Customer Reviews

The Lord's Prayer

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As with his previous books, Tim Ladwig has again shown a unique ability to make religious ideas accessible to children through combining them with a story line from the modern world. This book functions like a visual parable which makes the meanings contained in "The Lord's Prayer" immediately accessible to children. Having purchased Mr. Ladwig's previous books for my young nephews, I know that they respond instinctively to the marvelous drawings and ask for these books to be read over and over again. "The Lord's Prayer" is highly recommended.

This book's text is The Lord's Prayer, no more, no less. But the illustrations by Tim Ladwig offer much more, a story behind the words, as told through the eyes of a little girl.

She watches carefully as her earthly father exemplifies our heavenly Father. Together they work hard to fix an elderly lady's fence and maintain her yard. During the process, the young girl finds a gold treasure, something like a coin. Later when the woman tries to pay, the father forgives her debts and refuses to accept the money. Seeing this, the young girl decides to resist temptation and confesses to finding the coin. The elderly woman rewards the girl with the coin and a necklace from which to hang it. Readers then see that it's actually a circle pendant engraved with The Lord's Prayer.

What I Like: The illustrations are amazing! Both vivid and thoroughly detailed, they tell a story all their own. I also appreciate the urban setting. Most picture books are set in the suburbs or country. This definitely fills a void for kids growing up in a city.

What I Dislike: The pictures often seem unrelated to the text. This book took a LOT of explanation from me and even then I don't think my children understood the correlation. Also, the book relys heavily on the example of an earthly father to understand our heavenly Father. For broken families, this may raise more questions than it answers. Finally, this book seemed racially exclusive. Even though our family is interracial, I felt like an outsider. I would have liked a bit more diversity, even if only in background characters.

Overall Rating: Good

Age Appeal: The publisher says "all ages", but I recommend 5 and above.

Tanya -- Christian Children's Book Review

Beautifully illustrated, this rendition of the Lord's Prayer gives concrete and thoughtful modern interpretative images to a timeless prayer. The theme is one of loving, caring and giving as the prayer unfolds through a father and daughter's day of helping a lonely woman. I have given this book, and Ladwig's Psalm 23, as gifts many times. They are both absolutely breathtaking and help children and adults enter into the scripture passage from a fresh perspective.

The Lord's Prayer is an important part of everyday life. The story that goes along with this well-known prayer is realistic and heartwarming. It shows us how we can take this prayer and actually put it to use in our lives. Great book, my little one (3 yrs) loves it.

I am very satisfied with my purchase, this book was exactly what I was looking for to teach my child care children the Lords prayer. Thank you

This very beautiful book, so lovingly illustrated, was just perfect for our Vacation Church School program, but it would also be a wonderful book for families. There is great interest in following what is going on in each picture and matching the actions of the little girl and her father to the words of the prayer, as together they repair a rickety old fence and clean the front yard of an elderly neighbour. This book is subtle, elegant, rich, and delightful.

The artwork is stunning! You will want some of the pieces for your home. I probably own several books with the Lord's Prayer already, but this one is definietely a worthwile addition. His interpration of the prayer (through his paintings) sheds a fresh new light on the prayer we all know and love so well. Thank you Tim for creating such beautiful, quality art and sharing it with the world!!