Catholic Review of: The Mass Book For Children

Like, Little Acts of Grace, The Mass Book for Children is a short 48 page approximately 8"x6" book explaining in pictures and words the young child can understand and relate to what the Mass is and what it should be for each person.  Starting at the beginning of Mass, the book explains what the actions are for that part of the Mass ("We sit down to hear a story from the Old Testament," page 10), how the child should perceive these actions (correlating the entrance procession with a parade), and how the child should react (during the Lord's Prayer "Why do we say this perfect prayer? Because we recognize that we are God's children, no matter how old we are, and we want to obey His Will," page 38.)  This book speaks to children in easy and loving language explaining and assisting the child in his understanding of the most beautiful gift you can give your child, the Mass.
 

Each page has a title for a different part of the Mass with the description and explanation.  The topic is ended with a quote from the bible.  Cartoon illustrations accompany each page.  You can easily read one page in less than a minute and your young child will have covered  that part of the Mass at his level of understanding.
 

My very young children love finding the mouse within the picture of each topic.  As the illustration depicts he priest and young children involved in the Mass, the mouse on the page shows the interior attitude that is to be cultivated surrounding that part of the Mass.  For example at the Penitential Rite the mouse is sad sitting in the pew remembering how he pulled his sister-mouse's tail.  When the book still holds interest for my preschoolers, but my toddler is quickly loosing interest, asking him to find the mouse and asking him to describe what the mouse is doing is a wonderful way to bring him back to the book.
 

The Mass Book for Children is such a tender, gentle way to introduce children to what being Catholic means and looks like.  Learning how to act at Mass and why and what attitudes we should come away from the Mass with help my often wiggly and sometimes loud children in Mass know why I'm shushing them.  Rather than pushing expectation on a young child, The Mass Book for Children is a lovely book that encourages goodness in the child and makes him want to obey for love of God.