Petook: Symbols of Easter in Nature

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They're little birds sitting on their nests...can you see it?

My friend Kimberly made these and brought them over with a bunch of other fun Easter ideas for us (*and you readers) to enjoy.  Granted, this photo wasn't taken when they were first made, but they still look super great...and just like a birdie sitting on a nest.

I chose to pair this lovely little treat with our family's reading of the book Petook:  written by Caryll Houselander and illustrated by Tomie dePaola. (Love him!)

Petook is a rooster who proudly watches over his little family of chicks, when one day the young boy Jesus observes Petook's wife Martha as she gathers her chicks under her wings.

Years later, this "lovely little boy," now the man Jesus, would remember Martha and her chicks when he said, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered you under my wings as the hen gathers her chicks, and you would not."

Petook unwittingly notices that all of nature seems hushed upon Christ's death.  But on the third day Petook hears the world awakening again when he hears his own baby chicks trying to break out of their eggs.  Petook rejoices in this emerging new life, and instinctively, Petook crows to wake the world on that precious Easter morning.  

I love this paragraph from the book, "Yes.  Petook heard that, and he heard life everywhere, tapping softly, knocking softly to get out, to come out of the dark into the light, out of silence into sound, out of death into life:  bird and beast and seed in the earth and bud on the tree.  Petook heard all that when the chickens tapped to get out."

The more that I ponder the sweet, simplicity of this story, the more that I love it, and the more that I love the symbols that I associate with Easter:  new life breaking out of its shell, seeds emerging from darkness to nourish the world, flowers blooming and turning toward the sun, chickens gathering their little ones around them, sunrises signaling a new start for each and every one of us, every day of our lives.

As my sister mentioned, all things truly testify of Christ, if we let them.  The following image contains the words of Tomie dePaola explaining why he chose to illustrate this story:

I love to rejoice with my children and family in the birth, rebirth, and resurrection and the things we can learn from all of God's creations about the miracle of Christ's sacrifice for each of us.

You can find the recipe for these little birdie treats here.


Here are some of the posts that you might have missed from our Easter Blog Party.


My Flowers From a Hundred Cribs Will Peep and Prance Again

A Sunrise Easter Service

Poprocks Giveaway

Best Easter Book List

The Sympathetic Soldier

All Things Testify of Christ

The Egg Tree