Book Note: The Lord's Prayer for Little Ones by Allia Zobel Nolan; Illustrations by Janet Samuel

Illustrator Janet Samuel uses soft, soothing colors to create a diverse group of children in familiar settings like the beach, the playground,the park and school while author Allia Zobel Nolan presents the Lord's prayer in language a little one can understand in any circumstance in "The Lord's Prayer for Little Ones" (Harvest House, 2011). It's a neat hardcover edition that will also appeal to adults wanting to open up conversations about faith on a level children can understand.

The Lord's prayer is provided, then paraphrased over a two-page illustration. "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," for example, is accompanied by the text "Until we get to heaven, we pray that everyone gets along. That means no one makes fun of anyone else. We share toys. And there are no wars. That's the way it is in heaven. we pray that on earth, we will act the same way."

In addition, there are some additional resources, much like those in "The Ten Commandments for Little Ones," on which the author and illustrator also partnered. "Digging Deeper" provides a list of questions and answers about what has been learned, "The Lord's Prayer in Dance" provides another way to enjoy the prayer and "words and Their Meanings" offer some terms key to understanding what the Lord's prayer means.

Nolan's skillfully crafted text allows children to feel as though they are an important part of the story, rather than the targets of a lesson. Samuel's illustrations evoke a feeling of happiness and tell stories themselves with many objects for little readers to discover and question.

You can purchase the book here.
-- Lauren Yarger

Note: Allia also is a Connecticut resident and I know her through the CT Press Club. A review copy was provided by the publisher.