Easter Books

Volume 63 of the Ideals periodical, Ideals Easter celebrates American ideals of faith in God, patriotism, and family bonds. A wide variety of authors contribute prose reflections and poetry; occasional Biblical passages and soft color illustrations ranging from a classical artwork of Jesus Christ to simple photographs of flowers round out this respectful and contemplative tribute to the spirit of the Easter holiday. Faith: The seeds stirred by the warmth of the sun / Will break their bonds when spring has come, / So slender faith that yearns for light / Can push aside the hampering night / And open up an avenue / That lets the love of God shine through.

Great detailed coverage of why the pogrom occurred, what led to it occurring, what happened while it was going on, and what the outcome was for both the victims and perpetrators. The book is a pretty small one, but it encompasses everything you need to know about this specific event in Russian history. The history of the city is given as well as the reason for why Jews were such a large part of the population. How the town was mainly run by anti-Semites and what they did to help push people over the edge and create violence toward the Jewish members of the city. Starting with the blood libel from another town which was disproved to have been the work of Jews but nonetheless held up as fact within Kishinev's newspapers which increased feelings against Jews and ending with all out violence that went unchecked until the second day when the military was given all power to handle the situation. A large portion of the city was damaged and men, women, and children were killed, raped, robbed, beaten, etc. Questions about how much was the government really involved are never clearly answered, there is evidence to support both arguments that it was and wasn't. But both are presented and the reader is given the choice of deciding on his/her own. Overall an excellent book, a quick read, and very informational and detailed.

I really enjoyed this book, I curled up with it at night and read one story each evening until they were done. All of them were thought-provoking and helped me to re-affirm my faith in life and hope beyond the hard realities of the life we see, especially at Easter. I've never read a collection of Easter stories before, and these were excellent.

There are 13 stories in this collection.

1. What Was in Jeremy's Egg? by Ida Mae Kempel
A story of a 12-yr-old boy in a twisted body who is still in second grade, and yet when the teacher asks all of the students to bring something to class in a large plastic egg that shows new life, Jeremy has the best idea of all.

2. The Arbutus Bonnet, by Margaret E. Sangster, Jr.
Eleanor and Robert became friends during a summer when they were each 16, not realizing then the immense gaps between a poor minister's daughter and the wealthy educated heir to a fortune. Now they are 26, and Eleanor learns that Robert is coming back at Easter to visit the neighboring estate kept by his family. Eleanor longs for a new dress to wear when she meets her old friend, but her father needs the money for an aging parishioner. Will Robert remember his old friend or will he only see her old simple clothes?

3. The Maid of Emmaus, by Agnes Sligh Turnbull
Martha, a young new follower of Jesus, had a hard week at the Emmaus inn. She longed to give Jesus a gift, and thought she could make him some little loaves. Then He died, and her hopes were dashed. Or were they?

4. The Hidden Treasure, by Arthur Gordon
The old Scotsman and the young traveller share an Easter Morning together at sea, and the old Scotsman tells a story of Easter treasure.

5. An Easter Song, by Grace Ethelyn Cody
"Gretta just didn't see how she could possibly sing for the Easter service, as her father had asked her. Not this Easter, so soon after Mother's passing. But in her haze of anguish and self-pity, she had forgotten she was not alone in all this, that there were others; for instance, old Mrs. Meredith, now blind. And what about poor Father?" (p. 71)

6. Mrs. Pepper Passes, by Helen Ward Banks
Mrs. Pepper had very little money, but she had an open loving heart, and so she set out to enjoy Easter even though she felt she could give nothing to the people she cared for. Or could she? This is a charming story of how we can give without knowing it.

7. Only a Piece of Glass, by author unknown
It was just a tiny piece of glass, lost in the shop of the artist, designing beautiful church windows. Would the Master artist find it? And if so, what would it be used for?

8. Polly's Easter Service, by Elizabeth Price
Polly was not the most pleasant person to be around and people avoided her. Then her lovely Sunday School teacher gave everyone in the class something ugly that looked like a potato, and her life was changed.

9. The Gift, by Margaret Prescott Montague
Rev. Thomas McCord had lost everything he valued in life -- including his beloved son overseas at war, and then his faith in God. He did not know how he could preach his Easter sermon in his grief. Then a visitor arrives at his door.

