A New Children's Book for Pascha (and a Giveaway Book of Eastertide Devotions for Moms)

source

Catherine's Pascha, by Charlotte Riggle, is a new picture book that follows a sleepy little girl on Pascha night. (Pascha is the Orthodox celebration of Easter.  "Pascha" comes from the Hebrew word for Passover, because the Passover feast was being celebrated when Jesus was raised from the dead, and because in his Resurrection Christ fulfilled the promise of the Passover sacrifice.)  

Illustrated by R.J. Hughes, this book has a lot going on...
Your child will follow along, as late at night Catherine and her family leave their home with their Pascha basket full of goodies and arrive at their darkened church.  Once there, Catherine and her friend Elizabeth light a candle with others from their parish, sing, walk in procession, and proclaim "Christ is Risen!" as they celebrate the joyful Resurrection of Christ.

source

The pictures on each page in the book are framed by an illustration of a building. At first, it’s Catherine’s house. The picture within the frame follows the action of the story. Once Catherine arrives at her parish, the frames on page after page show a different Orthodox church building from around the world. Inside the frame - which follows earthly time and earthly place - we see Catherine at her parish church, yet there is a sense in which all distinctions of time and place have collapsed. Because of the different church buildings that frame her story, there is a sense in which she stands together with Christians from all times and places to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ!

How about putting a copy of Catherine's Pascha in your child's Easter basket this year? Be sure to visit the wonderful website for the book - you'll find copies of Catherine's Pascha available for purchase there.

source

Ever wonder how Easter got it's name? You can find out on the Catherine's Pascha website. There are also lots of fun activities, recipes, and information about traditional Pascha eggs and baskets!

Now for the Giveaway...for a lucky Mom (or Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, or other adult who may be following my blog)!

Would you like to have a devotional book for the days that follow Pascha? Far from being merely a “vacation from fasting,” the Pascha season (or "Eastertide", the 40 days between Pascha and Ascension) is a time that, properly understood, can greatly enrich our faith.

The Pascha season is certainly a time for rejoicing, but this should not lead us to forget that it is a preparation for another great feast: Pentacost. During the Pascha season, we celebrate and rejoice in our Lord’s Resurrection and we prepare for the great feast of the Holy Spirit descending upon us.

Today I'm giving away the book Meditations for Pascha: Reflections on the Pentecostarion, by Vassilios Papavassiliou.  He is also the author of Thirty Steps to Heaven.

Each short chapter in this lovely little yellow paperback volume gives us reflections and Scripture readings about Bright Week, Thomas Week, Week of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, and so on...

Vassilios Papavassiliou's Meditations for Pascha is his fourth in a series of pocket devotions: Meditations for Holy Week, Great Lent, and Advent.

source

• Please leave a comment here at the end of this post to enter my giveaway for Meditations for Pascha.  
• Giveaway ends Friday, March 27, 2015. 
• One winner will be chosen at random (I use random.org list randomizer.)  
• Winner announced Saturday, March 28, 2015.

A "Cheerful" Churchmouse? (He'll Be Happy in Your Child's Easter Basket!)

Cheerful, by Palmer Brown (1957), is one of the treasures I brought back from my visit this past December to the NYCPL's awesome bookstore. 
Could not pass it up!  
And now he looks so at home on my living room end table.

How fortunate for book lovers that this (little - 6 3/4" x 4 1/4") volume has been brought back into print by The New York Review Children's Collection.

This entrancing story, which is gorgeously illustrated, will delight children ages 4-6, as they follow the escapades of "Cheerful" the churchmouse and his family - his parents, his brother Solemnity, and his sisters, Faith and Hope.

"Last of all, there was Cheerful, who did have white feet, and long white whiskers too.  Because his drooping whiskers made him look so sad when he was little, his mother said, "Be Cheerful!" And he tried to be, since that was his name  Most of the time it was easy..."

His parents and brother and sisters are happy growing up in the bustling city, but Cheerful always wonders what it would be like to live in the country (he often lies in a favorite green shadow cast by a stained glass window, pretending it is a green field).

"Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, 

Guard the ground I stand upon!"

