Do you give Easter gifts in your family?
Most families I know give gifts—a lot of them—at Christmas, but give minimally (if at all) at Easter. And, frankly, that’s fine. Our culture loves to use any occasion to encourage us to buy more stuff, which most of us don’t need. And we know that Easter is not about bunnies, jelly beans, or chocolate. But without Easter, the Incarnation and Christmas aren’t complete.
I’d like to encourage you to consider giving Christian Easter gifts to your kids and teens this year. What do I mean by “Christian Easter gifts”? Easter is a perfect time to give your children or your Sunday school class a new spiritual resource. New Bibles or devotionals get lost under piles of Christmas wrapping and shiny new toys. Not so at Easter.
***See below the post for a giveaway opportunity!*** (Giveaway closed)
Easter: Time to Re-Evaluate
Do we need an occasion to give our children Bibles? Or to stock our home libraries with devotionals? Of course not. But it’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of everyday life. Easter can provide a helpful nudge to pause and re-evaluate:
- Is my first grade daughter beginning to read on her own? Perhaps it’s time for her first “real” Bible?
- Is my 10-year-old son outgrowing his childish, heavily illustrated children’s Bible? Maybe it’s time to get him a Bible that looks more grown up? Perhaps one that hasn’t been tossed around on the playground after church or left out in the rain?
- Is my teenager ready for a study Bible?
- Are our family devotions in need of a re-boot? Have our New Year’s Goals fallen by the wayside?
- Would my grandchildren benefit from a book about the Bible?
In the past, my family has used Easter for just such an evaluation. Several years ago, we gave our children their first study Bibles: the ESV Student Study Bible. We bought them through Christian Book and had their names engraved on them. (If I’d have the Reformation Student Study Bible option, I might have gone with that since that’s the same Bible I use as an adult.)
Marty Machowski, at New Growth Press, has some additional suggestions for celebrating Easter.
Christian Easter Gifts for Kids and Teens
We’ve compiled a list of great choices for you to consider for this Easter. Many of these also make good graduation gifts, another event that is just around the corner. We’re including some titles specific to Easter as well as more general resources.
And don’t miss our Children’s Bible Guide with lots of resources for you regarding translations, features in children’s Bibles, and more than 70 Bible reviews! Janie’s post on “Choosing Your Child’s First Real Bible” is a taste of what’s inside the Guide. Download our Best Bibles Guide for a free sample (and reviews of our top recommendations for children’s and teens’ Bibles!).
Where to Purchase:
We usually include amazon links for your convenience (after all, free shipping plus the ability to purchase laundry detergent, dog food, and anything else at the same time… well, it’s convenient!).
However, we’d like to encourage you to shop directly from Christian publishers this season. There’s plenty of time to allow for slower shipping, and we think it’s important to support fellow Christian companies! Companies to consider:
*indicates our partners that offer our members (Golden and Silver Key) discounts. If you’re a member, be sure to check your benefits pages for coupon codes! Additionally, publishers like Ligonier discount their prices from amazon’s listed price. Occasionally, these books are only available through the smaller publishers/booksellers as well.
PICTURE BOOKS
Something Better Coming by Megan E. Saben (picture book about Easter that works with any age! Purchase from Westminster Books)
Bare Tree and Little Wind by Mitali Perkins (picture book about Easter)
The Biggest Story and The Biggest Story ABC by Kevin DeYoung (another good option)
Baby Believer Board Books by Danielle Hitchen (one of our “go to’s” for baby shower gifts!)
The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross by Carl Laferton and Catalina Echeverri (picture book)
Miracle Man and Go and Do Likewise by John Hendrix (picture books about Jesus; these could easily work for older children, too!)
The Prince’s Poison Cup by R. C. Sproul (picture book allegory; there are several similar options in this same series; Ligonier)
RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNGER CHILDREN
Mission Accomplished by Scott James (2-week Easter devotional; New Growth Press)
The Risen One by Scott James (another Easter devotional)
The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible by Jared Kennedy (a staff favorite for this age group! New Growth Press)
ESV Big Picture Story Bible by David R. Helm
The Ology by Marty Machowski (systematic theology for kids; New Growth Press)
The Promise: The Amazing Story of Our Long-Awaited Savior by Jason Helopoulus
Who Is Jesus? Forty Pictures to Share With Your Family by Kate Hox (from New Growth Press; review coming! This is similar to the Jesse Tree and could be used any time of the year)
Darkest Night Brightest Day by Marty Machowski (New Growth Press; review coming; this is a 2-week Easter devotional)
BOOKS FOR MIDDLE GRADES
The Radical Book for Kids by Champ Thornton (Bible trivia and interesting information)
Big Questions Series by Chris Morphew (ages 10 and up; from The Good Book Co.)
Exploring the Bible by David Murray (a read-through-the-Bible devotional guide for students)
Exploring the Bible Together by David Murray (a similar guide, but for families)
How God Used a Thunderstorm and Other Devotional Stories by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn (family devotional)
BOOKS FOR TEENS
God’s Word for You Series by assorted authors (from The Good Book Co.; we’ve reviewed the Proverbs for You title)
Get Your Story Straight by Kristen Hatton (a devotional guide for teens, non dated)
The Book of God by Ben Avery (graphic novel about the Bible’s history)
An excellent Christian biography
Many of our graduation gift suggestions would fit here, too!
What are YOUR bookish suggestions for Easter gifts? List them in the comments!
**We’re giving away a double-autographed copy of Something Better Coming by Megan Saben!! To be entered into the giveaway, be sure and give a book suggestion by Saturday, March, 19, at midnight Eastern Standard Time.**
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The Donkey Who Carried a King is another great R.C. Sprout book for Easter!
