Sunrise Hill

February 9, 2004
A small, Little House on the Prairie
–like community finds strength and joy as they embrace the true meaning of the Resurrection in this nicely paced Easter story. Ten-year-old Caleb is thrilled to welcome his Uncle Josh, a preacher, when Josh arrives in town with a special mission—to build a church. Before long, friends, neighbors and acquaintances join forces to raise Sunrise Church, on Sunrise Hill. But two weeks prior to Easter Sunday—the day of the church's first scheduled services—lightning strikes and burns the new building to the ground. Josh feels devastated, but Caleb doesn't allow this hardship to cast a cloud over his family and community. He rallies the townspeople—including an embittered blacksmith who has lost faith—as well as Uncle Josh, to celebrate the idea of new life rising from the ashes and to begin again. Bostrom (Papa's Gift
) skillfully interprets the miracle of Easter in a context that young readers will understand. She serves up several inspirational scenes in her portrayal of a single impassioned person uniting a group of believers who share his faith. Throughout, Johnson's well-lit oil paintings focus readers' attention on warm portraits of family and townspeople. He also does justice to the ruggedly beautiful countryside and to the metaphorical and literal sunrises emphasized in the text. Ages 4-8.

March 1, 2004
K-Gr. 3. Soon after coming to town, 10-year-old Caleb's uncle Josh, a traveling preacher, rallies the people of the farming community to build a church on Sunrise Hill. Two weeks before Easter, lightning strikes the nearly finished church, and it burns to the ground. Though Uncle Josh is despondent, Caleb gathers his neighbors for a special Easter service on Sunrise Hill. Even a man who had scoffed at religion responds to Caleb's greeting, "Christ is risen!" with the traditional response, "He is risen, indeed." This picture book is one of the few that explores the Easter theme without recounting the biblical story or relying on rabbits, chickens, or baskets of candy. Instead, Bostrom interprets the traditional theme of rebirth within a specific community, evidently in the late nineteenth century, and gives a child a pivotal role in restoring faith. Often dramatically lit, the impressionistic paintings depict the main characters with dignity and sensitivity. Some will find this picture book too staid, but many parents and Sunday school teachers will value its depiction of Christians whose faith has been tested or even lost, then restored.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)