Easter is a time for chocolate bunnies and jellybeans, right? Well, partly, but wouldn’t it be nice to instill a love of learning and reading in your kids’ Easter baskets too? You can! Below is a carefully curated list of wonderful Easter books for children of all ages. From toddlers to older kids, there is a Christian Easter book on this list that your child is sure to love – and for the little ones, might even help keep them occupied and quiet during Easter services at church too!
Next to the Peeps and jellybeans this year, stick in an Easter book for your child and create a great new holiday tradition of education and religion.
Toddlers books about Easter
Easter Board Books for kids aged 2, 3, 4 and 5 years old
Start your child’s education about Easter at an early age with these board books about Easter made just for toddlers. Just because your child is just a tot doesn’t mean that he or she can’t begin to learn about the story of Easter and the Christian faith. These bright and colorful books will keep your child’s attention this Easter, and they will hold up to the wear and tear of a toddler too!
Bonus – for little ones, bring one of these books to church with you and keep your toddler occupied during Easter services.
An Easter Gift for Me
Jesus came to Earth as a baby. When he grew up he taught people about God. ‘But some of the people did not understand the way Jesus fit into God’s special plan.’ He died on a cross, and that was sad. But he came alive again and lives in heaven today!
A touch-ready book for infants and toddlers (the publisher says age 1 through 4). The fur of the animals can be felt as well as seen, which babies love. A great age-appropriate book for your child’s first Easter to introduce spring, Easter activities as well as the Christian source of the holiday.
Ages 4-8 Easter books
Books about Easter for children aged 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 years old.
Once your child enters school, they are capable of understanding more about the story of Jesus and the importance of Easter Sunday. For kids in kindergarten through third grade, these books are just the right reading level to hold their interest. Your child will love these Easter stories!
The Parable of the Lily (Parable Series)
Maggie, the farmer’s youngest daughter, loves getting gifts, especially mysterious ones. One wintry day, she receives a package in the mail. She excitedly opens the package to find a bulb buried in a crate of dirt. This was not what Maggie expected. She had hoped for a doll or a game, not a bulb that would one day become a plant. When spring comes, she finds the bulb in the cellar and tosses the lifeless thing into the garden, never to think of it again. . . . Until she walks outside on Easter morning and finds the most beautiful lily she has ever seen. Through the unique gift of a bulb, Maggie discovers the power of grace and forgiveness and the true meaning of Easter.
The book has footnotes for each element of the story, which explain the way Maggie’s story fits in with the Biblical story of Jesus. This makes the book suitable for children as young as 3 years old (who will just ignore the footnotes) to 12 – when you can start to explain how this story ties in with the Christian faith.
Benjamin’s Box: The Story of the Resurrection Eggs
What are the treasures in Benjamin’s Box? Come along with Benjamin and see. Like all boys and girls, Benjamin is very, very curious. When Jesus comes to Jerusalem, Benjamin decides to follow him and find out who he really is. At first, Benjamin thinks Jesus is a teacher, then a king. At last, he learns the good news—news that every child (and grown-up!) will want to share.
This book is very popular in combination with resurrection eggs. However, some parents have trouble with the way the story of Benjamin mixes in the story in the Bible – which causes their children to mix the two up.
The Flowering Cross
Six-year-old Katie’s next-door neighbor Papa Jack has the most beautiful flowers in town. He seems like a mean man to most, but Katie has a special place in his heart. Every Easter Sunday she stops by to get her flowers for the Flowering of the Cross at church. Only this year, Papa Jack decides to come along, and Katie helps him discover the real meaning of the Cross. Also included are instructions for making a Flowering Cross.
Available on Kindle – but some reviewers complain that the ebook version isn’t as well done.
The Easterville Miracle
Just as a little boy named Sam and an old man named Henry remind the town of Easterville, best-selling author Melody Carlson reminds us as well that the true meaning of Easter is not Easter bonnets, baskets, colored eggs, candy, or decorations. It is the glorious story of a cross on a hill and an empty tomb, and the wonderful news of forgiveness that the Easter story brings us.
Recommended for pre-school and up, but some toddlers also enjoy it.
The Legend of the Sand Dollar: An Inspirational Story of Hope for Easter
Margaret, age fifteen, and Kerry, age eight, are sisters from the urban North and are sent to visit their Aunt Jane, who lives in a tidewater area on the rural southern coast. Kerry doesn’t know why she has been sent away, only that her mother and father are fighting.
Kerry finds reassurance, however, in a new friend-a cheerful boy named Jack who plies the waterways of the marshy tidewater in his little dinghy as he searches for crabs. Jack is only twelve, but seems wise beyond his years because he is in tune with the ebb and flow of nature and the wisdom of the seasons. He knows life is designed to be full of change.
Jack uses Kerry’s discovery of a sand dollar-and the coming Easter season-to help her see that the pain and uncertainty she feels now is but a “season.” The story of Jesus’ suffering and resurrection as reflected in the sand dollar serves as a parallel to her pain. Kerry learns that with God’s help she can have hope for a better future.
Pre-teens Easter books for kids aged 9-12
Children aged 9, 10, 11 and 12 years old
Older children will appreciate these Easter books made just for their reading level.
Lilies, Rabbits, and Painted Eggs: The Story of The Easter Symbols
In a text filled with anecdotes, sayings, and bits of verse, Edna Barth traces the history of the Easter symbols and shows how they reflect feelings shared by people throughout the world. The symbols represent hope, joy in living, and wonder at the miracle of new life-and these are universal emotions. Warmly written, and illustrated with black and white drawings by Ursula Arndt, this is a book to be discovered and read with pleasure by young readers of all faiths. Enda barth’s classic holiday books are all now being reissued with a fresh, new jacket design and fun activities inside the paperback covers.
The Easter Cat
Lonely in a house and neighborhood full of grownups (not counting her annoying neighbor Sarah), Millicent craves the comfort of a kitten to call her own. Unfortunately, her mother’s allergies make it impossible for a cat to be anywhere near their house. So when Millicent wakes up early one Easter morning and finds a blue-gray kitten by her Easter basket in the living room, her luck seems too good to be true. Unfortunately, it is too good to be true. In no time at all, Millicent and her Blue Angel have become “fugitives from the law,” hiding in a secret room under the house while her entire family searches the neighborhood for them, and her mother sneezes miserably.