A Missal for Toddlers and My Little Catechism (Ignatius Press)

Ignatius Press has recently released several new books for children, and today I would like to tell you about two of them, entitled A Missal for Toddlers and My Little Catechism.

A Missal for Toddlers is a 22 page board book, designed for children ages 3 to 5. The book is designed to walk your little one(s) through the important parts of the Mass. It starts with the Church bells ringing, the Sign of the Cross, the Gloria, the Liturgy of the Word, the Alleluia, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and the Concluding Rites. The illustration style is very inviting for young readers, and they do a nice job of illustrating what a child should be doing at all parts of the Mass. Since this book is a board book, it will last a bit longer and hold up to a little more abuse. I think is a great book to bring to Mass to help train your children and keep them focused on what's going on around them and not what the people in the pew next to them are doing. My son is recently three, so this came at the perfect time for me, and I don't plan on going to Mass without it in the foreseeable future.

My Little Catechism is a 100+ page paperback book designed for children ages 7+. It begins with an introduction which answers what a catechism is, how we can know Jesus, what the Bible is, and what the Creed is. The book is then divided into three major parts - The Father Creator, Jesus the Savior, and The Holy Spirit in the Church. Within each of these major parts are chapters which answer questions your child will most likely have. Some questions are as follows: Does God exist? What is sin? What was Jesus' childhood like? What is a sacrament? What is eternal life? With each chapter is an answer to the question and sections on what the Bible says, what we believe, a way to put it into practice, a prayer, and a little way to test yourself.

This book uses the Apostles Creed as a skeleton for its contents. I like the question and answer format, because it reminds me a bit of the Baltimore Catechism, only with more detail. I also like that this book is another title from the Magnificat Children's Books "series." Other books in this series and in the same style are The Catholic Bible for Children and Catholic Saints for Children. All books have the same style illustrations and cover art and make for a great set of books to put in your family library or as an aid in the classroom and parish. If you are looking for a way to better explain the faith to your children or let them read the answers on their own, I highly recommend this book!

These books were provided to me for free by Ignatius Press in exchange for honest reviews.

Catholic Saints for Children and A Missal for Little Ones (Ignatius Press)

Catholic Saints for Children is one of the latest releases from Ignatius Press and Magnificat. The book is just under 100 pages, but it packs a punch in content. There are thirty saints covered in all, and they are arranged by order of their birth, with the exception of the Blessed Mother being placed before St. Joseph. In addition to well known saints, like Peter and Paul, there are some lesser known ones, like Blessed Frédéric Ozanam and Blessed Charles de Foucauld. Each saint's entry contains a one page biography, what the saint can teach us and the intercession he/she can provide, a prayer, and an illustration of the saint.

With thirty entries, you or your child could read one entry a day, and not repeat a chapter until the next month. This reduces reader fatigue that parents can often get from reading the same book over and over again, but with a book like this you will want to read it many times over. I enjoyed reading the articles on St. Benedict and St. Dominic as I have a particular affinity toward them. The book is done in the same style of The Catholic Bible for Children, which was released in 2011, both in artistry, size, and the presentation, i.e., French flaps. Thus, these two books are perfectly complementary and if you are buying one you should buy the other. Five stars!

A Missal for Little Ones is a little book designed for little hands. The book is a hardcover with a dust jacket, which means that the book is carefully crafted and designed to last. The book attempts to make the Mass as approachable as possible for young readers. The title of each section tells the child what is going on in the Mass, and the text in the chapter contains a portion of the specific prayer or a summary of what is occurring at the specific time in Mass. In the very middle of the book is a section on the Apostles' Creed. Unfortunately, it is only snippets of the Creed, which is my biggest complaint with this book. The Creed is a vital part of the Catholic faith, and the snippets in the book omit key parts, like Jesus being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Incarnation is one of the great mysteries of the Faith and should not be omitted in my opinion. The book closes with prayers for children to learn and instructing your children in the method of spontaneous prayer. Overall this was a good book, but it could have been better. It is recommended for ages 3+, but if that is the case there should be even fewer words. Also, for that age, it should probably be in the format of a board book. I guess what I am saying is that I feel like there should be two different books, one for ages 3 to 5, and one for ages 5 and up.

These books were provided to me for free by Ignatius Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!