cover image Hosanna and Alleluia: Stories of Holy Week and Easter

Hosanna and Alleluia: Stories of Holy Week and Easter

Dina Strong. Living the Good News, $3.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-1-889108-11-7

This third Big Book in the ""Storyteller"" series simplifies and condenses for young children three Holy Week and Easter passages from the Gospels of Mark and John. In the large (11""x17"") format book, good for group sharing, children first meet Jesus as he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey and is greeted with the Hosanna song of praise on a ""day of palms."" In ""Remember,"" Jesus and the disciples share ""a night of wine and bread"" during which he asks his friends to remember him. In the ""Alleluia"" section, Jesus dies on the cross and, ""on a new morning,"" rises from the dead. Cook's soft, sun-washed paintings feature a typical Middle Eastern setting and friendly-faced characters in period garb. In an easy-going storytelling style, Strong offers an instructive version of Christian beliefs that young children will enjoy hearing. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)