The Christian Alphabet: Teaching Children about Jesus, Prayer and the Bible
by Tracy Sands
As a Christian mom of two young children, this title appealed to me. When I received the book, I spent some time flipping through it and then again reading each page through before presenting it to my children. While I like the book, it took me some time to decide what my true opinion of this book is. I want to say I absolutely love it and that it is a book we will love to pieces in our home, I am not sure that is the case.
This book is filled with more than just the ABC's. Readers are led through the book by "Love, a dove from above". Each letter of the alphabet is presented with a picture, a promise in red, some discussion questions and thoughts, a Bible verse and a prayer. In the picture for each letter, ere are several smaller pictures for children to seek out, with each symbol explained in the back of the book. Illustrations for each letter are filled with symbols and images from the Christian faith. Hand drawn illustrations are colorful and filled with images.
I think my struggle to define my opinion of this book falls with the overwhelming amount of information in the book. It could be useful for a wide range of children, I suppose, from 2 to 12, but in that I struggle. Wi my little ones, there is so much above their heads, Nd as they grow, I foresee the book losing their interest as age will bring a deeper understanding, but a lesser desire for kid books. The true target audience age should be 7-10, but I fear by that age the book will have lost it's appeal as the alphabet has long been learned and may seem babyish.
Another area I struggled with the book was in the illustrations. They are very symbolic. For families in churches that rely on this, it is fantastic, but my children are seldom exposed to symbols of faith, being taught a more hands on active faith. This is neither right nor wrong, but can be daunting and overwhelming to families who are not familiar with symbols so heavily attached to faith.
Overall, I like the book for all of the content that encourages little ones to learn more about the Bible and ear faith while learning fundamental skills. I am all for young children and toddlers learning scripture - mine does, and I see no reason not to share this book with my children. I will just be doing so with the forethought to skip over certain parts that are less age appropriate and be prepared for questions that will likely arise.
I was provided a free copy of this book through the Book Crash blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any way for my review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.
