The Easter Donkey

While we are still in the Easter season, I wanted to take the opportunity to review one more Easter-themed picture book.  Today's selection is The Easter Story, written and illustrated by Brian Wildsmith and published in 1993.  The Easter Story, like my recently-reviewed Petook, also tells the story of Holy Week through the eyes of an animal bystander.  Only in this case, the eyewitness is the donkey who carried Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

The wording of the text does not come directly from the Gospels, but is otherwise a straightforward retelling.  The illustrations preserve the nameless donkey's perspective, and thus we find ourselves on the outside peering in at the Last Supper and Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin.  In a nice touch, every image also has an angel (or many), silently watching, and reminding us that everything that happens had been ordained by God.  

To be honest, Wildsmith's rough watercolor style is not my favorite.  However, he does have an appealing child-like sensibility, in the sense that his artwork has the flat, simple quality of an actual child's drawing. Furthermore, the lack of realistic detail is a benefit to this subject matter.  I also appreciate the reflective gold paint used as a motif throughout the story, subtly evoking the gold backgrounds of traditional icons.  It is a worthy addition to your library of Easter titles.

Ages: 3 +

Rating: A-