Best Collection of Christ-centered Easter Music + DIY Beautiful Easter Songbook for Almost Free

Posted on April 1, 2026 by treeoflifemama

I just love, love piano music. I love playing it, I love hearing it, I love singing along to it! Then if it’s Easter music, I love it all even more!

I recently made my own, beautiful, customized Easter Songbook for almost free, as shown above. I’m sharing today how you can make your own too. At the same time I’m presenting to you all the best collection of free Christ-centered Easter music all in one place!

  1. First, get an empty binder with a clear-view pocket on the front. I got mine from a thrift store for $1.50. Hooray for thrifting! (I love thrifting. If you want to see my fabulous finds from many years of thrifting trips, go here.)

2. Next, find a beautiful picture that represents Easter to you. It’s hard to choose, as so many abound! I chose the one above, the left page of the two-page spread, for my songbook cover. I got it from the inside front cover of the March 2026 Friend of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The picture is here if you want to print it, using a high-quality printer. I just love the way Jesus is portrayed, with people feeling drawn to him, rejoicing in His resurrection, with the glowing hills and sky in the background. (It doesn’t show the nail prints in his hands, though, maybe, it’s supposed to be The Sermon on the Mount? I’m using it as a resurrection picture. I’ll just add some nail prints with a little dot of a pen.) Slip your picture inside the front pocket of the binder.

You can find many more pictures here. That it is the main page for the magazines of the Church. Liahona is for adults, For the Strength of Youth is for youth ages 11-18, and the Friend is for ages 3-10. Beautiful pictures are in each one, especially on the inside front cover page. You can click around on thumbnails and dates until you find the one you want. Another beautiful one is here. Then print with your home printer or use a public computer and printer at the public library.

You could print more pages of art of Jesus to intersperse between the pages of music, like I did, as shown throughout this post.

3. Print out all the Easter sheet music your heart desires that is available on the Internet, as linked below. Also be on the lookout for music at thrift stores. The book on the right of the picture above shows “The Good Shepherd” piano sheet music book by Kristen Randle. I found it thrifting for only 75 cents. The cover is worn and stained, but this is a gem. It is full of music about Jesus I had never heard before, including songs about the apostles, the Good Samaritan, Gethsemane, Good Friday, and the Resurrection, and more, all about Jesus. What a treasure! I have looked high and low to find out where this can be bought on the Internet so others can get it, but so far, no results. If anyone knows, please comment below.

Moving on, here are some links for Easter-themed piano music that can be easily found. It is all free!

Hymns from the hymn book of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I Stand All Amazed #193

That Easter Morn #198

He Is Risen #199

Christ the Lord is Risen Today #200

Music from the Ensign (forerunner to the Liahona)

In An Upper Room 4/74

The Risen Jesus in America 4/74

O Lord Who Gave Thy Life For Me 10/02

This is the Christ 12/06

Behold the Wounds in Jesus’ Hands 4/09

What is This Thing Man Calls Death 2/10

Rise Up Ye Saints Rejoice 4/12

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need 9/15

A Sinless Man 3/16

Bread of Life, Living Water 7/15

Come Unto Him 4/17

Music from the New Era (forerunner to For the Strength of Youth)

The Lost Lamb 4/80

For Bread and Breath and Life 8/80

To My Savior 12/80

Christ is the Savior 12/82

I Remember the Savior 4/83

Jesus My Savior 8/83

Behold, My Joy Is Full 10/83

He Is Not Here, for He is Risen 8/85

I Walk by Faith 11/85

No Ordinary Man 4/86

It Is With Christ 8/87

Just One Little Light 1/88

Not My Will 4/88

It’s hard to tell, but the image on the right goes with the title of the song, “My Shepherd Shall Supply My Need.” I sang this with my church choir just last week. Oh it’s so lovely!

I’ll Follow Christ 8/88

With Heart and Voice 4/89

This Is Jesus 4/90

He Is Our Guide 4/91

I Will Come Unto Christ 4/92

O Savior Thou Who Healed the Sick 8/92

The Savior’s Touch 4/93

O Master Let Me Walk with Thee 8/93

Power of His Grace 8/93

Light of the World 4/94

The Carpenter 8/94

Forsake Me Not 8/95

Plant a Seed in Your Heart 9/95

He Will Heal Us 4/96

Maybe I Will Be There 9/01

I had a lot of fun matching images with some of the song titles.

My Testimony 6/02

The Gift of the Holy Ghost 8/05

I Marvel at the Miracle 4/14

Gentle Jesus, Pure and Fair 4/15

One by One 7/16

I Feel My Savior’s Love (new arrangement) 4/18

Children’s Songs

On a Golden Springtime p. 88 CS

Did Jesus Really Live Again? p. 64

He Died That We Might Live Again p. 65 CS

Easter Hosanna p. 68 CS

When He Comes Again p. 82 CS

Easter Day, Friend 3/78

Other Sheep I Have, Friend 1/77

Spring of the Year, Friend 4/81

Jesus Is My Friend, Friend 10/92

The Miracle, Friend 6/18 The music video is above. I just love, love, love this song!

My Testimony is Growing, Friend 3/94

If Christ Should Speak to Me, Friend 7/95

In His Holy Name, Friend 2/96

Isaiah Says, Friend 3/98

The Bread Reminds Me, Friend 7/00

I’ll Follow Him in Faith, Friend 1/03

He Came For Us, Friend 4/11

If the Savior Stood Beside Me, Friend 3/13

Many Names of Jesus, Friend 4/17

Jesus Is My Shepherd, Friend 9/13

Our Savior’s Atonement, Friend 4/97 One of my absolute favorite songs, I love the lilting melody.

Love Enough, Friend 7/14

If I Listen With My Heart, Friend 2/16

Gethsemane, Friend 3/18 (simplified, the full arrangement is found here)

The Day That Changed Everything Friend 2/26 This one is fairly new! So delightful!

The Living Christ

-more songs from the new collection of Hymns for Home and Church are here, the more Easter-y ones start at Hymn #1007 with “The Bread is Broken.” They are interspersed throughout the list, and then you can easily see more starting at Hymn #1207 with “Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise.”

-Sally Deford has lots of free sheet music on her website. Her song, “In the Silent Garden” is just so beautiful. I remember singing this with my church choir years ago in AZ. I just love the gorgeous, swelling melody. It is here. Then her song “He is Risen From the Dead” is here.

-the old-school hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” is here.

-another old-school hymn is here, “The Old Rugged Cross”

4. Put the sheet music you just printed in page protectors. Reinforce the pages with cardstock inside the page protectors, in between the papers that have the sheet music printed on them, if desired. It definitely makes the pages easier to turn.

