Easter Books

This author cites various examples from across the Earth of homogeneous and otherwise unexplained deposits laid down over large areas. He then takes a leap and partially describes a zany, interdimensional phenomenon for which he provides neither documentation nor quantification. A comet isn't really there, don't you know? It's yet another attempt to have catastrophism without the mess, to show that catastrophes happen, but we're all nice and safe.

The title warrants three stars for its much more conventional and interesting discussion of the Cities of Cibola, which occupies the author for the first half of the book. Petersen seems to have solved the problem of their location, alas too late for much to be done, even if this part of the work were to receive a wider audience.

The Anglican priest Hugh Wybrew has long been fascinated by Orthodox Christianity and is interested in giving Western Christians a better understanding of this little-known tradition. In ORTHODOX LENT, HOLY WEEK, AND EASTER, Wybrew describes the elaborate traditions of this crucial period of the year in Orthodoxy, and how it differs from the traditions Anglicans are familiar with.

Wybrew begins his work by tracing the development of a Lenten tradition through history and how this tradition was further elaborated in the Orthodox Church after the schism which sadly separated East and West. The main part of the book is a discussion of each Sunday (and occasionally weekdays) of this period when Christians are called to remember certain themes during the Liturgy. Salient extracts from Vespers and Matins are provided, and the historical context of the days is presented.

The book is, however, somewhat incomplete. For example, only small extracts are provided from the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete and Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos instead of the complete texts. Discussions of history, such as the debate over hesychasm and St Gregory Palamas' role, are too brief and insubstantial.

Still, the book is at least something to familiarise Westerners with the Orthodox calendar. As a catechumen in the Orthodox Church, I was in need of a book to accompany me through my first Lent, Holy Week, and Eastern in the Church, and Wybrew's work was a good aid. Those looking for a more substantial explanation of Orthodox liturgics for Anglicans are advised to pick up Wybrew's THE ORTHODOX LITURGY as well.

The book is cute but the title is misspelled. If the Easter belongs to patches then it's Patches's Easter. If the Easter belongs to multiples of patch only then is it Patches' Easter - see Strunk and White Rule 1. For goodness sake the author's name is Hans, you'd think he could handle a singular name with an s ending: this isn't Hans' book, now is it? No, it's Hans's book.

A good book for children, the story is not much of a story, but there's lots of great easter things to do, and it tells a bit about the easter symbols and their meanings.

Not as information filled and helpful as I had hoped it would be. More like an enlarged pamphlet, really, giving some theological background to Lent, Advent, and Christmas, and to their liturgical celebration/observation.

Being a Catholic book, it's very heavy on the Catholic as well. Understandably so, but I hadn't considered that before I bought it, so I offer this as a informational tidbit to anyone considering buying it.

Maybe if I were Catholic I would have enjoyed this more, but I don't think so - it just feels thin, and not very meaty at all. It's a quick overview with little in-depth. And for a book for pastors, I expected something more involved. I knew the book was short, but I thought it would be a very dense short, not a somewhat superficial short.

Judging from the title and the description, I was expecting a book that looked at physics and theology. I thought there would be science in there somewhere, and deep discussions of Life, The Universe, and Everything.
Nope. This is a pleasant enough Lenten study, but there isn't any physics in it.
That is not an intrinsic flaw in the book; I just felt that you should be warned.

The subtitle is appropriate to this latest in a long list of of young readers books about Easter Island. While not as bad as most, i.e. The Blind Guards of Easter Island, it is not up to the standard set by Peggy Mann's Easter Island, Land of Mysteries in 1976.

The photographs are nice and the format is well suited for the age group targeted (9-12). Ms.Pelta gets the gist of the history right, but its the details that she doesn't have a good handle on. In describing the kidnapping incident of the Nancy she talks of several Easter Island girls who were thrown overboard in the harbor, only to swim safely ashore. The facts are that 12 men and 10 women were kidnapped after a "bloody combat with the natives." Three days out from the island they were allowed on deck and promptly jumped overboard to escape, and of course were never heard from again.(Metreaux,1940)

This type of mistake is inexcusable, as this particular incident helped to establish a deep mistrust of outsiders that persists to the present day. There are other examples but my space is limited so I end with ... not terrible ,but certainly not great.

I'd like to take this chance to review another book of the same series called "Colors"
The book shows a "creator" and a box of crayons, each crayon with his own purpose. However, two crayons are excluded throughout the book--purple and blue. These colors are never mentioned in the text although the illustrations depict blue standing off to the side looking sad, and purple moping in the crayon box. After each color has been shown the plan for him, they all dance and are happy, because the creator has a plan for them. Then the attention turns to blue. "Blue was sad because he thought the creator had forgotten him. But it was blue who forgot to trust the creator, for the creator said...'Blue, I have saved you for last. You will be the color of the sea... and of the sky that covers all.' And Blue was happy because the creator had a plan for blue. All of the colors were happy." This concludes the book, and purple never leaves the box. So, I owned this book as a child and I really thought the creator had no use for purple. I mean he actually says, "Blue I saved you for last" so that's the end of that right? Some of my friends tell me that the book is supposed to teach children to make that leap of faith and assume that the creator has a plan for purple that will be realized soon sometime in the near future, but I think this book is much too ambiguous for children. Thank you for your time, if somehow anyone read this review. This has really been getting to me lately.

the story was fine, but not "magical" and the illustrations were cute. If your child was anticipating a baby brother or sister, it might resonate a little more with your family. My daughter did listen while I read this to her, but it wasn't one she asked me to read over and over. And although I wouldn't classify this as one of my "must-haves", it was a fine book, and certainly a lot more readable than others I have encountered.

Chapman does a fine job of presenting the Stations of the Resurrection and the prayers that can be offered at each station. His treatment, though, is not nearly as complete nor as deep nor as beautiful as Mary Ford-Grabowsky's The Stations of the Light.