Legend of the Easter Egg, The

A young boy learns the meaning of new life when the wife of the owner of the local candy store shares with him the symbolism of the Easter egg, telling the hope-filled story of Christ’s resurrection.

One April morning Thomas and his sister Lucy are gathering eggs from the hens and discussing Easter. But Lucy falls ill with scarlet fever before she gets a chance to tell him about Easter eggs. Thomas is sent to the local candy shop merchants, John and Mary, while his sister is quarantined. One day, when Thomas is lonely and frightened about Lucy, Mary gives him a chocolate Easter egg and tells him the story of Jesus's resurrection.

"But why do we have Easter eggs?" Thomas asked.

Mary explained. "Just as a chick breaks out of an egg, so had Jesus broken free of the tomb of death. Easter eggs remind us that Jesus conquered death and gives us eternal life."

Written by the author/illustrator team of Lori Walburg and James Bernardin, and featuring the same setting and characters from their bestselling The Legend of the Candy Cane, this story reveals the significance of Easter, which lies far beyond the wholesale gobbling of chocolate eggs and jelly beans. (Ages 6 to 9) --Emilie Coulter