Play the music, sing along, and enjoy! May your Easter be Christ-centered, full of the joy of His endless love and His victory over sin and death, as you hear and sing this music! Let’s praise Jesus with words, music, song, and dance! Truly He is Risen and He is King and Savior! Gather your family and friends around and sing! Maybe for an Easter sunrise service or an evening singalong. Use your phones with his page and go to the link. If you use the music in the LDS hymns section you can play the music with the interactive music player.

This is one of my many steps to fulfill the invitation from the First Presidency of the Church to elevate my Easter celebration. As Elder Stevenson has said, quoting N.T. Wright:

“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.”  Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023

I hope you use this music and gather you family and friends to sing the songs, and make this an annual tradition. You don’t have to squeeze it in between now and Easter Sunday night, either. Consider doing it after Easter to spread out the festivities!

Want some Christ-centered Easter tradition ideas? Go here, here, and here.

Want more Easter ideas? Here are a lot more! Remember to spread them out to make an Easter season. Don’t get overwhelmed. The Easter season lasts until 90 days after Easter, to the Day of Pentecost.

Happy Easter! He is Risen! May we all move from acknowledgement of Him, to admiration, to adulation, to emulation. That’s a paraphrase from Elder Neal A. Maxwell, a modern-day apostle of Jesus Christ, from this talk. Then we will be fit to receive Him for His Second Coming!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Celebrate Easter as a Season With Christ-centered Ideas from Lani Hilton

Posted on March 28, 2026 by treeoflifemama
Credit for this image and all the other ones below, besides book and Holy Week timeline images: Scripture Central YouTube Channel

I love discovering so many ideas recently about how to elevate the celebration of Easter to be more intentionally Christ-centered. This is all done in reply to Elder Gary Stevenson’s invitation from the April 2023 General Conference:

“I observe a growing effort among Latter-day Saints toward a more Christ-centered Easter. This includes a greater and more thoughtful recognition of Palm Sunday and Good Friday as practiced by some of our Christian cousins. We might also adopt appropriate Christ-centered Easter traditions found in the cultures and practices of countries worldwide.

“New Testament scholar N. T. Wright suggested: ‘We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.’ (Liahona, April 2023)

I have to say though, that two people were ahead of the game and responded to this apostolic call before it even happened. Over twenty years ago, my husband’s cousin, Janet Hilton Hales, with her husband Joe Hales, felt a call from God to elevate Easter to be more Christ-centered. They came up with this book below as a groundbreaking report of what they had done in their family to focus on Jesus at Easter time.

You can get this book here. (Disclosure: that is an amazon affiliate link, I receive a small commission if you buy the book from that link.)

It has some wonderful suggestions, so I highly suggest you get it. My favorite part of it is the Plan of Salvation Treasure Hunt, which teaches what Jesus did in the time between His death and Resurrection. Prime day for doing this activity would be the Saturday before Easter, but I like to do it the Monday after Easter for Family Home Evening. This book also has Easter-themed stories, the Holy Week timeline with the scriptures to read for what happened that day, suggested crafts and other activities.

This book inspired Lani Hilton to come up with even more Christ-centered Easter ideas. The Scripture Central YouTube Channel recently published a series of videos featuring the amazing Lani. Lani is the wife of John Hilton III, an amazing teacher as well. (John is a second cousin to my children. His grandfather and my mother-in-law are siblings, so I am a bit biased, I admit. The whole Hilton clan is just wonderful!) I have loved watching these videos the past few days. Lani has so much enthusiasm and knowledge of the scriptural accounts of the Easter story, she is infectious! I love how excited she gets. I love the way she notices details and make connections. Her discussion questions are so thought-provoking. Lani/Sister Hilton was introduced to the Hales’ book about Easter because she married their nephew, John. Each video below for each day in Holy Week and beyond involves the scriptural narrative and creative ideas idea to bring the events and teachings of Jesus to life, as well as discussion questions.

You can learn how to get a free printable of the Holy Week events by going over here.

The first video is a summary. Then the other videos go through each day of the Holy Week, then on to the Ascension, then Pentecost. Then the crowning video at the end is about the Easter Story in the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ, which is the “greatest Easter story ever told,” according to a modern-day apostle of Jesus Christ, Elder Gary E. Stevenson.

My descriptions below each video just give a glimpse into what she talks about. Please watch them all because she shares a lot more than what I write. I definitely feel the Holy Spirit as I listen to her.

Palm Sunday is the day to act out the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, with real or fake greenery. This day is all about praising Jesus. Sister Hilton mentions the importance of praise and talks of different ways to show praise.

For this day, Sister Hilton focuses on Jesus cleansing the temple. Her family activity is braiding a whip and acting out this story with stuffed animal toys. She also talks about how some people do extra cleaning of their house on this day.

This is the day of focusing on the widow’s mite and Jesus’ parables/teachings. Sister Hilton and her family make clay oil lamps and light them in honor of the Parable of the Ten Virgins. In honor of the widow’s mite, you could as a family or group discuss how we can give all we can like the widow did.

Wednesday of Holy Week deserves a different name than Spy Wednesday, according to Sister Hilton. She likes to call it “Anointing Wednesday.” Watch the video to find out why. To celebrate this day, you could get some real spikenard, smell it and touch it. Discuss the Anointing Woman, the Anointed One, and how we can come to the Lord in a spirit of adoration, asking in prayer what I can give to the Savior instead of what I can get.

This is the day to reenact the Last Supper. Sister Hilton says her family sits on the floor, eats Mediterranean food, and talks about the significance of the meal. Then her family sings a hymn.

For Good Friday, Sister Hilton focuses on the fact that Jesus died for us because He loves us so much. She talks about the sadness of the day, but also the love of Jesus, and His victory over death. So love, sadness, and victory are all celebrated this day. She suggests making sugar cookies in the shape of crosses, or just out of paper if you don’t want to bake, eating hot cross buns, and talking about what happened on Good Friday. She also has a Good Friday bag with objects to represent aspects of the story to review and discuss. I have her video she did with her husband John with ideas for celebrating Good Friday, here.

The Bible doesn’t tell us much about what happened on this day. We are blessed to know more about what Jesus did on the Saturday of Holy Week because of Restoration scripture. This day is all about patience and waiting. She suggests talking about planting a seed and how we have to wait for it to grow.

