Christian Book Awards 2023 Finalist for Young People's Literature
ECPA Top Shelf Cover Award 2022
Marty Machowski's Darkest Night Brightest Day shows families how Easter morning turned the world upside down and right side up.
Start a new Easter season tradition with your family by reading this beautifully illustrated ""upside down"" book that includes fourteen Bible stories for Passion and Easter weeks. Begin on Palm Sunday with the first side, Darkest Night, which has seven stories that recount the events of Passion week, ending with Christ's crucifixion and burial. Flip the book over on Easter morning and continue by reading Brightest Day, featuring seven more stories that progress from Christ's resurrection to his ascension and Pentecost.
Machowski weaves the four Gospel accounts together into one harmonized story and provides questions for family discussion. Children are sure to remember the contrast between the darkness at the death of our Lord and the light-filled events from Christ's resurrection onward.
"The good news of the person and work of Christ is the most important thing we can celebrate with and teach to our children. This family devotional teaches, proclaims, and applies the things of "first importance" (1 Corinthians 15:3–4): that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day."
Justin S. Holcomb and Lindsey A. Holcomb, Authors of God Made All of Me, God Made Babies, and God Made Me in His Image
"In Darkest Night Brightest Day best-selling children's author Marty Machowski once again provides families with a devotional they can trust and enjoy together! With stunning illustrations and helpful discussion questions, this Easter devotional is a new and fresh retelling of the old, old Story. Through the cross and empty tomb, history was changed and lives are transformed. The difference is night and day."
Champ Thornton, Pastor; author of several books, including The Radical Book for Kids, The Serpent Slayer and the Scroll of Riddles,and Why Do We Say Good Night?: When You Are Afraid of the Dark
"If you're looking for a fun and theologically sound way to teach your children about the true meaning of Easter, look no further. Marty Machowski has done it again! Darkest Night Brightest Day is an excellent resource for children."
Ginger Hubbard, Bestselling author of Don't Make Me Count to Three and Chloe and the Closet of Secrets; speaker; cohost of the Parenting with Ginger Hubbard podcast
"Nothing is more important than introducing our children to Jesus. Nothing is more vital to know about Jesus than his death and resurrection. In Darkest Night Brightest Day Marty Machowski has given us a beautiful, thoughtful, user-friendly tool for guiding our children (and ourselves!) to Jesus in a reflective, worshipful observance of Holy Week and Easter week."
John Kitchen, Author; pastor of the International Church of Slemani, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
"This book is a gift to both parents and children. The words, artwork, and discussion questions bring the resurrection story to life. I'm certain it will become a new Easter-season tradition in our home."
Drew Hill, Award-winning author of Alongside: Loving Teenagers with the Gospel
"If you're having trouble convincing your kids that Easter is more than candy and egg hunts, Marty Machowki's Darkest Night Brightest Day is here to help. Colorful and Christ-exalting, this book shows how the darkness of Calvary became the light of resurrection. Marty's books are a treasure for parents who want their children to know the glories of the gospel."
Trish Donohue, Author of Between Us Girls: Walks and Talks for Moms and Daughters
"Darkest Night, Brightest Day is a great tool for helping young children gaze intently at Christ's life and work. With attention to detail, Machowski carefully guides families through the events of Holy Week and the days between resurrection and Pentecost. The book will help children to see Christ's beauty and the importance of putting faith in him."
Jared Kennedy, Editor at The Gospel Coalition; author of The Beginner's Gospel Story Bible and Keeping Your Children's Ministry on Mission
We purchased 40 copies to give to families at Easter and are very pleased. Although the print could be larger, in some ways that makes it easier for those with younger children, as I think they will need to paraphrase and "read the pictures". This is a book that will grow with them! We love that it goes all the way to Pentecost and the flipping over of the book makes it so meaningful, especially since most of our children have been through Godly Play. After the crucifixion, we always say "But WE know that is NOT the end of the story!" And on Easter we say, that the resurrection of Jesus turns everything inside out and upside down! We can't wait to present this to our families, this year by Palm Sunday!
Wow, the kids and I loved it. I waited until Good Friday to start, too long! Next year I plan to use it from Palm Sunday to Easter, great discussion questions, perfect for a family devotional. My kids loved the turn and change color scheme as well.
We loved going thru this book. We did the first part “Darkest Night” before Resurrection Sunday, then took the following week to go thru “Brightest Day”. It was nice extending thoughts about Christ’s resurrection past Easter Sunday. It covers events leading up to the crucifixion in The Darkest Night, and resurrection thru Pentecost on The Brightest Day side of the book.
