Monday, March 31, 2014

The Sparkle Egg {Book Review} and a Give-a-way!!


About the Author:
Jill Hardie’s first book, The Sparkle Box, ignited a new Christmas tradition that helps center Christmas in the true joy of the season. Now Jill is hoping to touch lives with a new Easter tradition with The Sparkle Egg. She lives in North Canton, Ohio.

About the Illustrator:
Christine Kornacki illustrated the highly acclaimed The Sparkle Box. She has a love for painting and a knack for bringing stories to life. Christine received a BFA in illustration from the University of Hartford and spends most days painting in her studio, which adjoins a charming café in New Haven, Connecticut.
 
About The Sparkle Egg : 
Easter is coming, and Sam loves Easter! But this year, he is upset about a lie he told his parents. Even though he apologized and they forgave him, Sam can’t shake the feeling that he is a bad kid for what he did. Meanwhile, his parents help him make a special Easter craft called a Sparkle Egg. His mom tells him to write anything he feels sorry about or ashamed of on a piece of paper and put it inside his
Sparkle Egg.
 
On Easter morning, when he opens his Sparkle Egg expecting a surprise, Sam finds that it is empty! His parents explain that because Jesus died and rose again, we are forgiven. Like the tomb that first Easter Day, Sam's egg is empty—and Sam’s wrongdoing is completely forgiven. Once he accepts this forgiveness fully, Sam realizes a truth: we can sparkle and shine with God’s light when we
let God’s gift of grace into our hearts. This touching story will strike a deep chord with readers of all ages, and the Sparkle Egg tradition will help readers and their families grasp the totality of God’s perfect grace.
My Thoughts:
This book is very cute.  It is written with 4-8 year olds in mind.  I love the visual idea of placing your sins in the egg only to find them gone.  That really helped my daughter with autism get what it is all about.  I will be forever thankful to the author, Jill Hardie, for this!!  Hannah now understands that we all do bad things, and all we need to do is give them to Jesus.  Just like the tomb...the egg was empty the next morning.  Pretty soon we will be gathering our supplies to make our very own sparkle egg. 

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
 
GIVE-A-WAY!!!
 
Would you like to win a copy of this book for yourself??  If you would please comment and let me know what kinds of Easter traditions do you have? 
 
I will pick a winner Monday April 7 at 6:00 pm EST.  Leave me a way to get  in touch with you.  The winner will have 48 hours to get me their information or I will pick another winner. 
 
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

5 comments:

Conny said...

Don't really have a lot of traditions for Easter other than church - and usually I leave some Easter treats on the table for my kids to find in the morning (not really from the Easter "bunny" ... just from us, the parents). :)
I have a 4 year old who would probably enjoy this story!

Mom of five :) said...

Our Easter traditions have transitioned as we now spend time with my Dad at Easter. He gets to play "Easter bunny" and fill the kid's baskets and hide them. We head out for an Easter breakfast and often hike in the mountains of VA together. Making it a new tradition these past few years and one the kids always look forward to. We have many (including me!) who would love to own this story.

Toystory said...

We color easter eggs and usually always have ham! The family also gathers for a big meal.

Mary Preston said...

When all of the family gather after church we have an Easter egg hunt. It's so much fun - for the grown ups too.

The eggs that had been dyed for Easter - vegetable dye - are made into egg & lettuce sandwiches for tea.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Wall-to-wall books said...

This book looks adorable! A good one for my future grandchildren ;-)

Well we start out by going to Church, of course! When my daughter was young (she is now 25) we would do a little treasure hunt for her Easter basket - We never did "The Easter Bunny or Santa" I never pushed believing in those. But we always did talk of Jesus and the true meaning.

Normally for holidays we cook a big meal but Easter is the one holiday we go out! YAY! My husband and I, his parents, and for the first time my daughter will be joined by her new husband!

Thanks and great little giveaway
forevereading at gmail dot com