Sister Hilton says on Easter Sunday she loves to act out the role of the women going to the tomb of Jesus. Early in the morning she runs to her children’s bedrooms, and wakes them up, calling out “He is Risen!” Then they gather on their deck outside to watch the sunrise and have an Easter Sunday sunrise devotional. They eat Resurrection Rolls and share testimonies of Jesus.

This is the day that Christ returned to heaven after telling his disciples to “Feed my sheep.” Suggestions for celebrating this day involve doing a craft to represent sheep or clouds, eating something that looks like clouds, like cauliflower or a dessert with whipped cream. Take out a map and talk about mission stories from your family or friends and where they have served.

A celebratory idea for Pentecost is to have a potluck feast and invite your neighbors, bringing dishes from different nations and cultures from all over the world. This is the day to celebrate that Jesus sent the Holy Ghost. She also talks about having some kind of harvest decor with flowers. Or candles on fire to symbolize the tongues of fire and the Holy Ghost.

Finally, here’s her take on the Book of Mormon Easter story, below.

Some activities to celebrate the Book of Mormon Easter Story are to act out 3 Nephi 11 and make a model of the temple where Jesus appeared out of Lego or playdoh.

Sister Hilton has created a list of resources over here.

It’s just so marvelous that we have sooooo many more resources for celebrating a Christ-centered Easter than we did when I was young, and more than we even did 2-3 years ago. Remember, these ideas are not meant to be checklists. Don’t be overwhelmed and remember, these ideas are to fill up a whole season of Easter, which can last months if we start from Lent and go to Pentecost.

If you haven’t seen what I’ve already shared about celebrating a Christ-centered Easter please go look at the following:

-my PDF of Easter-themed stories, songs, scriptures and poetry over here.

-new Christ-centered family Easter traditions from Maria Eckersley, author of Teaching Easter, here

-a review of the book, Sacred Days, Sacred Songs from Michael Young, here. This is like an Easter advent with Easter songs and the backstory of the songs.

-Holy Week daily traditions from Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler, here

-a review of the Celebrating Christ-centered Easter picture book by the same just mentioned authors, here

-a review of The Holy Week for Latter-day Saint Families by Wendee Rosborough here

-not junky Easter baskets, including thrifting for items here, including Christ-centered items

Happy Easter, He is Risen Indeed!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Review of A Christ-centered Easter Picture Book by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler

Posted on March 27, 2026 by treeoflifemama
Image Credit: amazon.com. Disclosure: that link and all those below are affiliate links. I receive a small commission if you buy this or any of the books below through that link. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

In anticipation of Holy Week that culminates in Easter Sunday next week, today I’m reviewing the above book, Celebrating A Christ-Centered Easter Children’s Edition. The “Children’s Edition” part means it’s a picture book. It’s by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler. Shown at the bottom of this post is a companion book by the same authors, for adults.

I love that this book has so many layers. By layers, I mean levels of interaction. You’ll see what I mean in a second here.

This book uses the same traditions that Sister/President Freeman (she’s currently the president of the Young Women organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and Brother Butler share in their countdown to Easter/Holy Week Daily Traditions over here.

It starts with Palm Sunday, but then it doesn’t follow the rest of the days of the Holy Week with events from each day. It does mention events during Holy Week, but it doesn’t mention them in order. It focuses more on the eyewitnesses of Jesus during Holy Week instead of what Jesus did each day, similar to the companion book for adults.

Each section of the book tells a portion of the Easter story, something good that someone or one of the people involved in that part did, two questions to ponder, a suggested activity, a symbol, and the actual scriptural passage from the Bible that tells the story.

That’s where the layers or levels of the book come in. If reading this to very young children, you could just focus on the storyline, and omit the questions and activities. You might even skip reading all the words and talk about what the pictures are showing. I would definitely read the whole book on your own ahead of time if you were going to do this so you are familiar with the story. If reading this to older children, you could add in the first question. If you want to create more thoughtfulness and actual discussion, add in the second question. Then do the suggested activity if you want to make this book interactive.

We’re so blessed to have a bush in the front yard with these lovely blossoms we use for the branch activity on Day #1.

Activity #1 involves Palm Sunday and a branch. This is similar to the Palm Sunday tradition over here.

Activity #2 involves Simon who helped the Savior carry the cross on Good Friday. This is similar to the Day #2 tradition over here.

Activity #3 involves a testimony tree. This is similar to Day #3 over here.

Activity #4 involves Mary Magdalene as a witness of Christ. The activity is dyeing Easter eggs red while sharing testimonies of Christ. This is similar to Day #4 over here.

Activity #5 involves the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. It involves writing down favorite scriptures. This corresponds with Day #5 over here.

Activity #6 involves Thomas and Easter lilies. It goes with Day #6 here.

Activity #7 involves the people of Jerusalem and choosing your own individual way to celebrate Easter Sunday. Watch the video here.

This is a lovely book. The illustrations by Ryan Jeppesen are sweet and simple, and the way the authors connect what happened involving people during Holy Week to our lives today is so thoughtful. Then to add a symbol involving a physical activity is so ingenious. This book definitely deserves a place on every Christian family’s bookshelf, and more importantly, a place in every family’s collection of annual Christ-centered traditions. I just wish it had been around when I had all my children at home. I take heart in knowing I can share these traditions with my grandchildren.

Of course, you can read this book anytime of the year. To make it as part of your Easter celebration, you could just read this aloud as a family in one sitting, anytime around or on Easter Sunday, or you could do each section, one a day starting with Palm Sunday. Or you could spread out the reading even more to be once a week, every Sunday before and even after Easter. So many LDS books are out now to highlight Holy Week that I’m actually thinking of using each one separately, devoting each book, one a week, to the weeks before and after Easter. Then, however often you read from the book, you could just discuss the questions as a family and leave it that, or you could actually do the activity. I love that the adaptation can be so flexible, and that the activities involve simple things. If you don’t have the money to buy Easter lilies you can make some out of paper like I did in the photo above.

If you go here you can get the ornaments involving the symbols from the book. How fun to print them out, make ornaments out of them with tape and string, and then put each one in an Easter egg, then put them in a basket for a table centerpiece. Then pull out one each day to open, in order. Then read the corresponding section in the book for morning or evening devotional, Morning Basket, or dinner time. If you do that, you will either have to get large Easter eggs or reduce them in size to 50 or 33% to fit regular sized Easter eggs. Or you could put them in Easter eggs and put them in your hunt, then go through the story and questions for each after the hunt as you eat the treats.

