The World of the First Christians: A Curious Kid's Guide to the Early Church

Curious Kids' Guides #3

by Marc Olson, Jemima Maybank (Illustrations)

"The life and teachings of Jesus changed the world forever--but what happened after the events of the Gospels? How did Christianity grow from a small group of followers to one of the largest religious movements in human history? How did the first Christians survive in an oppressive Roman Empire? What did the early church believe, and how did they worship? The World of the First Christians: A Curious Kid's Guide to the Early Church answers these questions and more, with colorful illustrations, charts, graphs, maps, and other infographics that will keep kids' attention for hours and give them new insight and understanding into the early growth of the Christian faith. Curious Kids' Guides present cool and surprising information about Christian history and beliefs in an entertaining, visually engaging way for kids"--

Genres: Childrens, History

64 pages, Hardcover

Published July 7, 2020

Reviews

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

The World of the First Christians picks up the narrative where Olson’s previous book left off, starting with the community of believers post-ascension and ending with desert ascetics. There’s more gritty information here, concerning crucifixion, martyrdom, and such, that may cross some upper elementary readers’ boundaries, so I recommend adult supervision for sensitive young readers.

The fun facts will draw young readers in, such as the cost of papyrus in today’s money for Paul’s letters (Romans would cost around $600, Philemon around $27). Early Christian symbols--anchor, ship, letters, ichthus--are highlighted and explained. A rather complex explanation of Roman government is provided, which will help readers situate the history of the early church within the history of Rome.

Overall, I’m just as impressed with this book as I was with the books on the Old and New Testaments. However, I would have appreciated a stronger commitment to naming known believers in the early church. At least with the guides to the Bible, curious readers can go to the text to learn specific names. Here, a few notable folks are named (Amma Theodora, St Sebastian) but I would have liked to see more. This will be the first place many young readers will learn about the early church, and naming more people like Sts Perpetua and Felicitas, Ignatius of Lyons, et c. would help them make inroads for future studies. I hope to see many more books like this published so kids have somewhere to look after having the world of the early church opened to them. The previous books will help young readers understand the Old Testament and the Gospels better, this book will help them read the New Testament better too, and early Christian literature in the future.

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm very sorry to post this review. I have been a fan of Beaming Books, but they dropped the ball here.
I'm going to try to be constructive. Please include a bibliography and the author's degrees so I know that this information is valid. Please include a glossary if you are going to use big words like Eucharist, amphitheater, and persecution. Please break up your information and make it attractive so kids will want to read it. Please use a font that is easier to read. Please live up to your promises on the back cover and include more than one map and one graph. Thank you for including women and people of color at many places in the book.

[Yvonne Lacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice presentation for children, and good illustrations. The details of Roman Empire, Jewish, and Christian daily life and beliefs is well-done and should generate curiosity for further reading.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Jenny-Flore Boston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative but the format makes it difficult for young readers to read independently. I also wished it flowed more like a story but this is definitely a simple picture centered encyclopedia.