Children's Easter Books

Weekly Trip to the Library for Nannies and Au Pairs

If you work for a family who celebrates Easter we hope you had fun this week coloring Easter eggs, making Easter cards for relatives and friends, and helping the parents make Easter baskets for the children by filling empty plastic eggs with candy, money, and toys.

Eggs represent new life. They have been a symbol of spring since ancient times. Christians adopted the egg as an Easter symbol because of the relationship between Easter and the renewal of life. Exchanging and eating Easter eggs is a popular custom. The eggs are hard-boiled and dyed in various colors and patterns. Many countries have their own traditional patterns. Probably the most famous Easter eggs are those designed in Ukraine and Poland, where Christians decorate the eggs with complicated red, black, and white patterns.

Rabbits symbolize fertility because of their ability to produce many young. Some parents tell their children that the Easter Rabbit, or Easter Bunny, brings Easter eggs.

The lamb is a particularly important Easter symbol in central and eastern European countries. It represents Jesus and relates His death to that of the lamb sacrificed on the first Passover. Christians traditionally refer to Jesus as "the Lamb of God." Jesus is also portrayed as a shepherd that tends to his flock (people). Many people serve lamb as part of the Easter feast. In many homes, a lamb-shaped cake decorates the table. Many Eastern Orthodox Christians hang pictures of the Easter lamb in their homes.

Hot cross buns, now eaten throughout the Easter season, were first baked in England to be served on Good Friday. The buns have a cross of icing on the top. Some people have suggested the connection to the ancient sacramental cakes.

Easter Lilies are used to decorate churches and homes. The large, pure white blossoms remind Christians of the pure new life that comes to them through the Resurrection of Jesus.

Before and After Easter Activities and Ideas for Lent to Pentecost
By Debbie Trafton O'Neal



Debbie O’Neal tells the history of Lent and Easter and then a day-by-day journey through the season, with interesting crafts, activities, recipes, and worship ideas. There are celebrations and activities for Easter Day and each week of the Easter season, plus a bonus punch-out butterfly mobile. This book is a very spiritual and uplifting resource guide for anyone teaching children about Easter.

An Easter Celebration - Traditions and Customs from Around the World
By Pamela Kennedy



This book has great illustrations with fine art reproductions and vintage engravings. Helps children understand how and why each tradition has become a part of today's Easter celebration. It is a good introduction to the symbols and customs surrounding Easter. The book explains how the symbol of new birth and rebirth can be found in flowers, eggs, rabbits, and lambs. The customs of Holy Week and Passover are discussed.

Click here for more children’s books to share for Easter.

Stop by next Saturday for another Weekly Trip to the Library for nannies and au pairs.