The Flowering Cross

By Beth Ryan and illustrated by Renee Graef

The Flowering Cross is a story about a little girl who lives next door to a gruff older man. He has a beautiful flower garden but is not a very kind person. The little girl in the story, Katie, and her family practice kindness, patience and hospitality with their neighbor.

During Easter worship service that the neighbor, Papa Jack, attends is a flowering cross. People are invited to come up and place a flower on the cross and give thanks to Jesus for what he has done for them. Papa Jack gifts the family with their very own flowering.

The story is well told and the story of Jesus is explained in simple and easy to understand terms. The illustrations are delightful. There are numerous “Faith Imprint” moments in the book which give discussion starters, some of which are better than others. There are plans for your own flowering cross at the end of the book that require knowledge of woodworking, but it could easily be adapted to a child friendly Styrofoam project.
Having been a part of a flowering cross service before, this story would make an excellent addition to such a service as well as a gift for young ones this Easter.

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