At Your Baptism, written by Carrie Steenwyk and John D. Witvliet, is an annotated text about the meaning of being baptized. It is written for children so they can understand what baptism is all about.
The author explains what baptism is by using text like this: “For you he triumphed over death and rose in newness of life.”
Then, she explains what that means by saying: “But death was not the end. Jesus came back to life. Now we can live each day with God’s power. When we die, we can live with God forever.”
The illustrations by Linda Saport are colorful and go along with the text, but the people look odd
What I Like: I like the text because it is annotated. I haven’t seen many annotated texts for children, but I like the idea.
What I Dislike: However, I don’t like the illustrations. The people are cartoon-like (which is okay), but they look odd, even for cartoon characters with their heads positioned at odd angles.
Overall Rating: Good.
Age Appeal: 4-7
Publisher Info: Eerdman’s Books for Young Readers, 2011; ISBN: 9780802853813; Board Book, $8.00
Buy now at ChristianBook $6.29!
Or buy at Amazon.com $8.00.
The author explains what baptism is by using text like this: “For you he triumphed over death and rose in newness of life.”
Then, she explains what that means by saying: “But death was not the end. Jesus came back to life. Now we can live each day with God’s power. When we die, we can live with God forever.”
The illustrations by Linda Saport are colorful and go along with the text, but the people look odd
What I Like: I like the text because it is annotated. I haven’t seen many annotated texts for children, but I like the idea.
What I Dislike: However, I don’t like the illustrations. The people are cartoon-like (which is okay), but they look odd, even for cartoon characters with their heads positioned at odd angles.
Overall Rating: Good.
Age Appeal: 4-7
Publisher Info: Eerdman’s Books for Young Readers, 2011; ISBN: 9780802853813; Board Book, $8.00
Buy now at ChristianBook $6.29!
Or buy at Amazon.com $8.00.
6 comments:
Hmmm. That is not a very realistic looking picture on the cover, is it? I wouldn't get it anyway though because we believe in believer's baptism rather than infant baptism. We dedicate infants--or actually the parents, I guess.
I believe I've seen this book in the bookstore. At first, I would agree with you about illustrations, but children LOVE colors and I'm guessing, to children, they wouldn't even notice the variation of illustrations. The words/message is the important factor.
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I agree with the "anonymous" writer who says the children probably wouldn't "notice the variation of illustrations". However, young children don't generally buy their own books, their parents buy the books for them. So, it's the adults who are making the decisions, not the children. Based on that idea, I thought I should point out that I didn't like the illustrations.
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Christine
Christine: Can you elaborate on the doctrine behind this book? Is it specific for infant baptism? It seems so from the cover illustration, but I am curious how the text addresses this, if at all. Some believe that baptism is an act of salvation, some a public profession; others believe it is merely a symbol. Does this book address any of that?
Tanya: This book is not specific for infant baptism, even though the cover makes it look that way. As mentioned in the review, it was written for 4-8-year-olds, even though it is a board book. Also, the text doesn't really address the doctrine of the act. I would say this book is more like a "gift" type of book, something you might give someone to remember their baptism, after the fact, rather than a book that explains what baptism is other than the first page where the text reads: "At your baptism, God tells you that...You are baptized because you belong to God and to God's family. Your baptism is a time to see and hear God's promises."
That's helpful. I saw that it was for 4-8 year-olds, but didn't know if the text was past tense, as in "when you were baptized as a baby". Your comment above clarifies that. Thanks! :)
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