Lauren Ducommun

Why do we celebrate Easter? If your kids are asking this question, then Jesus Rose For Me by Jared Kennedy is a great board book to read together as a family this Easter season.

Kennedy walks readers through the Easter story, broken into four sections. Starting at the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the garden of Gethsemane and the crucifixion, and then finally the resurrection.

I like how at the beginning of this story book, Kennedy shares that “Everyone who trusts Jesus is part of his forever family.”

This board book also Introduces communion saying, “Jesus gave his friends a new meal called communion to help them trust and remember him.”

Kennedy explains to kids that Jesus had never sinned, but why Jesus had to die on the cross. “Jesus took the punishment for our disobedience and sin. Jesus died instead of us.”

The pictures are a little cartoony, but I appreciated how the text was not over simplified. Kennedy did a great job paraphrasing Scripture. 

This would be a great picture book to read aloud to a Sunday School class, or for a family to read during the days leading to Easter Sunday. 

Jesus Rose For Me
by Jared Kennedy
New Growth Press, 2020
26 pages