Books on world religions

JanaMay

Hi, don't know if this is the right place to post, mods feel free to move if not.

I have a three-year-old daughter who is being raised in a predominantly Catholic area. Neither myself nor her father are Christian (we are not affiliated with any religion), though we do appreciate that the basis of the society she is living in is Christian/Catholic.

She knows stories about 'baby Jesus' and some Christmas carols and songs, but to her they're just fairy tales on the level of Little-Red-riding-hood etc. I'd like to be able to teach her similar stories about other religions but I just don't know where to find the age-appropriate input. I'd like her to grow up with a more rounded knowledge.

Has anyone got any ideas on books I could order or methods I could adapt to teach her about varoius world religions in an age-appropriate manner?

Lisha

Try googling usbourne books they might have a multi denominational one.

http://www.usborne.com/catalogue/book/1~RL~RWR~1693/book-of-world-religions.aspx

Bit of a wacky idea but maybe you could google general stuff and then make a scrap book of religions

JanaMay

Thanks Lisha.

I've been Googling and have checked with local bookshops. The local bookshops aren't great in my area because all they have is Christianity-based books. I was just wondering if other parents had found a good, colourful, reference book that could appeal to such a young child.

The scrapbook idea is a great one...the problem is finding the time to do it as well as a beautifully-illustrated book! (I swear I'm not lazy, I'm just a working mammy!)

PS i've just ordered that Usbourne book, at the very least it can serve as a reference for me!

Orion

A quick search turned up this: https://sites.google.com/site/worldreligionsforkids/home. I'm not endorsing it because I haven't read through it all or watched the videos so can't vouch for its accuracy or if there's any bias. But looks good at first glance.

I disagree that the basis of society she is living in is Christian/Catholic. The majority of the people maybe Christian but the basis of the society is much more than that and is based on a common moral/ethical code and common law. (Bear in mind only 3 of the 10 commandments are against the law so the argument that our laws are based on the bible always amuses me).

We didn't do any religious education specifically with our kids but when there were any questions we'd answer them and bring in common beliefs between different religions where they existed. We'd always pull them back to an ethical code rather than religion though.

pwurple

What religions are you looking for? Or is it one reference book for loads of religions? I think the school RE classes cover world religions as well.

We have two children's bibles... one christian and one jewish.

This is the jewish one:
http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Illustrated-Jewish-Bible-Laaren/dp/075662665X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390912378&sr=1-3

vicwatson

JanaMay wrote: »

Hi, don't know if this is the right place to post, mods feel free to move if not.

I have a three-year-old daughter who is being raised in a predominantly Catholic area. Neither myself nor her father are Christian (we are not affiliated with any religion), though we do appreciate that the basis of the society she is living in is Christian/Catholic.

She knows stories about 'baby Jesus' and some Christmas carols and songs, but to her they're just fairy tales on the level of Little-Red-riding-hood etc. I'd like to be able to teach her similar stories about other religions but I just don't know where to find the age-appropriate input. I'd like her to grow up with a more rounded knowledge.

Has anyone got any ideas on books I could order or methods I could adapt to teach her about varoius world religions in an age-appropriate manner?

We bought this one and found it very well written, covers all religions and none

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/What-Do-You-Believe%3F-Aled-Jones/9781405362856?b=-3&t=-20#Fulldescription-20

CrazyRabbit

Don't forget to throw in a good book on Atheism. Something to provide balance against the superstition.

angelfire9

They will cover them all in school anyway OP

JanaMay

Thanks Vicwatson, that looks like what I'm looking for. To be honest, she's still very small so I want to present religious stories to her as if they were fairy tales. She'll decide when she's older what she believes in. (Her father and I are both atheists but I think it's very important for kids to know about various religions.)

Orion: had a quick look at that site and it seems very interesting, probably more as a reference for me. When I say that Christianity is the basis of the society she's growing up in I mean to say that holidays such as Christmas and Easter are celebrated, and she already knows the stories about baby Jesus etc.

As regards her future school, religious education is ultimately down to what the individual teacher decides to teach, it's a lay school but they will have some time to dedicate to religion. I'd just prefer to be the one to teach her these things. Sure at her age they really are just interesting fairy tales.