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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Church History Made Fun, July 14, 2010
This review is from: The Church History ABCs: Augustine and 25 Other Heroes of the Faith (Hardcover)
"E is for eggs, elephants, and Jonathan Edwards." How did I miss that when I learned the alphabet? Alas, public education. But now, thanks to the Church History ABC's, a new book by Stephen J. Nichols and Ned Bustard, the breakdown has been corrected. From Augustine to Zwingli, Nichols and Bustard give children a new way to learn the alphabet, while teaching church history along the way. Each page features a different historical character. The sketches are written in first person, giving the book a more personal tone, and include the most important (or most interesting) details of the subject's life in a fun way: "Hi. Let's get one thing straight, my name is Hippolytus, not hippopotamus." Though the book is intended to be a church history primer, it also teaches a few life lessons for the more pragmatic. For instance, after Martin Luther mentions his hammering "a piece of paper to the church door at Wittenburg," he gives the following advice: "Now don't try that at your church. People don't like that." Ned Bustard's artwork, a collage of illustrations and photos, will hold the children's interest while making mom and dad laugh. John Wesley, for instance, wears a button that says, "Almost Perfect," and Charles Spurgeon stands on a cigar box to deliver his sermon. Lest we miss the significance of the details, there is additional information about each character for parents in the back of the book. We are told there that the Wesley brothers "both believed in perfectionism, or as they put it, `love perfected,'" and so the button makes sense. The book is intended for children ages 3 to 6. I happen to have a three year old and a six year old. Other than being interested in the pictures, the younger lost interest, as the information is still too advanced for her. The older, however, seemed very interested and asked a lot of questions, which, of course, is the goal. I suspect that children much older than six would enjoy and benefit from this book; I know that I did. We will use this book often, as it is full of important information that is presented in an enjoyable way, and I am happy to recommend it. Thanks to the authors for applying their knowledge and talent to the important task of teaching children. I received a review copy of this book from Crossway.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Learning About Church History, July 9, 2010
This review is from: The Church History ABCs: Augustine and 25 Other Heroes of the Faith (Hardcover)
Stephen J. Nichols and Ned Bustard have published a new book called The Church History ABCs: Augustine and twenty-five other heroes of the Faith. Here is their website for the book: [...] The book begins with a short introduction and then a brief page on each of twenty-five people who lived as early as 110 A.D. and died as late as 1940. (There is a gap between St. Patrick, who died in 461 and Martin Luther who was born in 1483.) Each letter identifies a person important to church history such as Spurgeon, Martin Luther, or Anne Bradstreet. I was glad that several women were included. At the end of the book, there is a long paragraph about each person that gives more description about who each person was and why they are significant--how they glorified God in their lives. There is also a timeline list of the 25 people. I wish there was also a visual timeline with a few historical events identified to help place these people in history (I'm going to email them and ask if they might think about posting one on their website =)). On the website, there are several coloring pages and activity pages to go with the book. I like the illustrations and the writing. One question I asked myself was how could I help my kids relate to this book? How could this book be useful to me and my kids? I homeschool and my girls will be in 2nd grade and kindergarten. This year I have decided to start reading through A Child's History of the World by Virgil Hillyer. This book was recommended to me by several people. They read the book withe their children and then had them draw pictures about what they have listened to. One downside to using this book is that it doesn't address history from a Christian perspective or include much of the history of the Christian church. My plan is to read each of the ABCs in chronological order as we get to that period in history in the book. It will help bring in the history of the church for my kids as we learn about the past. One reason I've chosen to teach history this way is that I realized I have been trying to cover too much in our homeschooling and I am trying to simplify. I also have the ValueTales books and I am also going to integrate them into our reading in the same way I'm going to use this church history book. If I weren't homeschooling, how would I use this book? When would I read it? It would be a good reference book if my kids asked me questions about who these people were. It might spur on discussions about history and the things that happened in the early Christian church. Honestly, I don't know of any other books on church history, so this is a unique book for children in grades K-5. I would love more--more content, more description. I'd love more of a timeline about history and the part that these people played in it. In short, I'd love a great history book of church history for children. But, this is a good place to start. I did give this book 4 stars, but I would give it 4 1/2 stars. The extras on the website are nice and they really compliment the book. The only reason I've not given it 5 stars is that I just wish there was a broad visual timeline of events in history corresponding to when these people lived to help parents and children put the lives of these people more in the context of history. You can view a sample and excerpt of the book at this website: [...] Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crossway Books for review.
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
It's not that great..., May 7, 2011
This review is from: The Church History ABCs: Augustine and 25 Other Heroes of the Faith (Hardcover)
My dad bought this for my younger siblings, and when he got it, he realized it wasn't really what he'd been hoping. I personally found it too silly. I have no problem with humor, but I think that taking these people (most of whom were serious and godly)and having them 'tell their story' in a silly way detracts greatly from the seriousness of who they were and what they did. For example, here is an example from the page on John Calvin: "I left France for Switzerland - but I never learned to yodel." Here's an example from the one on John Foxe: "The book's title is really long, so folks just call it Foxe's Book of Martyr's. These were brave people who went through many cruel and scary punishments." I don't think it's wrong to make a fun book for children to learn history, but this is just too lighthearted about things that were very serious. Many of these reformers risked their lives for the truth; Ignatius was put to death in the Roman arena; Jonathan Edwards preached 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God'. These aren't things to make light of, and children aren't too young to be taught about these things seriously and thoughtfully. Another problem I have with this book is some of the people included in it that I thought should not have been in it: Absolom Jones; Antonio Vivaldi; and the Wesleys. Absolom Jones was not some figure in church history. He was a black man that started a church. That's great, but I don't think it deserves a page in the book. Antonio Vivaldi was a Catholic priest, so it's silly to put him in among the reformers, who were against the Roman Catholic Church. The Wesleys (particularly John Wesley) were Arminians. John Wesley basically turned George Whitefield's church against him by preaching Arminianism while Whitefield was away. Maybe someone someday will write a book on this same premise but handle it in a more thoughtful way. I can't reccomend this book to anyone, really...
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