Image Credit: amazon.com

I am so grateful that President Freeman and Brother Butler wrote this book. Thank you! It is a companion book to the adult book above. Then these two books pair up with their two Christmas counterparts shown below to make a harmonious quartet. Involving these four books in your family’s Easter and Christmas traditions will add much enrichment and joy for decades. They will definitely help in fulfilling this ideal from Elder Gary E. Stevenson, quoting N.T. Wright:

“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.”  Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023


You can get this book here.
You can get this book here.

Want more Easter ideas? Go here for my list of stories, songs, and poetry for Easter.

Go here for a list of Easter picture books and how to decorate with them.

Go here for Easter object lessons and more Christ-centered Easter traditions.

Go here to learn how to make your own Resurrection Eggs (the Easter story told in eggs).

Go here for non-junky Easter basket ideas.

Happy Easter! He is Risen indeed!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Birthday to the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ

Posted on March 26, 2026 by treeoflifemama

Credits for Images Above and Below: Lynne Hilton Wilson YouTube Channel

Today, 196 years ago, for the first time ever, the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ was made available to the public, so happy birthday to the Book of Mormon!

I am so blessed to have read this book many times. It is my favorite book.

Did you know that the Book of Mormon is the most Christ-centered book on the earth, as far as I know? It mentions a name of Christ on average every 1.7 pages. It also has over 100 names for Jesus Christ. Go here to learn more about that.

Here are some fun facts about the Book of Mormon.

The publisher, E.B. Grandin, started selling the Book of Mormon at his bookstore for $1.75, in Palmyra, New York, on March 26, 1830.

You can learn more about the print shop here and take a virtual tour.

Watch the video below done by my husband’s cousin Lynne Hilton Wilson to learn of the history of the publication of this book, which is sacred scripture to millions of people.

Below the video you will find some interesting screenshots from the video.

It’s published in 97 languages in the complete format, with excerpts in 20 languages.

The timeline below shows some interesting events that led up to is printing.

The publication of this book was a huge project! Joseph Smith placed an order for 5000 copies, when the usual order at the Grandin print shop was around 600 copies. It took 12 men working 11 hours a day, 6 days a week, for several months, from the fall of 1829, until March 26 1830, when it first went on sale.

What’s more important than the facts surrounding its publication is how it has borne witness of Jesus Christ and changed people’s lives. I have read it, love it, and prayed about it to God, asking to know if it’s true. The Holy Ghost has borne witness to me that it’s true.

If you want a list of amazingly beautiful plain and precious truths in the Book of Mormon go here, then scroll down about 2/3 of the page to the heading that says “Book of Mormon Times at a Glance: Some Statements of Gospel Principles.” The first principle on the list is “All good things come from Jesus Christ and persuade us to do good,” from Ether 4:11-12.

Go here to read the story of an Italian man, a Protestant minister, who found a copy of the book with the cover missing, read it, and started preaching from it, even though he didn’t know the name of the book. He eventually got baptized by missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you go to that link at the start of this paragraph, you can also watch a mini movie about him that the Church made, at the end of that blog post.

Here’s the story of a man who read the book as a Jewish teenager when he was preparing to be a rabbi, got converted to Jesus Christ, got baptized, and served a mission for the Church. Now he is a chaplain for the U.S. military.

Over here we have a story of a man who asked, “Isn’t the Bible enough?”

Then this video below shows a woman, wife of an Air Force man, mother of 4, and native of the former Soviet Union. She was 18 when the USSR broke up. She tells her story of finding the Book of Mormon in Ukraine and becoming a believer of it, after she failed to prove it wrong. Amazing!

My Family Devotionals Ebook has more stories about the power of the Book of Mormon changing people’s lives, in the March section. Go here to get the ebook.

Want to play a Book of Mormon-themed Wits and Wagers game? Go here!

Go here to get your own copy of the Book of Mormon. Read it online here. It’s true and it will change your life infinitely for the better if you let it!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Not Junky Easter Baskets Including Thrifting for Items to Put in Them

Posted on March 25, 2026 by treeoflifemama
Photo Credit: Amelia Gard YouTube Channel

I had so much fun sharing ideas for thrifting for Christmas gifts last year (here, here, and here), I decided it would be fun to talk about thrifting for Easter gifts. I’ve never done it before but might just try it this year. I might get one non-edible surprise (from a thrift store most likely, although sometimes you can find great stuff at inexpensive prices at non thrift stores) for my children and grandchildren. I might get one each for them to find in the Easter egg hunt. I’ve always just had some health food store candy, and truth be told, some cheap grocery store jelly beans (gasp!) in the plastic Easter eggs. But I might make it more fun this year with directions inside the egg to find the wrapped gift somewhere else.

Our Easter egg hunt last year.

True confession time: I am a mom who hasn’t played the Easter Bunny, that is, I haven’t filled Easter baskets, for decades. I did fill Easter baskets when the oldest 2 of the 7 were 4 and under, and then I stopped. I stopped for a variety of reasons, including my resistance to junky, garish, neon bright toys and commercialism, and the fact that we went through some very lean financial years.

From one of our egg hunts when we lived in AZ.

During those years I was doing well just to buy some edible goodies to put in plastic eggs for a family Easter egg hunt. So they did grow up with Easter baskets, but these baskets were ones they filled themselves with plastic eggs during our family egg hunt. We usually did it Easter Sunday after church and dinner. Then we’d gather in the house and either watch Christ-centered Easter videos or tell the story of Easter with Resurrection Eggs, while they ate the candy. This was my way of making an Easter egg hunt Christ-centered. I wanted them to associate the gospel of Jesus Christ with sweetness, and also with the idea that much of a faith in Christ-centered life involves seeking and searching.

After all, it says in Jeremiah 29:13-14 “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity…”

This was our hunt 5 years ago when one of our sons was doing home MTC.

But now I’m rethinking the whole Easter basket idea. I’m thinking it’s time for a change. Not that I’m going to play the Easter Bunny and get gobs of trinkets and candy to fill baskets. And not that I’m going to stop doing baskets, but maybe I’ll start doing what I described in the first paragraph above.

I’m thinking of doing this to make Easter feel even more festive. As Elder Gary Stevenson said, quoting, N.T. Wright:

“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.”  Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023)

Note the word “festival.” Some kind of surprise gift for each person, beyond treats, at Eastertime could definitely add to the festival feeling. The surprise can symbolize the surprise and joy that the family and friends of Jesus had when they discovered that He had risen again.

Jesus appeared again in his material body. so maybe it is OK that I make Easter a bit more material. I never thought I’d say this but I guess I’m just rethinking the whole Easter basket thing. I’m realizing maybe I erred too much on the side of no material gifts at Easter when I could have been having a lot more fun finding and giving even just one thoughtful and useful gift at Easter, even if I had to buy it at a thrift store, with my limited amount of money. You can find perfectly clean decent beautiful things at thrift stores, as I’ve witnessed many times myself.

