Jesus is Risen! (The Beginner's Bible)

Jesus is Risen!, another book in The Beginner's Bible series, retells the story of Jesus' resurrection. The book, illustrated by Kelly Pulley, begins with the simple words:

"Jesus was God's son. But some leaders didn't believe him. They made Jesus carry a cross. The soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross. Jesus died."

We learn that Jesus' "friends" put him in a tomb that was guarded by soldiers. Then the ground shook and an angel open up the tomb, making the soldiers flee. "Mary and her friends" went to the tomb; they "missed Jesus terribly." They met the angel who told them not to be afraid; Jesus had risen. The women see Jesus, who tells them to "Go and tell my friends that I am alive." Mary runs off to tell everyone the good news.

What I Like: This is a tough subject for young children. In reality, Jesus' death was brutal, but Jesus is Risen! doesn't offer gruesome illustrations. Instead, we see a weary Jesus carrying a cross while a mean-looking Roman guard looks on; later we see the bottom of the cross - with only Jesus' scraped legs visible - as a woman clings to them. So young children get the idea without being frightened. I also like that the book focuses only on Jesus' death and resurrection, ending with the wonderful words: "Jesus is alive!"

What I Dislike: We don't really learn why Jesus had to carry a cross and die, either from a theological standpoint, or from the point of view of Jesus' earthly enemies. Even just one sentence summing these things up would have been helpful. I'm also not a huge fan of the cartoon-like illustrations, but they are bright and colorful, and my toddler seems to enjoy them

Overall Rating: Good.

Age Appeal: Infant to preschool.

Publishing Info: Zonderkidz, 2006; ISBN: 0310711150; board book, $5.99.

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Special Info: Read all our reviews of The Beginner's Bible series by clicking here.

Topsy-Turvy Tracy: The Upside-Downer Day

Topsy-Turvy Tracy: The Upside-Downer Day was written by Susie Taylor, a kindergarten teacher with a background in development psychology.

Told through rhyming verse, the story follows Tracy, a young girl who loves to explore God's world. On morning she tumbles out of bed upside down. Lying on the floor she sees that things look quite different with her head down low. She decides to have an upside-downer day. She walks on her hands and eats breakfast with her feet in the air. Then she goes to the playground to see what she can see hanging upside down from the monkey-bars. Everything looks different! It's not long before she gets dizzy. Then she realizes there's not much she can do upside down. She can't ride her bike or jump rope. Tracy concludes that God designed us to be rightside-up and His way is best.

Illustrated by Tammie Lyon, the pages are filled with simple drawings, friendly characters and plenty of bright colors. Several pages encourage readers to "Flip and see what Tracy saw!"

What I Like: The illustrations are sweet, and the character of Tracy is adorable, reminiscent of Punky Brewster. My daughter loves flipping the book upside down to see things the way Tracy does. It's a cute, simple novelty.

What I Dislike: It's very simplistic and very short. I like kids concluding that God's way is best, but to think He made us rightside-up just so we could play hopscotch is pretty weak.

Overall Rating: Good.

Age Appeal: 4-8, though my 3-year-old loves it, too.

Publisher Info: ZonderKidz, 2004; ISBN: 0310704421; Hardback; $12.99

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