The Apostles' Creed: For All God's Children

A FatCat Book

by Ben Myers, Natasha Kennedy (Illustrator)

What God's children believe

Join FatCat, the friendly feline, as he learns the traditional text of the Apostles’ Creed―the earliest summary of the apostles’ teaching. Enjoy vibrantly illustrated scenes of Jesus’s life and search for FatCat on every page!

Young readers and families will read a line from the creed along with a simple reflection to tuck into their hearts. With a list of Scriptures for further learning and a family prayer, this FatCat book is perfect to read again and again.

In a fun and accessible way, believers can visualize, memorize, understand, and confess the Apostles’ Creed, which has united all Christians for centuries.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Faith, Christian, Theology

48 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 2022

About the author

Ben Myers is an author and researcher based in Brisbane, Australia.

Reviews

[Jose Ovalle · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Is anything stronger than death? Yes- Jesus!”

Not just a kids book, every Christian should treasure the words here

[Lindsay John Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I’m incredibly biased since I work for the publisher, I contributed to editorial, and most of all, my wife illustrated it. A lot of love was poured into the making of this book

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can you teach your kids accurate truths about God? In The Apostles’ Creed: For All God’s Children, Lexham Press presents their first book of big theology for little kids.

Young Minds, Big Truths
With vibrant, full-color illustrations of Jesus’ life, each section gives a line from the creed along with a simple reflection for children. It is readable and understandable, as well as simple without compromising theological precision. It’s the perfect way to introduce young minds to the big truths of the Bible.

Hide God’s Word in Our Hearts
The concept of the catechism is introduced by the character of FatCat. Representing a familiar friend to make the catechism approachable, this cartoon cat is hidden throughout the pages -- something fun for your children to find. It’s a subtle and beautiful reminder that we are to hide God’s Word in hearts.

God Wants All of His Children to Know Him
I loved the intention behind this book, as well as the beautiful way it puts theology on display. As I was reading through the creed, I was reminded how God wants all of his children to know him. This book is a blessed help.

I received a media copy of The Apostles’ Creed: For All God’s Children and this is my honest review.

[Matt Pitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Apostles' Creed is the clearest and simplest summary of the Christian faith, so why not use it to teach our children the faith? The Apostles' Creed reminds us of those important doctrines we tend to forget such as the ascension of Christ, the universal church, and the future resurrection of the body.

But beyond simply saying or memorizing the creed, how can we use it to teach our children? Ben Myers and Natasha Kennedy have produced a thoughtful and beautiful book that will help us not only introduce but explain the creed (and that they will enjoy along the way - can you find the cat on each page?).

Over a two page spread we find a portion of the creed in a large, clear font accompanied by beautiful artwork, questions kids might ask that this portion of the creed answers, and a brief statement of what that portion of the creed teaches and how it applies to the child ending with the phrase "That's what I believe" or something similar.

If you have kids (I have four) you've probably learned that some children's books are just too long for little kids or too babyish for older kids. This book is definitely not babyish, but for younger kids parents can simply read the phrase from the creed, look at the picture, find the cat(!), and then move to the next page. Grown ups themselves will enjoy looking slowly over the pictures and considering what they are communicating and what passages of Scripture they were drawn from (and there's a sort of answer key in the back, telling you what Scriptures informed each section if you are curious).

Yes, this book includes "he descended into hell", and that is perhaps one of the most thought-provoking pages, both in terms of the picture (notice the keys on the ground) and the content (why does he mention Adam and Eve here?). It also is written from the assumption that the children reading it are believers (or at least the children of believers). For some, one or both of those will give them pause, but if so those can provide opportunities for talking about the broader Christian tradition.

I'm so grateful Lexham has produced this book. We need more books like this one on the Apostles' Creed to show and tell our children the great truths of the Christian faith in a way that is beautiful, faithful, and thoughtful.

Note: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher for the purpose of providing a review. I was not required to give a positive review.