I don’t want to turn prepping for Easter as burdensome as prepping for Christmas. I watch young moms in YouTube talking about filling Easter baskets. Some of them look like they spend as much on Easter as they do on Christmas.

I guess if you can afford it, and it’s not stressful to do so, go for it, but I do wonder two things:

1. Is giving so much stuff at Easter making your children feel entitled and greedy, taking the focus off of Jesus Christ? and

2. What if we took that money and created gift baskets for the people in our neighborhood who are feeling poor or just poor in spirit because they are sad and lonely. Then left them anonymously on doorsteps. Baskets full of useful things like socks, hand lotion, books that promote faith in Jesus Christ, lip balm, as well as some treats, tailored to the person. Like find out if they are gluten free, low carb, or sugar free and give accordingly.

Just some thoughts. Anyway, here’s what I would look for if I could rewind the decades to fill my children’s Easter baskets over again with affordable, non-junky, non-edible Easter stuff. I would take the approach of finding stuff that stirs up the wonder of Jesus, the wonder of the covenant path of a Saint and the Hero’s Quest of human life, and the wonder of spring/summer/warmer weather, including some practical things that I would be buying anyway. I would find what I could at thrift stores by looking year-round. Ideally, I would do one practical thing besides PJs, one book, one wondrous/fun thing, and one religious item. If I found most if not all the stuff from thrift stores, I’d be OK with finding different things according to what was available. Part of the fun would be seeing the random variety. One child might get a T-shirt, another might get sandals, another rainboots, one a swimsuit, etc.

-first, some non-Easter Bunny/Jesus themed picture books, see my list over here

Image Credit: readaloudrevival.com

-picture books and chapter books that promote faith in God and faith in going on a quest/Hero’s Journey. See Sarah Mackenzie’s list here and listen to the podcast below. This includes books with Christian symbolism, like Narnia

Image Credit: amazon.com

-Narnia CDs or Narnia Yoto Cards for the Yoto Player

-picture books and chapter books about nature, including animals, especially bunnies and other springtime animals

Image just above and all below, except when noted, credit: amazon.com

-bookmarks with scriptures or Christian symbolism on them, etsy has lots even super inexpensive digital printables to choose from

Image Credit: etsy.com

-religious-themed jewelry and tie tacks, including cross necklaces

-religious-themed T-shirts, including Narnia ones

-spring/summer weight PJs

-hair bows and barrettes for girls, neckties for boys

-comfy summer-weight socks

-bubble-making toys. I especially like the spill-proof bubble tumblers.

-water play toys

-umbrellas

-raincoats

-rainboots

-sandals

-swimsuits

-swim goggles

-swim shoes

-actually functioning garden tools, not just cheap plastic shovels or buckets that break easily. The set above is around $20 so I wouldn’t give it to just one child. If I had all girls I’d give it as a family gift. It’s just so pretty I had to include it.

-gardening seeds and other supplies

-beach/sand toys

-yo-yos

-other outdoor toys like jump ropes, Frisbees, balls, jacks, sidewalk chalk, toss and catch games, Koosh ball toys, etc.

-nature journals

-water color paints and/or colored pencils for using in nature journals

-other art supplies

-something to help them stay quiet in church, like quiet books for younger children and notebooks/journals and pens for older children, and fidget toys for all

-Easter and spring-themed activity books to do during read-aloud or Closet/Spark Station time

-sturdy kites that won’t break

-nature-themed kits, like butterfly gardens and ant farms

-nature microscopes

If I wasn’t able to find that kind of stuff thrifting maybe I’d just do a family Easter basket like this mom shows below, but I’d do more spring-themed games, books, and puzzles that I found thrifting

Here are some ideas I’d do for family Easter gifts.

-a sturdy kite to take turns flying as a family on a picnic, or a pack of kites if you have older children you can trust to fly them without running them into each other.

Some board games that remind me of the culture of Easter and Christianity and religion such as the following:

– Jerusalem board game to play with teens and young adults, which simulates Holy Week in Jerusualem, the spring of 33 AD.

–Sagrada, about stained glass windows. I love the chunky colorful bright dice in this game!

-a saucer swing to hang from a tree limb outside

-a birdfeeder with outdoor camera

-spring and nature themed board games like the following:

I know Wingspan seems complicated at first but once you get the hang of it, it is super fun!

Just for fun, here are a few videos involving Waldorf and Montessori inspired Easter baskets that just make me happy. I wish I could make an Easter basket like one of these for every child, adding in a few Christ-promoting items as well, as mentioned above.

Posted in easter, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

10+ NEW Christ-centered Easter Family Traditions that Don’t Take Much Stress or Money from Maria Eckersley

Posted on March 23, 2026 by treeoflifemama
Image Credit: Maria Eckersley YouTube Channel. Credit for all images below except the photos of the two temples also go to the same channel.

Here are some new-to-me Christ-centered Easter traditions, from Maria Eckersley. She’s a mom of 6 who has a gift for teaching the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has a YouTube channel here where she shares ideas for making scriptural truths come alive using object lessons. She’s so craftsy and creative. With her object lessons involving science tricks and fun crafts, I feel like I’m watching a mashup where Mr. Wizard meets the Martha Stewart of Mormondom.

Today I’ve rounded up some of her videos that showcase some wonderful Christ-centered Easter crafts and activities.

Disclaimer: This is not a checklist of things to do. She doesn’t expect any family to do all of these. She says she doesn’t even do all of them. This a beautiful buffet of ideas. Take what works for your family without making you feel like you are running faster than you have strength. (How’s that for mixing a statement from my days of leading La Leche meetings with a phrase from the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ?, LOL.)

The first three of these ideas come from the video above.

  1. Joy of Jesus Coming Out of the Tomb Craft. This involves making a paper tomb and filling it with a surprise. Sister Eckersley encourages us to talk with our children about how that surprise represents the joyful surprise that the followers of Jesus discovered when they saw the empty tomb and then the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

2. String Eggs

Sister E explains that we didn’t get to see the Savior and His life firsthand. We do have His form, though, or His example and His words, in the scriptures. This is just like with these string eggs. After the balloons are gone, we don’t see them. But we have the form, made after the real thing. She says you take embroidery floss and separate it into strings, coat the strings with a glue/water mixture, and wrap it around the water balloon. Then you let the eggs dry overnight. You then pop the water balloon inside and take it out. What you have left is an amazing, perfect egg made out of string.

