The Book of Life

The Book of Life by Henri Daniel~Rops is a narrative retelling of the New Testament. This book is a translation (Donal O'Kelly) from the original French with simple sketch illustrations by Fritz Kredel. Sophia Institute Press is the publisher; this book is one of their ARKive Editions. ARKive Editions are exact photographic reproductions of books published decades or even centuries ago. The final page of the book has a detailed explanation of ARKive Editions.
As I stated at the beginning, this book is a narrative retelling of the events found in the four Gospels of the New Testament. The book does have a Nihil Obstat as well as an Imprimatur which assures the reader that all the information contained in the book is Scripturally sound.
I found this book to be a quaint read. The narrative format made me feel like I was sitting down to story time with a good storyteller. While it should by no means be used in place of actual Scripture, I would have no problem reading this book to children along with actual Scripture. There are questions and comments posed to the reader throughout the book; this gives the feeling of an on-going discussion as the story is told.
If you have young children, I would recommend this book as an entertaining and informative supplement to catechesis. Reading it as an adult, I recommend remembering the words of our Lord in coming to Him with child~like faith; read this book with the heart of a child.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Book of Life.