Book Review: Totally Catholic!

Are you looking for a comprehensive resource for teaching the Catholic Faith to your children or students?  Or a quick reference guide to help explain Catholic doctrine?  Or have a tenet of the faith broken down to better understand yourself?  Then this soft cover book titled Totally Catholic! a Catechism for Kids and Their Parents and Teachers by Sister Mary Kathleen Glavich is ideal!  It parallels the Catechism yet does so in a kid friendly way.  Each chapter starts with a question such as "What is Faith?" or "What is God like?" All the chapters are chock full of information that is broken down into sections so as not to overwhelm the reader or be a monotonous read.  Kind of like a text book format yet interesting.

Here is the basic set up:
Question that gives the reader a clue as to it's topic,
References the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
Answers the question which is relatable to children, a
Brainstorm section that challenges the reader to think how this question affects their lives, a
BTW (by the way) section that gives a concise definition of the theme of the chapter, a
Catholic VIP that is a short biography of a saint, a
Scripture Link that connects the chapter to where it's found in the bible, a
Did You Know? box that offers an interesting fact, a
From My Heart connection that offers either a prayer to recite or a prayer intention, a
Now Act! section that gives the reader an assignment and ends with a
Recap that highlights the main points of the chapter.

This format is perfect for intermediate readers!  Or for any lay person who would like additional information to why Catholics believe what they do and where the belief originated.   My only critique would be the black and white illustrations they used throughout the book.  They're done well yet I wished they had some color illustrations too.  Either it wasn't well thought out or was purposely done due to budget constraints, either way, I think it lacks a bit of a visual impact.  Especially for children who are visual learners.

Overall, I enjoyed it and will have it available for my son to use and also plan to use it when preparing my lesson plans.  (In fact I already have with my lesson plans for the Ascension of Jesus and Pentecost.) My first graders are too young to be able to read it but the child friendly content will be helpful.   It's relevant to teach the faith and won't be used just once and placed on your bookshelf.  It will be perused over and over again when working with children.  I would highly recommend it to any parent or teacher who is looking for a faith formation resource.

This review was written as part of the Catholic Company Book Reviewer Program. Visit the Catholic Company for more information on Totally Catholic! A Catechism for Kids and Their Parents and Teachers.  The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion Gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.  A complimentary copy of this book was given for my honest review.

Blessings,
Noreen