walter wangerin Archives | Little Book, Big Story

December 18, 2020 / 0 Comments

Mary’s First Christmas

Scripture doesn’t tell us much about Jesus’s childhood—just that it happened, and that he never sinned. But what was it like to be the sinless son of God, a perfect child in a fallen world, born to a mother to whom some fragrance of disgrace must have clung?

Walter Wangerin, Jr., writes a beautiful book about those years. Told from Mary’s perspective, Wangerin imagines the child Jesus asking again to hear the story of his birth. We see his trust and her faith, as again she tells him what we call the Christmas story, but what was, to him, his story.

Like Peter’s First Easter (also by Wangerin), this is a longer picture book, full of human emotion and honesty. Reading it, we’re not tempted to think That’s how it was, but That’s how it could have been. The characters’ responses ring true and point us back to what we do know about those years: Jesus was God made flesh, a holy and perfect God bound by all the limits of humanity—and childhood. And his mother was young. She trusted God. Whatever it cost her she said, on our behalf, “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

In other news, The Good Book Company (the publisher that brought us the wonderful Tales That Tell the Truth series) shared a list this week of 7 Christian book reviewers to follow in 2021—and they were kind enough to include me in the list! If you’re on the lookout for good books (as I assume you must be if you hang out here), I encourage you to browse the list and get to know the other reviewers—there are some excellent reviewers on the list, and all of them were new to me!

Mary’s First Christmas
Walter Wangerin. Jr.; Timothy Ladwig (1998)

February 19, 2016 / 2 Comments

5 Books to Read Together During Lent

Our church celebrates Ash Wednesday with a simple liturgy read in a shadowy room. We light candles, draw the sanctuary’s chairs into a circle around our pastor, the table, and the ashes, and at the end of the service, file up to our pastor and wait for our turn with the ashes. As he draws a cross in black ash on each brow, the only sound is his voice saying, musically, “Dust you are, and to dust you shall return,” to each of us. Even the children—and a high percentage of our small church body is under the age of five—fall silent for this.

Ash Wednesday leads us into Lent gently but decisively, just as Lent leads us toward Easter with the patience of a farmer sowing seeds. I love Ash Wednesday, though it tends to sneak up on me each year, coming as it does almost on the heels of Christmas. But this year, I got the jump on it: while planning posts for this blog, I saw it on the calendar and thought, “A ha! Not this year, my friend!” This year, I was ready for it. I dug out the Easter books and photographed them for you; I considered Lent with prayer for an entire week before Ash Wednesday.

And I gave thought to how our family would celebrate, which led me to think about how you might like to celebrate with your family. I suspect that, for both of us, a good celebration begins with good books, and with that in mind, I compiled a short list of books for Lent that our family has loved from year to year.

Petook, by Caryll Houselander

5 Book to Read Together During Lent | Little Book, Big Story

Houselander tells the story of Easter through a parallel story of a rooster named Petook; Tomie dePaola weaves little details into the illustrations that will surprise you and your little readers. (Read the full review.)

Peter’s First Easter, by Walter Wangerin, Jr.

Through the chapters of this picture book, Wangerin puts the reader right in Peter’s shoes, describing his love for Jesus, and his grief as he walks through the events of Holy Week. (Read the full review.)

The Story of Easter, by Aileen Fisher

The Story of Easter goes beyond telling the story of Holy Week (though it does that, too) and explains a bit about the traditions and symbols linked to Easter. This is one of my favorites. (Read the full review.)

The Light of the World, by Katherine Paterson

Though not strictly an Easter book, I love Katherine Paterson’s telling of Jesus’ life and think it perfectly fitting for Lenten reading, as it places Holy Week in a larger context and reminds us of what Christ accomplished on the Cross. (Read the full review.)

The Donkey who Carried a King, by R. C. Sproul

5 Beautiful Books for Easter | Little Book, Big Story

R. C. Sproul nests the story of the crucifixion within the story of a donkey named Davey. That story is nested, in turn, within the story of a young boy who is picked last for the team. It sounds confusing, but Sproul executes the story-within-a-story trick beautifully. (Read the full review.)

Lastly

These are my top five Easter favorites, but they are not the only Easter books featured on Little Book, Big Story. You can read the other reviews in the Easter section of the blog. I’ll share still more with you during the next few weeks, as a bookish way to observe Lent.

This post originally appeared on this blog in March of 2015.

April 18, 2014 / 0 Comments

Peter’s First Easter

Last week, I voiced some rather strong opinions about Bible stories that put peripheral characters in starring roles, but after rereading Petook to my children and preparing to review today’s book, Peter’s First Easter, I realized that I stand rather firmly corrected.

You see, all three of my Easter 2014 reviews feature books that are fantastic examples of how well a simple shift in perspective can refresh a story: in Petook, we saw the event of the Crucifixion through the eyes of a rooster, who stood, in a way, for creation; in The Donkey Who Carried a King, we followed Davey, the donkey; and in Peter’s First Easter, we leave the farm animals behind and read about the last week of Jesus’s life through the first person account of Peter (as envisioned by the author).

Peter's First Easter | Little Book, Big Story

Let me tell you one thing up front: Peter’s First Easter is a deeply moving book. You (if you’re That Sort of Person—I am) will probably cry. You see, Wangerin puts the reader right in Peter’s shoes, describing his love for Jesus, as well as his shock at some of Jesus’s pronouncements—the ones we take for granted, as part of a well known story, but that must have sounded dissonant and strange the first time they were voiced.

This is my body. Take and eat.

And what must Peter have felt after that third denial of Christ? Wangerin presents a beautiful and believable story that allows us to view the Crucifixion through the eyes of one who is painfully aware of his own brokenness and who fears that nothing will ever be strong enough to restore him—even as he watches the very event that will restore him.

Despite Wangerin’s use of past tense, there is an urgency to both the language and the illustrations that brings the story near to us, the readers. Tim Ladwig respectfully avoids showing Jesus’s face and uses unusual perspectives—strong diagonal compositions, showing characters in profile or from above—to achieve a sense of inclusion: as the crowd thrust their fists in the air, screaming, “Crucify him!”, the people are depicted at such an angle that we seem to be standing among them with our own fists in the air. And he has a knack with facial expressions: the tears welling up in Peter’s eyes, his expression of wonder at Jesus’s words, the joy and laughter on the disciples’ faces as they meet Jesus, resurrected, for the first time—Ladwig captures them all perfectly.

This is a lengthy picture book, divided into ten short chapters, so you can read it all at once or in stages—a chapter or two per day throughout Holy Week, perhaps. However you do it, though, don’t rush! This is a book to be savored, one to linger over and explore with little ones.

Peter’s First Easter
Walter Wangerin, Jr., Tim Ladwig (2000)

Tag: walter wangerin (page 1 of 1)

Mary’s First Christmas

5 Books to Read Together During Lent

Petook, by Caryll Houselander

Peter’s First Easter, by Walter Wangerin, Jr.

The Story of Easter, by Aileen Fisher

The Light of the World, by Katherine Paterson

The Donkey who Carried a King, by R. C. Sproul

Lastly

Peter’s First Easter

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