One day, he decides to leave home and travel to the countryside. He gets waylaid in fruit and vegetable pushcart, and consequently ends up in a Grandmother's kitchen.

You'll have to read the book to find out what happens, but the happy ending involves "a glorious egg of crystal sugar" (as a child were you intrigued by those panorama eggs with a peephole in one end?  I was, and so were my kids!) that the little mouse finds in an Easter basket intended for the Grandmother's grand-daughter!

One of the cutest little books I've seen in a long time.  I think you'll love it - and it would fit perfectly in your child's Easter Basket!


Palmer Brown (1920-2012) was the author and illustrator of five adorable books for children: Something for Christmas, Beyond the Pawpaw Trees and its sequel The Silver Nutmeg, Cheerful, and Hickory—all published by The New York Review Children’s Collection. (go here to order)

The New York Review Children’s Collection began in 2003 in an attempt to reward readers who have long wished for the return of their favorite titles and to introduce those books to a new generation of readers. The line publishes picture books for preschoolers through to chapter books and novels for older children. Praised for their elegant design and sturdy bindings, these books set a new standard for the definition of a “classic.” Among the titles you will find Wee Gillis, a Caldecott Honor Book by the creators of The Story of Ferdinand; Esther Averill’s time-honored Jenny and the Cat Club series; The House of Arden by E. Nesbit, one of J.K. Rowling’s favorite writers; several titles by the award-winning team of Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire, including their Book of Norse Myths and Book of Animals; James Thurber’s The Thirteen Clocks and The Wonderful O, both with illustrations by Marc Simont.

Book Themed Easter Baskets (They're Sugar Free!)

You can have fun playing Easter Bunny this year - with books!

Somebunny loves you!

{source}

  
For babies and toddlers, I love all these cute combinations with board books for your child's Easter basket from A Lovely Lark...

 Ollie, by Olivier Dunrea

 The Tiny Seed, Eric Carle

Pat the Bunny, Dorothy Kunhardt

And this, from You Are My Fave would be perfect for a preschooler...

Gossie, Olivia Dunrea

How about these fun little pom-pom chicks?  Hide them in plastic eggs and pair them with a couple of cute Coco books...

Coco, Sloane Tanen/Stefan Hagen

For ages 4-8, one of my favorite Easter books is Patricia Polacco's Rechenka's Eggs.  You can read about it in my past post, "Why Eggs for Easter", here.

Wouldn't it be adorable in a basket with these unique tin eggs from My Sweet Muffin?

And they'd look so cute on an Easter Egg tree! (Go here for my past post.)

Looking for more ideas for 4-8 year olds? In case you missed it, yesterday's post had several more book recommendations for Spring and Easter reading, here. 

I think it's such a great idea to pair books with other non-candy items like chalk, play dough, bubbles, crayons, stuffed animals, stickers, stamps, and garden or beach toys. 

Of course, food items such as goldfish crackers and Laughing Cow Mini Babybel cheeses are fun treats too, that can be tucked into plastic eggs...along with maybe just a few jelly beans and chocolate eggs? (More about eggs in my next post!)

WHAT'S ON MY SPRING BOOKSHELF?

Spring is here, and Easter is near! Yesterday was the first official day of Spring. To celebrate, I got out some special books just for you. Any of these picture books make great Spring reading, and would be perfect for a child's Easter basket (watch for my next post: ideas for making book-themed Easter baskets). 

Right click on the titles for descriptions of each book.  I've listed them from left to right on the shelf...

1- What Do You Hear, Angel? Elizabeth Crispina Johnson/Masha Lobastov.
2- The Three Little Pigs, Paul Galdone  
3- Home for a Bunny, Margaret Wise Brown/Garth Williams
4- The Paintbrush Bunny, Adrienne Adams
5- The Hidden Garden, Jane G. Meyer/Masha Lobostav
6- Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present, Charlotte Zolotow/Maruice Sendak
7- Because You are My Baby, Jennifer Ward/Sylvia Long 
8- Easter Eggs For Anya, Virginia Kroll/Sally Wern Comport

Do you have a favorite Spring-themed book?  I'd love to know what it is!