The Lucky Egg

Description

Billy can't wait for Easter! His family celebrates with special foods, but he looks forward to the most exciting part: cracking red eggs with his family. Billy hopes his egg will be the lucky one so he can have a year of good fortune. But Billy quickly remembers how fortunate he already is. Follow Billy and his family in another holiday adventure as he learns the story behind Easter and some beloved Greek traditions. Review: Wonderful Children's Book - Super cute book! My family loved it - especially my 4 year old son. Love to see a children's book that depicts Eastern Orthodox religion and Greek culture for our youth. Review: Cute Orthodox book - This is a cute story about a Greek-American boy who celebrates Pascha with his family. It focuses mostly on the tradition of the dyeing of the red eggs and the egg game - cracking them at the paschal meal. The author also threw in an explanation of the Resurrection, since, you know, that's the reason for the season. I think this story would be particularly meaningful for Greek kids, but even for non-Greeks like us, it's a nice story. My son (4 y.o.) loves it. I think he likes the idea of banging eggs together, plus the idea of winning the game. Now onto why I knocked off a star: Honestly, because of the illustrations. Forgive me, but they're not to my liking. Here's why: 1. The angel! I don't know what the illustrator was thinking with that angel. My Orthodox child (target audience) could not even identify that that was supposed to be an angel. I had to convince him it was. I wouldn't expect the angel to look iconographic, but did she have to go so far out of left field? Honestly, if it weren't for that angel, I would forgotten my other quibbles, and given the book 5 stars. 2. Every time we get to page 12, my son expresses concern that the mean man is abusing the poor donkey. It was an odd choice on the illustrator's part, as were the other (intended) cutsey elements to the very serious story of the Resurrection. 3. The dad looks a little bit like Hitler. 4. This is a minor thing, but on the page where they're at Liturgy, only the family are depicted. Children are very literal. They will think no one else is at church. Which, incidentally, my child did. As far as the writing is concerned, my one minor quibble is that the author chose to use the western word - Easter. I'm assuming the target audience for this book is Orthodox kids, so why not use the Orthodox word - Pascha? Also, if she ends up doing a re-write, I would suggest re-wording the last page. The implied moral of "he's lucky because he has a loving family" went straight over my child's head. Little kids don't get implied statements. You have to state things explicitly. I say all this not to blast the book, but so there will hopefully be a second edition. Come what may, I highly suggest this book to every Orthodox parent out there, Greek or not. It will help get you and your kids excited for Pascha.