3. Sharpie Egg Dyeing Trick

Out of all the ideas she suggests, this one looks the simplest. Instead of dyeing hard-boiled eggs, you mark them up with Sharpie markers. She says these marks are to represent what happens to us in mortality, the bad things that happen to us. So don’t bother to make the marks pretty. Then you pour rubbing alcohol on them, and it transforms the designs into a thing of beauty. She says this represents the idea that things that have been broken become beautiful and whole, through the power of Jesus Christ.

The next seven ideas come from the video above, which Maria released two years ago on her YouTube channel, when members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were studying the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ for our Sunday School curriculum. She says she took seven Christmas traditions and turned them into Easter traditions.

4. Christ-centered Easter decorations, like a Hallelujah banner (seen at the top of this post), or these Easter lilies, with scriptures about Jesus printed on the inside of the petals. Maria suggests setting apart a day to this, and playing Easter music as you decorate, similar to when you set aside a day and decorate for Christmas.

5. Drop off a surprise Easter egg hunt for someone else, someone who you think will love hunting for eggs in their yard. (Young children and the young at heart.) This is egging your neighbor in a nice way!

(I’m adding in my own suggestion here. If you know of elderly people who are sick and or lonely, and not easily agile and therefore probably not interested in an egg hunt, maybe give them an Easter basket full of thoughtful and useful items like socks, lip balm, hand lotion, a pictures of the Savior, and a book or DVD that promotes faith in Christ.)

6. Have a family Easter breakfast. Or do whatever meal works for you. She says she does challah bread French toast. She says she makes challah bread for Christmas. Then for Easter she uses the same recipe to make French toast.

Kirtland Temple Photo Credit: scripturecentral.org

7. Serve others in the temple. She points out that the sealing power used in the temples was restored on a Passover Easter Sunday, in the Kirtland Temple. It was April 3 1836, when Elijah of the Bible appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. As part of your Easter celebration/temple anniversary, she suggests creating a temple experience for your family. This could involve baptisms for your teens, other ordinance work for older family members, or, if you can’t get to the temple, doing family history research.

8. Draw names and do an egg exchange in your family. This is less stressful than a gift exchange at Christmas but still involves a little bit of anticipation like Christmas does. She says she does this instead of Easter baskets. She has two ways to do this:

a. Decorate an egg in a way that reminds you of that person. So after they draw names she gives them each an egg to decorate. Then they set it on the mantel the morning of Easter Sunday. They have fun guessing whose egg belongs who. I started thinking about this and thought, how fun it would be to use wooden eggs that last forever. If you did this often starting when your children were young they could leave the home at 18 with a carton of decorated eggs that would bring back memories of home as they decorated for Easter wherever they go.

b. Give a plastic egg that separates in half to each family member. After they draw names tell them to fill up the egg with something that the intended recipient will enjoy, to give to that person on Easter Sunday.

This sounds so fun to me!!! I am hoping I can enroll my family into doing this. I’m thinking of how fun it would be to alternate between the two ideas every year.

9. Act out the journey of the women who went to the tomb and have it be a part of a sunrise hike. As an alternative to the hike, she suggests memorizing The Living Christ before Easter. Then recite it together and record yourself reciting it together. (Hint: you can get free sheet music of words of The Living Christ document set to music over here.)

10. Fly kites on Easter Sunday. She says in other Christian faiths you see people flying kites representing Jesus’ resurrection. She loves that kites symbolize Christ’s ascension. She also loves that just as kites stay tethered to the earth after they arise, Jesus Christ has chosen to stay tethered to the earth by communicating with us.

Wow, what an amazing list! If you feel overwhelmed by it, remember, don’t feel like you have to do all or any of them. Maybe just pick one and incorporate it this year, then add a new idea next year, another one next year, and so forth.

This video below comes from last year when members of The Church studied the Doctrine and Covenants. It has more 8 more ideas!

If you want even MORE ideas, check out Maria’s NEW book below. The only thing from above that is repeated in the book is the making paper lilies activity and the oil lamp craft. I’ll be poring over the book and the ideas above to see how we are going to fit a few of these activities in over the next two weeks, along with the ones from Emily Belle Freeman over here. I want to do the Easter lily activity on Emily’s Day #5, Good Friday, since she mentions using lilies on that day.

Image Credit: amazon.com (that is an affiliate link, if you by the book through that link, I get a small commission)

Want more Christ-centered Easter resources? Go here to get a PDF of Easter picture books.

Go here to get a PDF of songs, stories, and poetry to share with your family, one of each, each day as we countdown to Easter!

Happy Easter! Remember, He is Risen, and He loves you!

Posted in easter, temple work, the church of jesus christ of latter day saints, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

3/18/2026 Countdown to Easter: Preview of Sacred Days, Sacred Songs Book by Michael Young

Posted on March 18, 2026 by treeoflifemama
Image Credit: amazon.com (Disclosure: that is an affiliate link, as are all the amazon links below. I receive a small commission if you buy through any of these links.)

Easter comes rather early this year, on Sunday April 5. It’s less than three weeks away! Every year I aspire to make Easter more Christ-centered and more festive at the same time. I’ve felt a call to do this for decades, since my oldest children were little. What I mean by that is to focus on Jesus Christ’s atonement and resurrection, and not on the Easter Bunny. Now I feel the call even more since one of the modern-day apostles of Jesus Christ, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, quoted N.T. Wright as saying:

“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.”  Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023:

If you want to watch the whole of this talk, the video is below.

In honor of this call I’ve noticed people in my church publishing more Easter resources. Some of them are shown below. So I’ll be highlighting some of them in the next while to help you decide what resources you want to use for Easter. So many wonderful resources abound! I’ll also be sharing Easter stories and picture books as well. There’s no way one family could include/do all these suggested things, so just see what appeals to you the most and incorporate what works best for your time and energy, even if it’s just one new thing. Don’t get overwhelmed. Every year just add one or two more of these resources.

Today’s resource is the book Sacred Days, Sacred Songs by Michael D. Young. This book is full of suggested songs to play and learn about during Holy Week. So if you are into Easter-themed music and singing, read on.

For each day, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, the author suggests the following for that day:

– a quality that comes from the Savior Jesus Christ (like deliverance, hope, grace, etc.)

-a story of the Savior from the New Testament

-two songs that go with that quality, with a QR code for each song that take you to a video of a group performing the song, on the author’s website. Mostly it’s The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, of which the author is a member of. The author gives the backstory of the composer and the song.

Click here to go to the author’s website where you can see the list of the songs and the videos.