10. Pieces of Silver, by Clarence Budington Kelland
Carnavon was a skilled and powerful orator, and used his skills to disprove Christianity and turn people into skeptics. Then he had a visitor -- an elderly Christian from the salvation Army, who gently and lovingly compared him to Saul of Tarsus and asked him probing questions. Another visitor brought him an ancient coin of Simon the high priest. While holding this coin and remembering the elderly Christian's words, he is transported to the crucifixion, and the story of one who sold Jesus for 30 of these silver coins.

11. Lilies for Inspiration, by Mabel McKee
Emily, an office girl at the orchestra, longs for a new jade hat for Easter. But the elderly violinist has told her that he works best when looking at something beautiful, like lillies, which his fans used to send him by the dozens. Emily knows he no longer receives lillies, but she is poor, and must make a choice.

12. A Glimpse of Heaven, by Harriet Lummis Smith
Why did young wealthy Claude Rockwell commit suicide on the eve of Easter? Why was he in such despair, when young poor Mark, blind from birth, manages to be happy?

13. The Hollow Man, by Joseph Leininger Wheeler
This story opens with a poem:
"Oh he was handsome, beautiful as a Greek god,
But he was empty: a hollow boom-booming drum;
Oh he could speak, could sway multitudes,
But inside, where his heart should have been,
There was only sawdust, straw,
And swirling, mocking winds."
This is a haunting story of a young man who has it all -- but still finds life empty, and how he finds what he lacks.

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I have.

We have several children's bibles in our home, but this book does a better job of explaining the Easter story to pre-schoolers. The book is written in a conversational tone starting with some of the distractions of Easter but quickly focuses on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It reassures children that this was God's plan from the beginning.... it was sad that Jesus died..... but he became alive again and he did it all for them. The last section of the book focuses attention on some of the symbols that can remind the child of the new life they have in Christ.

This is an extremely interesting account of Dos Passo's visit to the Island in the mid-1970's. He also delves into a great amount of history surrounding the discovery, settlement, and ultimate downfall of the mysterious civilization that once inhabited the Island. I would definitely recommend reading this book before you travel there, since it provides you with some very interesting background on the Island that you are likely not to learn anywhere else. Even if you do not plan on traveling there but just enjoy reading about adventures in the South Pacific, this book is for you! Enjoy!

This is an excellent book, gathering information from many sources regarding one of the 3-4 most important sites on Easter Island. This book is, I believe, writen by someone on the Easter Island Foundation board and it is just as helpful as the vast amount of information available on their site. Here the text is very informative -- although I wish there was more given. A very reliable summary on the subject (again, you really can't get all of it together in one place, except here.)

This is a small pocket book so you can carry it with you when you visit Orongo. There are many many illustrations showing details of the site. They are by Dr. Georgia Lee who is one of a handful of reliable world experts on Easter Island.

This book, published in 1989, is a distillation of Thor Heyerdahl's research on Easter Island. It traces the history of Easter Island's interaction with the outside world, from Roggeveen's visit in 1722 up to the time of the book's writing. Along the way, Mr. Heyerdahl builds his case that two peoples, one from South America and one from Polynesia populated Easter Island.

This book is fantastic! I am not entirely convinced of Mr. Heyerdahl's case, but found his case compelling nonetheless. The book itself has many color pictures and maps, and is visually quite stunning. Now, not all of the book is about Mr. Heyerdahl's proposed history, so if you are merely interested in Easter Island, then you will still enjoy this book. This is a great book, one that you should read!

The Easter Mice hop, hop, hop, and jump, jump, jump, as they hunt for Easter eggs. But one little mouse enjoys the Spring day so much he forgets to hunt for eggs, until it's too late . . . or is it? This charming book has bouncy rhymes, and colorful illustrations that are like a breath of Spring. A winner!

Very nice coloring books. The pictures are pretty detailed but easy to color. Can use many different kinds of coloring tools. Each page can be removed to be made in a little picture. Really very realistic stained glass look for a coloring book. Cute pictures and can be used for nice decorations. This book is fun to color in and you get good results with little talent. Good for kids of all ages. A very good purchase, since it's so cheap. Is on Amazon Prime so no shipping costs. All different kinds of subjects available too.

The illustrations in this cute Easter book depict a father rabbit ready to escort his daughter down the avenue (5th Avenue) in her new Easter Bonnet. Besides the darling pictures set to Irving Berlin's lovely lyrics, this book adds guitar and piano music at the end. This was especially helpful to me as I had forgotten some parts of the tune. What a great way to introduce children to a great song by a great composer. Would be a fantastic addition to an Easter basket. I would highly recommend this book.