Customer Reviews

A Peek into My Church

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The authors and illustrator have made a potentially complex and confusing subject, easy to read and understand. The book is extremely helpful to those interested in the basics of the Catholic church and what goes on inside the walls, and what the various articles of clothing and objects mean or stand for.

What a great book. As others have said, not just for the little ones. I wish I had this when I taught CCD. Very informative and the kids enjoy reading it. Other books, religious and otherwise, could use some of the teaching tools in this book. For instance, new and unfamiliar words are stated with a sounds like word (pyx rhymes with six). Also, when showing the aerial view of the church the author tells the kid to imagine they are a bird flying overhead. I wish my 4th grade geography teacher would have used that one. Last but not least, the illustration is beautiful.

I have to say that this book is so informative and it isn't just for children...I would give this book 5 stars as it explains just about everything that a child could ask a parent. I believe that it keeps the attention of the child because it is very colorful and it is contemporary.

Ages 4-8??? Paleeze! This one is timeless, a true must read for all ages! Who says religion can't be fun.

Wendy Goody and her colleagues have assembled a fun, wonderful learning guide for Catholic children everywhere. A must-have for any Catholic parent or educator.

Wendy Goody has taken the confusing aspect of the Catholic religion and created an easy means to have children understand the complicated process of Catholisism. If you'd like to make it easier for your children to get beyond the symbolism and mystic and put the church in an accessible format, then buy this book.

Perfect for my first grade religous education class. Helps them to understand what is inside the church building and its meaning.

I have used this book in my sunday school class for the last 10 years and I highly recommend it for all. This book helps everyone to understand the terminology used in our catholic faith.
Children love the book because of the pictures.
A good reference book for all.

Although the artwork is bright, detailed and delightful, I was rather dismayed to find that the church in the book did not resemble our own church in the least. The layout of the church was modern, not the traditional cross-shaped layout, but "in the round". The tabernacle was shown off to the side, and there were no kneelers depicted in the pews. On the topic of communion bread, the book says, "Our communion bread is homemade by different families in our church." The loaves shown are obviously leavened. Any ingredients other than wheat flour and water in communion bread used in the Latin rite would make it illicit. If more than a certain proportion of the ingredients are anything but wheaten flour and water (honey, shortening, leaven, etc.) the communion would become invalid. I had a few other minor gripes about the book, but nothing more worth mentioning here.

I may be a little out of touch with what goes on in other parishes, but it did not seem to me that the church in this book was a model of Catholic orthodoxy!

I really wanted to like the book "A Peek into My Church," because there are several parts of it that are very well-done. For instance, it has a nice index in the back, naming different items used in the Mass. It also has a section explaining the vestments worn by the priest, using the names of each. I think that is good for children to learn, so they know the proper terms. It also explains the Tue Presence of Jesus in the bread and wine, which is the most important thing that takes place inside a Catholic Church. It explains what the holy water is used to remind us of every time we use it as we enter the church. And the illustrations are certainly colorful and would be engaging to most any child who picked up the book.

The problems I had with this book: First, the layout of the church building itself was unlike most Catholic churches in the area where I live (Georgia). For instance, some of the pews are actually positioned behind the altar, which is strange (to me - maybe not in CA, which is where the authors/illustrator are said to live in the info on the back flap). Also, the tabernacle is in a side chapel rather than behind the altar, where Jesus has his place as the center of the Mass. Then the text mentions seeing the church members (such as the lectors) in the procession along with the priest. I don't know that that is licit, and we don't see it in our own church or the other churches in the South that we have visited. The biggest problem I see is the section in which it talks about how different families in the parish take turns making the bread used for communion in their own kitchens. I don't believe this is licit either, particularly since the illustrations show the bread to be fluffy, as if yeast were used (which is certainly not licit). However, the index in the back does a good job explaining that the bread must be unleavened, so there is some confusion here as there is a conflict in what is presented in the story vs, what is written in the index.

I do realize the book has an Imprimatur, but I know that parts of this book would be confusing to my daughters, so I am glad that I have pre-read it myself. It is too bad because of the good information contained in this book, but that can all be found elsewhere without the confusion of the homemade communion bread and such.

As a side note, there were a few random things in the illustrations which I couldn't make sense of: a woman walking a harnessed pig down the street, and two nuns in the back seat of a pink 50's style convertible... where were they going, and who was driving, and why? The carnival theme on the cover is bright and appealing, but it too seems a little random.