This is a great resource for adults and people with long-listening attention spans ages 12 and up to use during Holy Week. You could even start using it now, if you plan on doing more than one set of Holy Week activities, like I do. It’s hart to fit all these great ideas in one week, so I’m spreading them out by starting now. This definitely makes Eastertime into a season, about a month-long, instead of just a day or week.

This book doesn’t have any pictures or simplified language, or child-tailored activities so it’s not ideal for families with young children or older people who have a hard time just sitting and listening. If you want a great Holy Week guide for families with young children and short attention spans, use the book below. My review of it is over here.

Image Credit: amazon

This book my husband’s cousin wrote below is also wonderful. It has a lot fewer pictures than the one above and the format is different. The one above is simpler/more accessible to use if you have very young children.

Image Credit: amazon

Now, back to Sacred Days, Sacred Songs. I’m thinking of using it right now during dinner or either in the morning after prayer or after scripture study before we do our family prayer at night, for our family of 3 currently at home (DH, my 16-year-old son, and I).

Here’s an excerpt from the audiobook format of the book. Then a summary of the book from amazon is below that.

Celebrate Easter with a joyful, soulful, and inspiring collection of songs about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Most people don’t often associate Easter with music, but author Michael D. Young has collected a variety of inspirational hymns and songs–some solemn, some jubilant–and his commentary on their meaning can enhance our holiday. Each chapter focuses on the rich history of two songs that relate to the events of Holy Week, including the Triumphal Entry, the Last Supper, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. The complete lyrics for each song are provided, along with fascinating facts and stories behind each one. Also included are relevant scripture passages that illuminate the themes and events that inspired the songs, as well as a daily devotional of a Christlike attribute: deliverance, compassion, grace, hope, love, sacrifice, obedience, and renewal. Readers can also experience the beauty and power of the songs in an immersive way through the inclusion of QR codes that link to YouTube videos of a variety of choirs, including the famous Tabernacle Choir, singing the songs being discussed, including such favorites as “All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” “Amazing Grace,” “It Is Well with My Soul,” and “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” as well as lesser-known songs “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” and “Drop, Drop Slow Tears.” Whether you are a seasoned churchgoer or simply someone who loves music, this gift book can help provide a deeper understanding and appreciation of the significance of Easter, as well as the role that music has played in honoring and celebrating that Holy Week.

Want a huge free list of songs, poetry, scriptures, and poetry to celebrate Easter? Go here.

Want a list of Easter picture books? Go here.

Want another set of Christ-centered Holy Week activities? Go here.

P.S. This book has a companion book by the author for Christmas songs, shown below. I found it while thrifting last January.

Posted in easter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

12+ Fun and Fascinating Resources to Learn More About Joseph of Egypt, Including an Interview with Donny Osmond

Posted on March 16, 2026 by treeoflifemama

In my church we are currently studying the story of Joseph of Egypt, for our Come Follow Christ scripture study. Here are some fun resources to go with that.

  1. First, my dear friend Patti, The Rock Lady, has a video about Joseph, telling the story in rocks. Watch below.

2. Next, Patti has a printable about Joseph here. Scroll down to where it says “Make a Camel and Joseph With Rocks and Pebbles,” and go underneath the thumbnail image that matches the video above, then click on the phrase that says, “Click here for the printable.”

3. If you’ve never watched Donny Osmond in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, you are missing out! I want to watch this with my children and grandchildren, namely the ones who like singing and dancing, just to hear their comments. Too bad I discovered it after most of them had moved away. Maybe we could do a watch party remotely! Four years ago when the Church studied the Old Testament I binge watched this movie. Watch the movie in YouTube by renting here. Two of the songs from the musical are below. I just love this music! Donny does such a great job in the starring role as Joseph.

Two of my favorite Come Follow Christ YouTubers interview Donny Osmond below. I’m so excited about this!

4. Flannelboard figures for the story of Joseph are here.

5. The Veggie Tales version of the Joseph story is here.

6. For adults, these two commentaries on Joseph below by Jared Halverson, BYU professor of religion, is so insightful.

7. I love that as a Latter-day Saint Christian, I know that there’s more about Joseph than we learn about him in the Bible. I believe in the Bible, as far as it is translated correctly. I’m also grateful for additional scripture to give more enlightenment. The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ has a section where Father Lehi quotes Joseph of Egypt prophesying. He says that Joseph of Egypt prophesied of a descendant who will become a seer and will bring the word of God to Joseph of Egypt’s seed. He also said that this descendant would be named Joseph, and be named after his father. This is Joseph Smith, the latter-day prophet who restored the original church of Jesus Christ in the latter days.

As it says on this page here:

“Did you know that another prophet named Joseph, who lived anciently, foresaw Joseph Smith’s mission? Read 2 Nephi 3:6–15 to learn what Joseph of Egypt prophesied about Joseph Smith and his important work.”

8. Here’s another interesting commentary on the Joseph of Egypt story, involving an LDS/BYU professor of religion discussing Joseph with a pastor from a different religion.

9. Then here’s what the Pickerings have to say about Joseph of Egypt. I always love their insights because they usually talk about chiasmus, Hebrew pictograms and other patterns.

The first video is from four years ago.

Then this video below just got released.

10. Below is what Cleon Skousen says about the Joseph story.

11. An apostle of Jesus Christ, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, shares his thoughts about Joseph of Egypt below.

12. If you want to go deep into the story of Joseph, watch below, courtesy of Robin Young, from the Sisters of Liberty.

I just love Joseph’s story because it shows how bad things happen to good people, the power of forgiveness, and how God turns sad bad things to good things when we put our trust in God.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tree of Life Mama’s Picture Book of the Week: The Big Book of Pi

Posted on March 13, 2026 by treeoflifemama
Credit for Images Above and Below: amazon.com (that is an affiliate link, so if you buy the book through that link, I earn a small commission)

As Pi Day is tomorrow (3/14), today’s picture book of the week is a picture book about pi. See above. This is a new book and so fun!

By reading this book, you will be able to answer the following questions:

What is pi?

What’s so great about pi?

How did pi get its name?

What is pi’s history?

Who are some of the mathematicians who have discovered the digits in pi?

What does the Bible have to do with pi?

Who proved that pi is an irrational number?

Where is the Pi Room that has at least 707 of pi’s digits after the decimal point displayed?

Whose formula for calculating the pi’s decimal numbers is still used today by the algorithms used by GPSs and electromagnetic signals?

What two sets of brothers working independently of each other came up with the exact same new formula that allows for the calculation of pi to 4 billion decimal places?

Who holds the record for reciting the most digits of pi?

