kirk Wareham Easter Under a Park Bench
C. S. Lewis The Death of the Lizard
The Brothers Grimm Mary’s Child
Ger Koopman The King and Death
Oscar Wilde The Selfish Giant
John Masefield From The Everlasting Mercy

Be forewarned, this is not light reading. It is an anthology of short stories that go beyond a bunny and colored eggs. Each of the 27 stories were selected for their spiritual value and focus on the Holy Week and Easter. Some stories are shorter than others, but make no mistake about it, this is some serious reading. With a few exceptions, this is not a book that you can easily sit down and read a story out of in one night. Be ready to spend some time with it. It is pretty hefty, but it is geared to be a multi-generational book.

Our family realized we cannot get read every story each Easter season, but we are slowly working our way through. There are a few stories that are too intense or academia for our younger son, age 7. For that reason, I would encourage you to read the stories alone at first to judge whether or not your young children are ready for the subject matter. There were two in particular that we chose not to read aloud because I did not agree with the theology behind them.

Stories tell of hope, of love, sacrifice, redemption and God's love. But many are wrapped up in allegory or other literary techniques. Be ready to have some pretty serious discussions on what some of the stories mean and how they apply to us!

As Easter approaches, I encourage you to enjoy the upcoming spring weather (it is coming, I am sure) and find time and new ways to point your family to the One who gave it to us! Have a blessed and beautiful Easter!

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*You can enter to win a copy of Easter Stories for your family by simply leaving a comment! A random winner will be selected on Friday!*

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”