[Shawn Enright · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect book.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely Excellent!
I read Ben Myers book on the Apostles Creed a few years ago, and found it an incredible introduction to this ancient Christian creed I wish I'd have been immursed in during my upbringing, but wasn't.

My kids will be greatly blessed with this beautiful work. Well done guys.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

The FatCat books are written in the spirit of Luther’s catechism with beautifully diverse illustrations that harken back to Pauline Baynes’ illustrated Nicene Creed. What a wonderful new resource for catechizing young children!

[haley whitaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be the best book ever.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goes line by line through the apostle's creed and explains what it means for the regenerated child reading it. It assumes the child is saved. And it looks more at what the truths mean for the child personally, than on what it means about who God is. This isn't a criticism, just an observation.

The art is creative, Biblical, and helpful for further reflection on the text. It does present a house cat present at many important events of the Bible, including the eternal state. Again, no criticism.

Here comes the criticism: The text can be somewhat sloppy both in misleading formulations, formulations that assume a disputed doctrine, or simply unnecessary sentences. A few quotes to help you understand what I mean:
"God wanted Jesus to have sisters and brothers" (is that the reason Scripture gives for God creating us?)
"Where does Jesus come from? He is God's Son forever" (disputed doctrine)
"He prayed to his Father, Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing" (disputed textual variant)
"Where do all the dead go? Wherever it is, Jesus went there too."
"Was he really dead, or was he just pretending?" (seems an unnecessary thought)

These things probably annoy me more than they would annoy most people. Does that mean I'm wrong? No, everyone else is wrong.
All in all, if read with a little grace, the book seems good and helpful.

[John Dekker · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is part of a new series with different authors but the same illustrator. Like the other books in the series, such as The Lord's Prayer, Jesus is portrayed with very dark brown skin, which was obviously a conscious choice. Like the book on the Lord's Prayer, this book goes through the Apostles' Creed line by line.

The illustrations are based on biblical events, such as the Day of Pentecost for "the holy catholic Church" and Jesus with the woman caught in adultery (John 8) for "the forgiveness of sins". The use of the Hebrew word for "Amen" on the last page was a nice touch.

The big problem with the book, however, is its theology. It studiously avoids using masculine pronouns for God, so that it has, for example, "God adopted me because God loves Jesus so much", instead of the more natural-sounding "God adopted me because He loves Jesus so much". And the explanation of "He will come again to judge the living and the dead" is basically devoid of judgment. Because of this, this is not a book I would use or recommend.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, I love the concept of this book. The Apostles’ Creed comes directly from the most ancient summary of the Gospel that was formed and every Christian should know it and understand what it means. Since we say it weekly in church and begin our children’s church time with a song version of it, I was very excited to read this book.

I appreciated greatly that the book retained “He descended into hell” and the word “catholic” - it didn’t try to water down the creed.

However, I only gave it 3 stars because the main emphasis of the book is that Jesus is our brother and that we are his brothers and sisters. While this is not theologically incorrect and I do understand the idea being conveyed of God’s family, I thought there was a missed opportunity to emphasize Jesus as King (Lord) and how the life of Jesus is the Gospel (cf. Salvation by Allegiance Alone” by Matthew Bates).

I also found that younger children (4-5) might find the book to be a bit long (since it’s not a story with a plot) and there are some phrases or words that might confuse them.

If I really want to be nit-picky, there are some lines that aren’t necessarily believed by all Christians (that Jesus essentially rescued Adam and Eve from hell - rather than going to proclaim a message of victory to the evil spirits in Tartarus who sinned in the days of Noah - though the mention of the keys was nice), yet each section ends with a statement of belief, so that can potentially feel a bit odd.

Please understand, it’s not a bad book by any means and the illustrations are great, it’s just that I think I would teach the creed a bit differently to younger children.

[Shirley Alarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We tend to recite prayers by rote without fully comprehending or taking to heart the words we speak. The Apostles’ Creed: For All God’s Children helps break that habit by examining each aspect of the creed, one concept at a time. The short reflection that follows each sentence allows readers the opportunity to think through and discuss the meaning in great detail. This approach helps children grasp the concept and meaning of the creed in a way that will make the prayer more heartfelt and meaningful into their adulthood. Additionally, thought-provoking questions open the door for parents and educators to further discuss Christian concepts, such as Who is God? and What is God like?

The version of the Creed includes Jesus descending into hell and the reflection includes the words, “When I die, Jesus meets me there…” The book is intended for children ages 4-8, so parents of the young or very sensitive might need to handle the concepts of death and judgment with particular care.

Natasha Kennedy’s illustrations capture the spiritual beauty of the Christian concepts in a child-friendly way. The darker-skinned Jesus may be a welcomed change for some children and might reflect Jesus’ actual skin tone as a Middle Easterner.

The hardcover format is a perfect way to preserve this keepsake over the course of years, as your children’s understanding develops. The Apostles’ Creed meets children’s level of understanding at any given time, making it a tool that can be used over and over again.

I love the idea of the FatCat – making the Church’s core messages of the Bible (the catechism) approachable for young learners. The fat cat hidden within the pages also adds a bit of extra fun for kids, but doesn’t detract from the important message of the book. The FatCat Series from publisher Lexham Press currently contains the coloring version of The Apostles’ Creed.

[Lisa Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Sunday School teacher of twenty years, some of those years also serving as a Director of Christian Education, I have two questions that I bring to any Christian resource designed for children: 1) Does it teach what is true? and 2) Will it connect? This book scores on both accounts.
The truths of the Apostles’ Creed are presented clearly, with a pastoral emphasis. Tough questions are addressed in ways that provide reassurance, without the over-explaining that can lead to confusion and unintended heresy. These are truths for the kids to grow into, offered with the simplicity of prose but with the lyrical quality of a poem. I can see kids learning certain pages by heart.
The presentation will connect with the kids in several ways. First, finding the “fat cat”—every child likes a challenge! Second, the proportion of detail in the artwork in relation to words on each page is in harmony; children will not tire of the illustration before the reading is complete. Third, each child will be able to find someone to identify with, someone who looks like him or her, on every page. (For adults who grew up on images of a blue-eyed Jesus, this may be startling at first; it may help to consider how startled those of Jesus’ world would be to see him portrayed with northern European coloring.)
While this book is designed for use within the family, I can also see it as a foundation for a Sunday School series. The Scriptures provided at the end of the book, matching Bible accounts to lines of the creed, would make this an easy task for anyone who wanted to try this.
I look forward to sharing this with the children of my own church.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love what this book is doing, and mostly it does it very well. The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars is

1) some of its explanations for kids might be just as confusing as they are helpful

2) the reason they give for why God created humanity is “God wanted Jesus to have sisters and brothers”, which strikes me as a very insufficient and poorly-worded reason, when it would be better to follow the Westminster Shorter Catechism by saying “God made us so we would glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.”

3) a child might easily get the impression that Jesus is not truly God, that He is less than the Father. The book does declare Jesus to be God when it explains the Trinity near the end, but the early pages don’t make the point clearly enough. A child will need a mature older Christian to discuss the book with them, to ensure correct understanding on this point.

But on the whole, this is an excellent book, a unique and beautifully-illustrated resource for teaching a child about the foundations of the Christian faith.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book uses two full pages for every line of the creed, with questions and text that coincide with each line. At the back there is a mini-liturgy for family worship which I thought was so cool, and also references for every statement of belief made in The Apostles Creed. There is also a cute, fat, cat as part of the "cat"echism learning 😉 I'm really impressed with this one! This would be a super cool baby shower gift or a wonderful book for kiddos of all ages, primarily 4-8 y/o. Thank you to the publisher for this special book. All opinions expressed are yours truly.

[Zachary Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, my children love it and call it “the Jesus book”.

I have a minor quibble on “The Resurrection of the Body”: the small text states “what happens when my life ends?…I will be like Jesus on the third day.” This implies either (a) resurrection is immediately after death or (b) the state of the soul assumed to heaven is resurrection, both of which are incorrect. This isn’t the authorial intent as the picture on that page depicts all the dead physically rising together from the dust. Other than that, pretty much flawless.

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theology for Young children might seem out of place but learning the faith young is important. The Apostles Creed is a good place to start. This book offers brief reflections on the creed's declarations. The best part is the illustrations that offer a diversity of persons and offer a dark-skinned Jesus. This is important and impressive.

Its also good to see new religious books for children coming from established publishers.

[Todd Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! I'm always interested in ways to teach sound doctrine to children in ways that engage their attention. The artwork in this book is especially effective at that. And the text, based on the Apostles' Creed, is solid teaching. And my daughters were super attentive. As a Christian father I love to see it.

[David Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter captured the essence of this book -- "I liked the illustrations." In preaching a series on the Apostles' Creed with children present, I thought this would be a great resource. Sometimes it was. But many times I was left wondering, "Is this what the Apostles' Creed really says?" Some reductionistic statements didn't make any sense at all.

[Emily Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful children's book on the Apostles Creed. Adults will love it too. ❤️

[Rick Mcgarry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing is mostly solid. Some of the illustrations are a little scary.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Apostles’ Creed: For All God’s Children is the first in a series of childrens books on the classic Christian catechism trifecta: the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments.

Each page of The Apostles’ Creed presents one line of the creed accompanied by a brief exposition on the significance of the line for young Christians. Each is complemented with vibrant illustrations that I and my child loved (especially looking for the cat on every page!). The book concludes with two valuable appendices: a brief liturgical family prayer and an index of scripture verses which guided the artwork. This second appendix is especially helpful, for the Scriptures “set the center and boundary” of the art.

My favorite pages by far are the commentaries on “Was Crucified…,” “He Descended…,” and “On the Third Day.” These pages make the reader want to shout for joy at what Christ has accomplished, to put the book down and kneel in worship. The switch from “That’s what I believe” to “That’s why I believe” in the gloss of Jesus’ resurrection is particularly wonderful, pointing to the resurrection as the foundation for everything else in the creed.

Some pages may require more commentary from parents of inquisitive children. For “Suffered under Pontius Pilate,” readers learn the reason why Christ suffered is because “we hurt him,” without further explanation. The weight of that claim is left to the parent to explain, which may be a challenge for some. It is certainly a great way to inspire further treasured conversation among families, as every page is will do!

“The Holy Catholic Church…” is summed up in “God’s life is shared with Jesus and with all his brothers and sisters.” Thanks be to God! But I wish the exposition of the creed on this had more of the specificity of Myers’ wonderful “Lexham Essentials” volume, with his explanation that the church “is salvation” (105). There is something different between reading the Bible together as a family (essential as that is), and participation in a local community of the holy catholic church. This is a great page as it stands, but I would also have loved to see something of the church as the “Ark of Christ” language as well.

The art for a children’s book is as important as the words, if not more so. The art in this volume aims to “be faithful to the words our God has spoken to us” and accomplishes that goal beautifully. The art throughout this volume is gorgeous. Jesus is depicted with a skin tone appropriate to his historic time and place (thanks be to God!). Humanity is depicted throughout in a rich diversity. The art is thoughtfully complemented by an appendix which provides the Scriptures that inspired each page. (On a very minor note, I do wonder whether the artwork should make a stronger distinction between the depictions of angels and the depictions of humans. Their visual similarity may encourage young readers to conclude humans become angels after death.) The beautiful attention to detail in the art of every page makes the images themselves worthy of sustained contemplation!

As a Christian parent with young children, I often read children’s Bibles and similar literature to my kids. As anyone familiar with this literature knows, parents usually have to heavily edit these books in real time to make them theologically faithful yet age-appropriate for young ears. I want theology books I don’t have to edit in real time as I read them to my kids. We need theology books for children I can recommend to friends and their kids without hesitation. If this first volume is any indication, Lexham Press’s FatCat series is answering that need. Highly recommended.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book for free from the publisher. I was not asked to provide a positive review, and this in no way affected my review.