What is the pi paradox?

What is some fun you can have with pi?

What are some pi jokes?

If you want to get yourself and/or some youngsters excited about pi, get this book! I recommend it as a way for mathletes and non-math people alike, young and old, to learn why pi is a big deal. The fun illustrations and clear text make pi more accessible to everyone around the ages of about 12 and up.

Another review of the book is here on the Redeemed Reader’s website.

Image Credit: amazon.com (affiliate link)

Here are some more picture books about pi.

If you want a fun game to play for Pi Day, go here,

If you want some pie-themed picture books, go here. .

Finally, if you want more pi related stuff, go to piday.org.

Happy Pi Day! Eat some circle-themed foods (pies of course, sliced oranges, any fruit or veggie sliced in circles, pizza, peas, etc.) tomorrow and read a book or two about pi!

Credit for pie images above and below: Humble Pie cookbook by Ali Eisenach from amazon.com (affiliate link)

P.S. A gorgeous cookbook devoted to pies is below, written by a friend of a friend. Get it from amazon here. (affiliate link)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Anniversary to the Newbery Award Given to a “Housewife Author” on This Day in 1963

Posted on March 12, 2026 by treeoflifemama

Did you know? On this day in 1963, the committee that chose the annual Newbery Award announced that Madeleine L’Engle had been awarded the Newbery for A Wrinkle In Time.

The New York Times published the following news about this event:

“A housewife and an artist today won the nation’s top awards for the most distinguished children’s book published in 1962.” (I’m not sure why it says awards, plural. Maybe it’s a typo. I got the quote from this book, p. 72)

Can you imagine the NYT using that word “housewife” today? Nope, neither can I, LOL.

Image Credit: madeleinelengle.com

Listen to Madeleine’s acceptance speech here on this page, scroll down to the bottom to where it says, “Madeleine’s 1963 Newbery Award Acceptance Speech ‘The Expanding Universe.’ “

The full text of the speech is here.

I’ve been thinking of this book because last week in RootsTech, one of the keynote speakers, Tara Roberts, mentioned that A Wrinkle in Time was her favorite book as a child. She remembers reading it under the covers with a flashlight before falling asleep. See her presentation start in the video below at about the 1 hour, 55 minute mark. She said she fantasized about having Mrs. Whatsit knock on her window at night.

I would never fantasize about such a thing, it sounds downright creepy to me, but I am inspired by Tara Roberts’ passion for diving to find historical treasures, and Madeleine’s L’Engle’s persistence in getting AWIT published. She had been rejected over 20 times before finding a publisher. Now it’s a beloved children’s classic the world over. Just goes to show publishers don’t always know they are turning away a future treasured bestseller! Hmm…I wonder how that applies to each of our lives?

Image Credit: amazon.com (affiliate link)

I much prefer Ms. L’Engle’s non-fantasy series, about the Austin family. I thought these books came out much later after AWIT. I was surprised to see on her website that she published the first book of the series, before AWIT, in 1960. I remember reading at least one of them in jr. high. Now they are all on my TBR list! I think they are loosely based on her own family life.

How fitting that that the book AWIT was mentioned last week at RootsTech, as Ms. L’Engle’s legacy has inspired her granddaughter to write a book about Ms. L’Engle’s life, as shown below.

Image Credit: amazon.com (disclaimer: I get a small commission if you purchase the book through that affiliate link)

The theatrical movie based on the book came out over 5 years ago, with Oprah as one of the eccentric old ladies. I never watched it as I heard from my friend Olivia that it’s one of the rare exceptions where the book is better than the movie. What do you think? Please comment below if you have an opinion on that.

Before that movie, a made for TV came out in 2004. It’s over here. I haven’t seen that one either. I’m wondering if this one of the times where I will just never watch a movie about it because I like the way the images in my mind are from reading the book and don’t want to mess with them with a movie.

Above is the book cover I remember from my childhood. Doesn’t it just reverberate with ’60s vibes? It brings back so many memories. I think of a cold winter in upstate New York, being in second grade, the winter of 1979, hearing my mom read the book aloud for a bedtime story, mostly to my older brother who was in fifth grade. I think I was just listening in, because he picked the book. I want to say that we were all huddled under blankets being cozy in our bedrooms upstairs in a two-story drafty house, but I actually don’t remember that part, it just sounds fun, LOL. I do remember wondering why the book had so many weird terms like tesseract and mitochondria. Maybe this book is what inspired my older brother to become a scientist? I don’t think I stuck it out listening to the whole thing, like my brother did. I much more preferred my mom’s choice of Little Women, which she read aloud in the same home, this time to my sisters and me.

I’m grateful for a mom who read to me (cue the poem “The Reading Mother”). I never read this book aloud to my children personally as I thought it was weird. We might have tried it in Audible with an Audible narrator in AZ when the movie came out, but I don’t even know if we finished it. But hey, if Sarah Mackenzie recommends it, as she does, see below, I might give it a go with the grandchildren in the next ten years. I did read the book on my own in jr. high as well as the sequel, A Swiftly Tilting Planet. I liked the battles of good vs. evil in the books, but still, I thought they were weird.

My dad reading aloud to my nieces.

Speaking of reading aloud, if there’s one easy thing you want for making memories with your children, read aloud to them. You’ll make memories, build their brains, and inspire them to want to read on their own, which is the biggest factor in creating lifelong learners and leaders. Ms. L’Engle’s books are a great choice for reading aloud, if you love fantasy. Do her AWIT series if you have fantasy lovers, and do the Austin series for the realists, or try expanding your children’s tastes by mixing it up. Reading the book in the graphic novel format might engage readers who otherwise wouldn’t be interested.

Image Credit: amazon.com (affiliate link)

Here’s one of my favorite homeschooling podcasters, Sarah Mackenize, sharing about how to read aloud AWIT with your family.

Bonus Feature: Madeleine L’Engle delivered the commencement address at BYU Spring of 1999. You can read an excerpt from the speech here. I have a vague memory of being at this event in person. I’m thinking it must be because my youngest sister Emily graduated from BYU at that time and I attended the ceremony. I wish I could remember more about the event, like any more of the stories Ms. L’Engle shared, or what she was wearing, or did fans swarm around her afterwards asking for autographs, but sadly, I don’t. This was before the days of a camera in every pocket, and before the days where I took my commonplace book/journal with me everywhere, taking notes. I’ll just have to be comforted with reading what she shared in that link I just mentioned.

Want more about the magic of reading aloud? Go here, here, and here

Plus: my website full of read aloud suggestions according to seasons and holidays is described here, with a link.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment