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Detail
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Catholic Encyclopedia for Children
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| Category: |
Books > Children > Children's Bibles
Books > Children > Children's Books
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| Author/Artist: |
ANN BALL |
| ISBN / ID: |
9781612789316 |
| Publisher: |
OSV |
| Binding: |
HARDBACK |
| Price: |
AU$46.95 |
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| Description: |
This encyclopaedia contains lots of interesting information, stories, illustrations and diagrams. It focuses on the stories of Scripture and the history of the Church and has six main chapters. The first three chapters, In the Beginning, The Life of Jesus, and The Church Begins to Grow, are made up of Bible stories and give an overview of the Old and New Testaments. Scripture references are provided for the stories presented. The next two chapters, The Church Covers Europe and The Church in the New World, cover the history of the Church from early times including such topics as the Crusaders and the Reformation, among other events. The last chapter, entitled This We Believe, focuses on beliefs of the Church such as the Communion of Saints. Surprisingly, the information on the Sacraments is brief.
The encyclopaedia is colourfully illustrated, presenting a rich tapestry of the Church’s sacred story and history. At times, though, the illustrations are stereotypical depicting, for example, angels with robes and wings. The language is child-friendly and explains difficult words, such as covenant and reformation, effectively.
As with any resource, there are biases. The authors write out of a certain worldview. As teachers and catechists it is important to be aware of the bias of a resource and balance it where necessary. In this "Catholic Encyclopedia for Children", two statements particularly stand out:
- The authors state that the ‘Tradition’ of the Church does not change. Many Catholic historians and theologians might have a different view.
- In presenting the story of Abraham the last sentences state that “God kept his promise because…” this can imply that God’s covenant is conditional. Much of what we teach is about God’s unconditional love, and faithfulness to his relationship with us.
Often Catholic beliefs can be complex, and there certainly is the element of mystery. Whenever we simplify beliefs for children we run the risk of slightly distorting what we are trying to present.
This is a worthwhile resource for classrooms and is most appropriate for middle and upper primary levels, depending on the content sought. For instance, the sections on the sacraments might be useful in middle primary but would be too simplistic for upper primary students. |
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