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.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thank you for making us aware of this book. As a religious brother, and an ordained minister, I often have family members asking me if I know of any good books for their children to help with catechesis. I am glad I can respond now.
Anonymous said…
I am glad you made us aware of this book because I often have parents asking me if I know of any good books to help there children with their faith. Glad I can respond now.