Just as it is important for us to teach our children about the Bible when they are young, it is also important to introduce them to the people that played a key role in church history. One particular book that that I have found quite helpful in this regard is The Church History ABCs: Augustine and twenty-five other heroes of the faith. Using the twenty-six letters of the alphabet as a starting point, this book introduces children to the following heroes of the faith:

A - Saint Augustine

B - Anne Bradstreet

C - John Calvin

D - John Donne

E - Jonathan Edwards

F - John Foxe

G - Jane Grey

H - Hippolytus

I - Ignatius

J - Absalom Jones

K - John Knox

L - Martin Luther

M - Monica

N - John Newton

O - John Owen

P - Patrick

Q - Queen Jeanne

R - Nicholas Ridley

S - Charles Spurgeon

T - Tertullian

U - Zacharias Ursinus

V - Antonio Vivaldi

W - The Wesleys

X - Francis Xavier

Y - Florence Young

Z - Ulrich Zwingli

Each page introduces readers to a new letter and a new hero of the faith, with approximately 1-2 paragraphs talking about their life and what it is that made them an important part of church history. The last four pages of the book have additional biographical information about each of the men and women from church history introduced earlier in the book. My wife and I found this book to be ideal for reading to our children at dinner time, but I suspect it would also work well for reading at bed time. If you read one page per day, you can get through all twenty-six heroes of the faith in just under a month. I highly recommend this resource for helping your children age four and older learn their ABCs and some church history all at the same time.

Author Information:

Stephen J. Nichols (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary) is research professor of Christianity and culture at Lancaster Bible College and Graduate School. He has written several books, including Pages from Church History (P&R Publishing, 2006). He lives with his wife and two sons in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Illustrator Information:

Ned Bustard, a graphic artist, has written and illustrated many children's books, including Ella Sings Jazz, The Story of Sir Galahad, and The Sailing Saint.

Disclaimer:

This book was provided by Crossway for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

t's difficult to find good material on church history aimed at children, but this is a unique, lively option. The book presents 26 heroes of the faith, one for each letter of the alphabet. This presents a limitation, since sometimes there are multiple possibilities for one letter. Still, it manages to cover a nice variety of figures from throughout church history. One brightly colored page is devoted to each person, & is written from their viewpoint. The illustrations are unique & entertaining. They're a combination of drawings & photos. Each one has a likeness of the person featured on that page along with several related objects. Be sure to pay attention to all the details, some are quite amusing! The info provided for each person is quite basic, but at the end of the book is a section with further details for older children or adults, along with explanations of some of the details in the illustrations. Another limitation of the ABC format is that it's not possible to put it in chronological order. Really though, for younger children what we're after is exposure. Understanding the flow of events can come later. Still, the authors have provided a timeline in the back of the book that puts everyone in chronological order, along with dates. The age range listed is 3 to 6, but I think this book is appealing to a wider age range than that. The bright colors & ABC format appeal to younger kids, the witty writing & additional information in the back are interesting to older kids, & the unique, detailed illustrations appeal to all ages. My kids, 1, 4, 9, and 12, all enjoyed this book. Our family has thoroughly enjoyed The Church History ABCs. It's unique, entertaining, & informative, & makes information on a nice variety of historical Christian figures accessible to younger children. I recommend it to families to use with all ages! (Thanks so much to Crossway for providing a review copy of The Church History ABCs for our family to review.)

This picture book gives a short biographical look at 26 people in church history. This would be great for giving your kids an overview of such a broad subject. It helps answer the question: "Where do I even start?" Each letter of the alphabet briefly introduces one person. You can easily read a page each day to even very young children. I have a two year old and a five year old and they both ask me to read it to them. The pictures are well-done and even most parents will learn a few things as they read. Also, in the back of the book is a little more detailed summary of each person.

(Crossway provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a fair critique).

We love this book. My kids are learning about church history and don't even know it! It is full of interesting details on each persons life that make for great discussion. Get this book for sure!

Recently I received a copy of the book "the Church History ABC's" by Stephen J. Nichols and Ned Bustard from Crossway. This is a book for children (book says ages 3 - 6) that gives a brief introduction to 27 figures from church history (2 for W). I really enjoyed this book. It offers a wide range of people that emphasize different nuances of what the church believes. I think this book would be very helpful for a Sunday School class, a parent teaching their child, or any other arena where children are being taught about the church. I highly recommend this book.I this is a review copy from Crossway.