What You Will See Inside a Catholic Church
Grade 3-6-Illustrated with full-color photographs, this title explains basic beliefs and the reasons for particular building styles, furnishings, and decorations. While the blurb states the purpose of the series is "to show children- traditional houses of worship, liturgical celebrations, and rituals of different world faiths," the foreword is aimed at readers familiar with such terms and language as Baptism, God's home, the sacrament of Reconciliation, etc. It includes the sentence, "Our God is a loving God" and makes reference to "when you attend weekly Mass." Despite the fact that the text is sometimes clumsy and relies on far too many exclamation marks, it is informative. The significance of crosses, altars, and baptismal fonts; the reasons for candles, flowers, and stained-glass windows; the meaning behind the Eucharist and holy oils, etc., are all covered. Nonetheless, additional titles may be needed for a full introduction to the topic. This book will be most useful for religious education classes.Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.