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My kids have always been fascinated by “search and find” books. Even as toddlers, they would sit mesmerized by Where’s Waldo and I Spy books for long stretches of time.
It never occurred to me that these types of books could be an opportunity for learning about Jesus. So I was seriously impressed when I saw this wonderful new book, Sarah and Simon Seek and Find the Life of Jesus by Geert de Sutter. It's one of the books on Aleteia's Summer 2023 Book List for Kids.
Each page of the book depicts a different episode in the life of Jesus and has a brief explanation of what’s going on in the Bible story. There are a number of characters, including some cute animals, for the kids to “search and find” on each page.
Bringing the Gospels alive
This picture book truly brings the world of the Gospels alive for children. Your kids will enjoy exploring the environs of 1st-century Galilee and Jerusalem while following Jesus and a pair of children through 12 different episodes in his life. I especially love the map at the front so that kids can see exactly where each event took place.
My kids love this book! It’s our go-to favorite for long car rides or bringing to Mass for the younger ones to look through. It has opened the door to some beautiful conversations about the life of Jesus.
Discussion questions
If you have this book and would like to go deeper, here are some questions to discuss with your children, based on things my kids and I have talked about while looking at this book.
- Looking at “The Birth of Jesus,” some people in the picture are running to see him, while others don’t know he’s there. If you were in this picture, what would you want to be doing?
- Looking at “The Holy Family in Nazareth,” you can see Jesus when he was a little boy. Does this help you understand that Jesus used to be the same age as you? What kinds of things do you think he liked doing? (My kids discussed which characters they thought were Jesus’ cousins and friends, and what kinds of games he might have played with them.)
- Looking at “The Wedding at Cana,” we see Our Lady telling the servers about Jesus, “Do whatever he tells you.” Do you think her advice is meant for us too? How can we follow her instruction in our own lives?
- Looking at “Jesus cures the sick,” we see Jesus healing people’s bodies and their souls. How does Jesus heal us today?
- Looking at “The Resurrection,” we see the children in the picture running to the risen Jesus. Why do you think they are running to him? We know Jesus loved children—what do you think it would be like if you were one of the children running to see him in this picture? What would he do when he saw you?
- Looking at “The Ascension,” we see that some of Jesus’ friends are starting to talk to other people in the area. One of the last things Jesus said before going up to heaven was to share his Gospel with everyone in the world. What do you think his friends are telling the other people?
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I hope you love this book as much as my kids and I do. Happy reading!
