“Easter: The King James Version with Pictures,” by Jan Pienkowski
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1989, 32 pages, Grades 2-4.
Easter is the greatest day in the Church year. On Easter, Our Blessed Savior broke the bonds of death through His resurrection. Christ atoned for the sins of mankind and reopened the pathway to God the Father that had been closed by sinful mankind. Through conquering death, Jesus reveals His divine nature and His compassionate desire to have all people become fully reunited to God.
Easter usually falls in early spring when all the world is reawakening from the doldrums of winter. It is very fitting that Our Lord would choose Easter to be the date of our renewal.
It is also instructive to realize that Easter is closely tied to the feast of Passover. In the Old Testament, the angel passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, sparing the lives of the first born. So the Israelites deeply understood that Passover was a time in which God led the Chosen People from slavery into freedom.
Jan Pienkowski uses all four Gospels to tell the story of Easter. While all four evangelists tell the story of Easter, each adds particular touches that complete the account of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. The name of this book is “Easter: The King James Version with Pictures.”
The author begins with the account of the sinful woman washing the feet of Jesus with her tears and costly perfume. In her sorrow for her sins, she lovingly dries His feet with her hair. When this is criticized by Judas as a waste of money, Jesus tells Judas that the woman has done a good thing and has prepared His body for death.
Next, we see Palm Sunday. with everyone shouting “Hosanna in the highest” and laying palm branches down in front of Our Lord. As the crowds cheer, Our Lord sits quietly on a donkey and makes His way through the multitudes.
Later in Jerusalem, the apostles begin to get ready for Passover. The Last Supper verses from the four Gospels detail the Last Supper and the washing of the disciples’ feet by Jesus. Painfully, readers see the account of Judas leaving the Last Supper to betray Jesus. This is followed by some of the beautiful Farewell Discourses in chapters 14-17 of St. John’s Gospel. In these chapters the apostles are told that Jesus is going away for a time and that they are to love one another.
Pienkowski draws on several of the evangelists’ accounts in the Garden of Gethsemane. The book concludes with gospel accounts of the arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
This book draws on all four evangelists. Pienkowski blends the four Gospels into a seamless account of the Passion. The King James Bible is used by the author and the verses are well known to English speakers. I would encourage you to go to the library and check out this fine title.
Books about the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs are plentiful in the library world. While these secular topics are enjoyable and should be shared with children, they are not at the heart of this great feast day. Religious picture books about the significance of Easter are rare.
If you are unable to go to the library and check out a book like “Easter: The King James Version with Pictures,” try reading the Passion accounts in any of the four Gospels. They are gifts God has given to humanity. They are the Divine Word about the Word made Flesh. I hope that you and your family have a blessed Easter.
