The Easter Story for Children
by Max Lucado
Beautiful retelling of the Easter story with gentle illustrations. Perfect for explaining the resurrection to children.
Updated August 2026
Key features of this book.
- Gentle Easter story
- Beautiful illustrations
- Age-appropriate telling
- Includes discussion questions
How to use this book.
For bedtime reading
- Read one story per night for a calming routine
- Use gentle, soothing tones
- Point out illustrations and ask questions
- End with a simple bedtime prayer
For family devotions
- Read together and discuss the story
- Ask: "What did you learn about God?"
- Connect the story to your child's life
- Draw or act out scenes together
A book like this one is a good gift, and a dozen other families can give the same one. Our own keepsake book is printed for a single child, with their name on the cover and their own little face in every spread.
Explore more Bible story categories.
Bring The Easter Story for Children home.
Recommended for ages 4-8 years.
Amazon affiliate link
What we checked against Scripture.
We read the passages behind the stories in this book and note where a retelling compresses, paraphrases or adds. We compare editions and read what other parents report. We have not tested this book with a classroom.
Holy Week, Matthew 21 to 28 and the parallels
The entry into Jerusalem, the last supper, the arrest, the crucifixion and the resurrection are all present in order, which many children's Easter books abbreviate to the empty tomb alone.
The crucifixion
The death is told rather than skipped, and the illustrations keep it gentle. That is an editorial choice about a violent event, and the right one for the age, but it is still a choice.
Wording
The retelling comes from The Story for Children rather than from a translation, so no verse is quoted.
Questions parents ask.
What age is The Easter Story for Children for?
Zonderkidz lists it for ages 4 to 8, at a preschool-and-up reading level. It is 32 pages in a large format, so it reads aloud comfortably to a four-year-old and a seven-year-old can manage it alone. The crucifixion is present in the story, which is the part to judge for your own child.
What is in the book?
A 32-page retelling of Holy Week drawn from The Story for Children, the children's edition of Max Lucado's The Story, written with Randy Frazee and Karen Hill. It moves from the entry into Jerusalem through the crucifixion to the resurrection, with full-page illustrations. Zonderkidz published this edition in 2013.
How does it handle the crucifixion?
It does not skip it. Easter is only the resurrection because of the death that comes first, and this retelling keeps both. The illustrations are gentle rather than graphic. Parents of sensitive four and five-year-olds often read it through themselves before reading it at bedtime, which we would suggest for any Easter book, not just this one.
How long does a reading take?
Five to seven minutes read aloud, so it is one sitting rather than a week of readings. Families who want Easter spread across the whole week usually pair it with something like Benjamin's Box, which walks through the same events one object at a time over several days.
Which Easter book should I buy, this or The Easter Story for Kids?
Age is the difference. Patricia Pingry's version tells Jesus' life and the first Easter in about 200 words for ages 3 to 6. This one runs 32 pages for ages 4 to 8 and stays with Holy Week. Buy Pingry's for a toddler's Easter basket and this one for a child who has started asking why it happened.