Catholic Encyclopedia for Children (Our Sunday Visitor)

Through the years, Our Sunday Visitor has had a successful history of publishing encyclopedia for the faithful Catholic. Such topics of these encyclopedias include Catholic History, U.S. Catholic History, the Saints, and Mary. I own and have reviewed at least three of these books, if not all four. Well, Our Sunday Visitor has recently released a kid-friendly encyclopedia, appropriately called Catholic Encyclopedia for Children. The book is divided into six sections:

1. In the Beginning
2. The Life of Jesus
3. The Church Begins to Grow
4. The Church Covers Europe
5. The Church in the New World
6. This We Believe

The first two chapters of the book rely heavily on the Old and New Testament. The sections covered in the Old Testament are Genesis, Exodus, and 1st Samuel. The New Testament takes us from the beginning of the Gospels to Pentecost in Acts 1 and 2. It also covers the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. Chapter Three is very brief and spends a few pages detailing how the Apostles spread the Church as Jesus instructed them to do so. Chapters Four and Five talk about the grown and spread of the Church through the centuries. We see saintly examples in Benedict, Francis, Juan Diego, and Kateri Tekawitha to name a few. The last chapters covers tenets of our Faith, such as the Pope, the Church, the Mass, the Creed, the Sacraments, and the Communion of Saints. Again, more saints serve as examples for your children.

The first thing that stands out about this book is that it's a paperback. When I think of encyclopedias, I think of a hardcover, not a softcover. The second thing I noticed about this book is that there aren't individual entries. For the most part, the book is a series of Bible summaries, saint biographies, and illustrations on every page. The book is well-written, faithful to Church teachings, and written in a manner that is engaging and accessible for children. It would be great for parents, teachers, and catechists to have in their library. However, I don't think I'd call it an encyclopedia, at least not in the traditional sense.

This book was provided to me for free by Our Sunday Visitor in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!