THE LORD'S PRAYER FOR CHILDREN

A picture book focuses on making a traditional prayer more accessible to young readers.

Although the Lord’s Prayer is familiar to Christians (described by Abraham as “the perfect way to talk to God” in an endnote), the vocabulary and ideas may be challenging to young Sunday schoolers. On each page of this book, both the traditional King James Version of the prayer and Abraham’s interpretation appear. Abraham simplifies the words and the concepts for each line of the prayer. Swapping an archaic word like hallowed with the simpler special and replacing trespasses with mistakes, the author successfully boils down the essence of the prayer in a way that youngsters can understand without diluting the meaning. A few lines are less effective, such as the introduction of angels in the depiction of heaven, which may be a theological stretch. Still, teachers and parents will find this a helpful rendition. West’s cartoon images focus on diversity, showing mainly children and one crossing guard in many different hues, one of whom uses a rainbow cane. (The guard is depicted as having vitiligo.) God is pictured as a golden figure, sometimes with rays that resemble sunbeams surrounding his head, which may suggest to the youngest readers that the divine is associated with the sun. The figure’s lack of facial features makes sense, keeping God abstract. But this element may be off-putting to some kids, especially since the prayer’s language has been made so concrete.

A useful tool for Sunday school teachers and parents introducing new concepts.