Ignatius Press sent two brand new releases my way and as soon as I opened the package, my 5 1/2 year old was at my side. “Are those new books?! Are they for us? Can I read them?” An already proficient reader (<–brag moment), he does best when the books he reads aloud are short. Maïte Roche’s Christmas! and Our Father were cracked open and read through within 5 minutes of delivery; and then he read them again.
These are board books, and we all know board books are meant for babies and toddlers, which is why it was fun and surprising that our kindergartener was so keen.
Our Father holds the text to The Lord’s Prayer and because my son knows the words by heart, he was able to recognize them on a page quickly; and because he has read the book a million times since, he’s added hallowed, trespasses, and deliver to his sight words. Win win, I say.
Christmas! was also a big hit. It sparked a whole slew of excited questions about how we’ll celebrate Jesus’s birth and why he was in a manger instead of a crib. And I am all for any book that spurs such conversation. It’s such a blessing to hear curiosity about Jesus from little souls.
Our smaller children love Roche’s books, too! Naturally. The illustrations are vibrant and simple, the words are familiar and bring to life the beauty and thrill of the Christmas story as well as the prayer we offer as a family every night. Our one year old daughter looks as she learns to handle the board pages, our toddler points and identifies the people and animals like a champ, and our 4 year old uses the pictures and general context to recreate the story for us. I was delighted how two basic board books catered to our four very different children so easily.
Snatch them up for your little ones! Then enjoy watching them grow in the light of Christian literature.
Thank you so much for these! I had no idea these existed. I’m sure they didn’t when my older children were babies, but my now 3 year old would love these.
Super cute! Going on the wish list!