Baby's First Book of Prayers

If you’re looking for a toddler-friendly book of prayers, check out Baby’s First Book of Prayers by Melody Carlson. This hardcover book is mini sized, like a thick pocketbook, making it both durable and easy for small hands to hold. The book features forty-one prayers that address a variety of simple topics, such as food, family, nature, joy, and sadness. The two-page spread format is consistent throughout, with a full-page illustration (done by Judith Pfeiffer) on the left hand side and a four-line rhyming prayer on the right. The meter rarely falters, which gives the prayers a singsong quality. Here is an example:
Bless my home, dear God, I pray./ Keep it safe by night and day./Bless each room and bless each wall./ Bless my family. Bless us all. The illustrations are bright and cheerful, and they display various ethnicities.

What I Like: This book could easily be used to establish a “devotional time” routine to start or end your child’s day, especially since the prayers lend themselves well to additional discussion by astute parents. At one prayer a day, it would take well over a month to cover the whole book. At the same time, if you need a “teachable” prayer for a certain situation—such as learning to say you’re sorry or expressing happiness—you can usually find a suitable match. The size of the book is just plain fun too. It has a big-kid thickness with a little kid artistic appeal.

What I Dislike: Nothing really, except I would have personally appreciated some Scripture references to coincide with the prayers.

Overall Rating: Excellent

Age Appeal: Ages 2 and up

Publisher Info: Zonderkidz, YEAR; ISBN:978-0310702870; Hardcover, 96 pgs., $6.99

Buy it Now at Christianbook.com for $5.99
OR Buy it at Amazon.com for $6.99.

Special Info: CCBR has reviewed several books by Carlson. You can check them out by clicking here. You can check out other children's books by Melody Carlson. See: Benjamin's Box: The Story of the Resurrection Eggs, Her First Bible, His First Bible, Baby's First Bible, Christmas at Harrington's (a $15.99 book right now sale priced at Amazon for $6.40), and more! Carlson also writes books for teens.