Looking forward to Easter, my choice for the March Book of the Month is a wonderful new children's resource book entitled Not Again, Nathan! by Hilary Creed.
The book follows the events of Holy Week and Easter through the eyes of Nathan. Nathan is a likeable little boy who gets into all sorts of mischief, for instance, being tempted to throw figs at Zacchaeus or trying to steal from Bartimaeus.
Each chapter comprises of a story (these are particularly well told. I liked 'The King Who Cried' - the story of Palm Sunday and Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. Nathan and his Uncle Ben go to Jerusalem for the Passover. Here the donkey that Jesus uses to make his triumphal entry into Jerusalem belongs to Nathan's other Uncle, Reuben), a Bible passage (on which the story is based), syllabus links, for example, 'Learning about religion', 'Learning from religion', key figures and two sets of activities. The activities are for 6 to 8 and 9 to 11 year olds (key stages 1 and 2). There is also a set of clear and pleasing illustrations to complement the stories, drawn by Margaret Rhys-Taylor.
The stories are designed to be read aloud to children individually or at assembly or Sunday School. The activities include suggestions for drama, writing - sometimes eye witness accounts, drawing posters, making a prayer scrapbook and taking part in a game or role play.
This is undoubtedly one of the best Easter resource books I have read with emphasis on the spiritual rather than the edible (!) and I hope we will hear more of Hilary Creed, a Primary School Teacher with twenty-nine years experience.
'Not Again, Nathan!' by Hilary Creed (Kevin Mayhew) £6.99
Lynn Winter
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