Seek and You Shall Find

AnneMarie Miller explores Seek and Find: The Life of Jesus, a new book that draws children into a dozen scenes from Christ’s life.

I stood, sighing resignedly after an unsuccessful session of Bible reading with my young children. I had read about the events of Palm Sunday, but they had barely paid attention—or so I thought. Suddenly, I saw my 6-year-old leap up and run to his younger brother. He held out a book, declaring “Here’s a picture of what we read!” 

Seek and Find: The Life of Jesus by Geert de Sutter (Ignatius 2022) was open to the scene that depicted Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem.

I was so grateful that de Sutter’s book had entered our home. 

The gentle colors and simple illustrations of Seek and Find: The Life of Jesus are initially what caught my eye. They brought to mind the beloved Tintin comics that I read as a child. As I paged through Seek and Find: The Life of Jesus, I grew even more delighted. This engaging book invites the reader to search for a small cast of fictional characters that are placed in a dozen scenes from Jesus Christ’s life. 

One of my favorite aspects of this book is the map of the Holy Land. Placed at the beginning of the book, this map is marked with numbers that correspond to each scene that follows. This feature can help children—and adults—remember that Jesus Christ walked the earth in a specific time and place. 

After this introduction to the geography of the Holy Land, the book reveals twelve illustrated scenes from the life of Christ. As I admired the illustrations, I noticed how Jesus and the Apostles were placed amid the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The pictures show Jesus being baptized and working miracles, but they also show children playing, adults working, and animals roaming. It is a beautiful integration that can help us visualize how Jesus, the Word, became man and dwelled among us (cf. John 1:14). 

Initially, I was concerned that these seek-and-find puzzles would not be challenging for my young sons, who spend many hours each week poring over I Spy books. However, I shouldn’t have worried. My children had to focus and scrutinize the pictures to find the different characters, but the book was not so challenging that it grew frustrating. Even after they have become adept at finding the characters, the illustrations provide a rich variety of details that will continue to keep them interested and engaged as they look for different things and create their own challenges. 

Seek and Find: The Life of Jesus is a wonderful book that my young children have thoroughly enjoyed working through. With its thick, high-quality pages, I’m grateful that this book will hold up for many more leisurely afternoons on the couch. I highly recommend it!

Ask for Seek and Find: The Life of Jesus at your local Catholic bookstore, or order from Amazon.com or the publisher, Ignatius Press.

Copyright 2022 AnneMarie Miller
Images: Canva