The strength of this book is that it summarizes and harmonizes the accounts of the gospels regarding the events leading up to, and following, the cross. A family will read seven summaries leading up to the cross, and seven summaries of the resurrection to the ascension. Each day ends with 4 questions that you can ask your family for discussion. The questions vary. However, I find that the questions are not as deep, insightful, or focused on the major points as I would like. I have found this to be the case with other devotionals written by Machowski. If you want a great book on how to teach your children the Gospel from all of Scripture, check out "Show Them Jesus" which is also printed by New Growth Press. That book won't give you a pre-printed devotional to read each day, rather it will equip you with the skills to point to Jesus and engage your child's heart from any passage of Scripture. Resurrection Eggs would probably be a better resource for smaller children. And, all children would probably benefit from better questions. The art, and the creativity of the book are good. It is not a bad book by any means, and we even provided this book to all the families in our church.
The book finally arrived here in the Philippines after three weeks! I've been looking for a good Easter resource for our family devotion and this book is just perfect. Each chapter is theologically rich but easy to grasp for my young kids. The discussion questions are also very helpful. I love feature where we flip the book to the other side and it takes us to the resurrection of Jesus and the events that followed. The book itself is gorgeous and beautifully illustrated.
This beautiful new children's book from Marty Machowski is so well done. The illustrations are gorgeous and the daily readings are at a good reading level, but not dumbed down. My 12-year-old son and I read the first half together in one sitting. The upside down flip of the book after the second half is quite clever, attention getting, and further illustrates the contrast between the dark days leading up to the crucifixion, and the bright days after the resurrection.
I really love Darkest Night Brightest Day: A Family Devotional for the Easter Season by Marty Machowski! Darkest Night Brightest Day: A Family Devotional for the Easter Season is a unique devotional that tells of the events leading up to Easter (Palm Sunday, The Last Supper, etc.) and the events leading up to Pentecost (Jesus’ Resurrection, Returning to Heaven, etc.). Darkest Night Brightest Day is a two week devotional to do the week before Easter and the week after Easter. Darkest Night Brightest Day is split into two sections–Darkest Night and Brightest Day. The Darkest Night portion deals with the events that led up before Easter. Brightest Day deals with the events after Jesus’ Resurrection and Pentecost. The Darkest Night and Brightest Day has 7 devotions each (14 devotions total) that you can read each day of the designated week. Each of the devotions has discussion questions at the end to reinforce what the family has learned. Darkest Night Brightest Day: A Family Devotional for the Easter Season appealed to me for different reasons. I loved the uniqueness that I found in the devotional. I loved that the devotional covered the week before Easter and after Easter and the events surrounding them. I like that there are discussion questions at the end of each devotion. I liked how Mr. Machowski explained each of the events so that everyone in the family can understand. I liked how Mr. Machowski explained some of the traditions that we celebrate and why. I also loved the illustrations in the book. I believe Darkest Night Brightest Day: A Family Devotional for the Easter Season would be a great read for the Easter season or any time of the year. I also believe that the devotional is adaptable to you and your family and how you celebrate Easter. (For example, when talking about Communion, I use juice to represent the blood of Jesus.) If you are looking for a unique Easter devotional, then I recommend Darkest Night Brightest Day: A Family Devotional for the Easter Season!
This may be the most beautiful children's book I’ve ever seen. I love the unique design of flipping it over from darkest night to brightest day. We haven’t started it yet but from what I’ve skimmed I think we are going to love it.
Every book I've read from Marty Machowski has been absolutely amazing! Although most of his books are directed towards children, they are just as engaging and powerful for adults. His newest upside down Easter book is no exception. The book is unique in that it's double sided and upside down: part one of the book on one side while part two of the book is on the flip side. Part one is titled Darkest Night and part two is titled Brightest Day. The Darkest Night chapters: - The Triumphal Entry - The Trap - The Betrayal - The Arrest - The Trial - The Crucifixion - The Burial The Brightest Day chapters: - The Stone is Rolled Away - Jesus is Risen - The Road - The Doubter - The Catch - The Ascension - Pentecost Each chapter lists corresponding scripture references for families to read on their own either before the book or after the book. The chapters also conclude with questions to discuss as a family to help ponder the story. I love this portion of each chapter as it promotes great discussion about biblical concepts and push children to have a better understanding of God's work that often doesn't make sense to the real world. The illustrations are phenomenal as usual with Machowski's books. Extremely engaging and depict many of the better options for each section of the Easter story. The chapters are a bit detailed and long so would be best read to ages 5-10 but still enjoyable for older children as well. This is an absolutely wonderful option for families to prepare for the Easter season. I received a digital copy of this book from New Growth Press in exchange for an honest review.
It is a well-designed and well-written book. We gave out copies to families in our church. As a father and pastor, I'm thankful for this resource.
