Jesus

Jesus by Anselm Gron is a simple retelling of the biblical account of Jesus for children by a German monk. The simplicity of the accounts and the simplicity of the illustrations give this book a truly endearing quality.

Beginning with the announcement of the angel to Mary, the account of Jesus as retold in this book highlights specific aspects of his life and ministry such as the Boy Jesus at the Temple, Jesus calling his disciples, the feeding of the five thousand, the parable of the Prodigal Son, the blessing of the children bringing the dead girl back to life, meeting Zacchaeus, the Last Supper, His arrest and death, and finally His resurrection.

Each account is told as simply as possible without an excess of words and without the authors opinion finding its way into the account.

What I Like: As I sat with my children to read this book, I was thrilled that I could give them an overview of the life of Christ. The accounts were told in such a way it left room for my six year old to ask questions I could answer for her. Yet there was not so much room for questions that she was left wondering too many questions. This book definitely leaves room for discussion between the parent and child.

The illustrations in the book were fantastically done. The cover illustration is an example of the artwork in the entire book. The illustrations fill up each two-page spread, yet the pages do not appear busy by any means. The main aspect of each account is depicted in the illustration as simply as possible.

What I Dislike: I did not care for how the last two accounts (Jesus' death and resurrection) were handled. Concerning His death, we are told that Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, and as a result Jesus was led off to be crucified. The true reason for His death was never mentioned or explained- I had to do that on my own.

As for the resurrection, the illustration depicts the inside of the tomb with two angels inside announcing to the two women that Jesus had risen. The account goes further to explain that Jesus appeared to the disciples later that evening, but Jesus is never depicted in an illustration as being risen. The book seems to abruptly end after this account. I think if there had been one final illustration of a risen Jesus, the book would have felt complete to me.

Overall Rating: Good

Age Appeal: 5-10-year-olds

Publisher Info: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2014; ISBN: 978-0-8028-5438-4 ; hardcover, 26 pgs., $16.00


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