Yes!
Mission Accomplished by Scott James is one we have used in the past.
We love that one!
Two more picture books that retell the story of Easter are by Mary Joslin. “On Easter Morning” is illustrated by Helen Cann and the other, “The Story of Easter” is illustrated by Alida Massari. Of the two, my favorite is “On That Easter Morning”. The illustrations are full of color and movement.
Ruth Oates
Not specific to Easter, but a great picture book for explaining the trinity is “3 in 1 a Picture Book of God” by Joanne Marxhausen.
It takes a difficult concept for kids and relates it to the 3 different parts of an apple and their unique functions.
We love Jesus Rose for Me by Jared Kennedy!
We often watch the dvd version of The Greatest Story around Easter.
All of the Tales That Tell the Truth books are fantastic.
Oh and The Prince’s Poison Cup by RC Sproul is an absolute favorite!!
The board book Found (Psalm 23) by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Jago
We like the picture book “The Easter Story” by Brian Wildsmith
Our family is looking forward to reading “Something Better Coming.”
We love to give Easter gifts that will help our kids grow in their love of Jesus! Some excellent titles for our preschool/kindergarten age kids have been: “The Donkey Who Carried a King” (R.C. Sproul), “The Promises of God Storybook Bible” (Jennifer Lyell), “For Such a Time as This: Stories of Women from the Bible, Retold for Girls” (Angie Smith), “Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey” (Tyler Van Halteran), and books from the Tales That Tell the Truth series.
Music CDs that focus on scripture memory (Slugs & Bugs) also make great Easter gifts!
Love the music suggestion!
We love Easter Love Letters from God by Glenys Nellist
I look forward to checking out the list of Bibles! Thank you! This year for Easter we’re using Kevin DeYoung’s newest book, The Biggest Story Bible Storybook. I would highly recommend this resource along with his other Biggest Story books that were mentioned in this post.
I love reading all the book suggestions! I just received my first copy of “Something Better Coming” and loved it. I would love a second copy to gift to my grandson!
The Parable of the Lily by Liz Curtis Higgs
Take of the Three Trees by Angela Hunt
That’s a good one!
Our family loves the picture book Petook: The Rooster Who Met Jesus by Caryll Houselander. It’s been re-released in the last year. Illustrated by Tomie DePaola.
We love The Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible !
For adults:
An old hymnal is a special gift! While not every hymn/poem is a gem, there are many unsung beauties in old hymnals that are neat to read and meditate on!
Also, “The Loveliness of Christ”, a collection of Rutherford’s writings is a beautiful little book, with Christ’s worthiness on display.
Oh, a hymnal is a lovely idea!
“The Epic Bible” and Mighty Bright book lights are on our list for gifts this year.
And, while not an Easter book, we are also adding Kate Messner’s “Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt” to our collection. We absolutely love her books.
For younger kids we love The Jesus Storybook Bible
I just found a used copy if Finding our Roots, by Ruth Beechick. It’s not specifically Easter.
I found The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith at the library this week. We haven’t read it yet but the illustrations look nice
We really like R.C. Sproul’s The Priest With Dirty Clothes — another effective allegory!
Yes!
We loved reading through Sally Lloyd Jone’s Storybook Bible in anticipation for Easter but it’s been so good for our kids’ year-round. We’ve also enjoyed The Greatest Story Ever Told. Easter is, also, a time that we gift our kids’ a new copy should they be in need of one 🙂
This isa creative book: He Is Risen: Rocks Tell the Story of Easter
We love that one!
In your teen section, we really enjoyed reading More Truth by Kristi Mair, and the same friend who gave us that book recommended She Reads Truth as a bible for our 14yo.
I decided to purchase some Bible Study materials for my kids from Kids Read Truth, a resource created by She Reads Truth. They have some ABC flash cards I plan to give my five year old, an interactive study on Esther with paper puppets for my eight year old, and a Journal on Trusting God for my nine year old.
Love this post! I usually give my kids a new Christian book for Easter. Last year it was The MIracle Man by John Jendrix. I also give them some good quality chocolate.
We love Simonetta Carr’s picture book biographies. They have enough content to appeal to a range of ages, and they are just beautiful. Available from Ligonier 🙂
Thank you for your the post. Most of the books I’d recommend are already on your list, since that’s where I first heard of them !
All of my kids (5-15) and I loved Grandpa’s Box by Starr Meade.
We pull out The Prince’s Poison Cup by Sproul and Miracle Man by John Hendrix every year too. The Garden, The Curtain, and the Cross by Carl Laferton is also very good. My personal favorite is Kevin DeYoung’s The Biggest Story. The illustrations might be a little tough in some spots for little ones but for big kids and teens, it is wonderful.
I give my daughter an Easter basket, which includes at least one book (and definitely some chocolate, too.) Last year it was God Gave us Easter by Lisa Tawn Bergren, which she likes having me read any time of year! This year I’m interested in the books by R.C. Sproul mentioned in the original post, as well as the books by Kevin DeYong.
We’ve given two of our boys (in different years) the Exploring the Bible study guide (by David Murray) for Easter. It has served them well around 9-10 years old for daily independent study. Last year my toddler received Danielle Hitchen’s “Let There Be Light” board book — I wish I’d had more of these when my older kids were little; it was a hit!
I love giving books as gifts–Dangerous Journey is a favorite, and for Easter the picture book The Garden, The Curtain, and The Cross by Carl Laferton is great
First that came to mind was Sprouls other book. But also Easter Love Letters from God. So something a bit different. ?
Jesus Calling The Story of Easter by Sarah Young is a good book. I’m excited to see Megan’s new book!