This 40-minute presentation of The Story of Easter uses very clever, whimsical animation and wording kids can understand. The Sparks Story Bible is designed for ages 3 to 7. It stands to reason that this story taken from the 100-story collection in the Sparks Story Bible and adapted for video is also appropriate for ages 3 to 7. In my estimation, it might even be appropriate for    8-year-olds. I believe it would do a good job of keeping the attention of all kids in that age range.

A female narrator with a very expressive voice interacts with a caterpillar named “Squiggles.” Squiggles doesn’t communicate clearly, but the narrator seems to know him well and understand what all his little squeaks mean.

Squiggles is on his way to church on Easter with his Bible when the narrator encounters him. The caterpillar names his favorite Bible stories—Adam and Eve, and Noah– and the narrator quickly summarizes them. She then mentions the Exodus, David, Daniel, and Jonah.   Then the narrator asks Squiggles if he knows “the best story of all,” about Jesus and Easter. Surprisingly, Squiggles doesn’t. So the narrator proceeds to unfold the story, and Squiggles becomes a part of the story.

The story portrays Jesus as “a different kind of king.” The narrator tells the story in a very light-hearted way, and the animation presents the enactment in a humorous way. However, when Jesus is arrested the story takes on a more serious tone. It becomes light-hearted again after the resurrection. Close to the end of the story there is a humorous depiction of Squiggles managing to get up on the mountain where Jesus is going to give some big news. The big news is that Jesus wants his friends to tell everyone about Him.

After Jesus gives “the big news,” He disappears into the clouds. The disciples did what Jesus told them to—spread the word about Him. The narrator encourages Squiggles to continue to be part of the story by sharing Jesus’ story.

There was one point made during the recounting of the crucifixion that I didn’t agree with. The narrator stated that Jesus felt alone on the cross, but the Father never would have left Him alone. I believe the Father did temporarily forsake Jesus when Jesus asked, “Why have you forsaken me?” Since He took all of our sin upon Himself on the cross, I believe our sin separated Him

from God just like our sin separates us from God. I feel that He had to taste of separation from the Father as part of the punishment He took in our place. Because He was separated, we could be reconciled. But that is one minor point of the presentation.

If there is one significant weakness in this presentation, I believe it would be that it needs a clear statement of why Jesus had to die and that everyone who really believes in Him will have Him living in their hearts and will go to Heaven when they die.  The narrator states that “God loves and cares for everyone.” Adults could easily correct any misunderstanding when the video is over by asking the children if they know why Jesus had to die and then how they can have Jesus in their hearts and go to Heaven when they die someday. They could use John 3:16, Romans 6:23, and Romans 10:9&10. This would be a good opportunity for interaction.

Currently, both Vision Video and Sparkhouse Family are providing the full video online. Below is a link to a trailer to give you an overview of the video and also a link to the full video available online.