the Church History ABCs Book Review

I was given the opportunity to review the Church History ABSs by Stephen J. Nichols and Ned Bustard. There were numerous reasons I asked to review this book; beginning with my desire to learn about the History of the Church. I must also confess that I loved the bright colors/drawings on the cover. In the past, I strictly focused on the verbiage contained in books, but have grown in my appreciation of the arts; creating a love for graphics contained in a book!

The first time I opened the book, my eleven year old daughter began looking over my shoulder. I loved her curiosity and asked if she would like to take a look. She most enjoyed the stories containing women – and we immediately went on-line to search in-depth details on each of them.

We learned that Anne Bradstreet ’s father and husband were instrumental in founding Harvard; two of her sons were graduates (1653 and 1660). In October 1997 a gate (Bradstreet Gate) was dedicated in memory of America’s first published female poet (she was the first female poet in England also). She suffered with smallpox and later paralysis in her joints, but obtained a comfortable social standing.

Jane Grey was a true inspiration in numerous ways. Although abused as a child, she turned to books for comfort and excelled in arts and languages as a result. As stated in this book, Jane served as queen of England for nine days. Upon her private execution, an anonymous account indicated she recited Psalm 51 and quoted the last words of Jesus (from Luke’s Gospel): “Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!” She was then beheaded.

I love teaching my children when they don’t realize we’re learning-they simply think we’re having fun together (and we ARE)! After all, isn’t learning suppose to be fun; creating a desire to continue learning for a lifetime?

We enjoyed this book and will return to it often.

A copy of this book was provided by Crossway’s Book Review Program. Please visit www.crossway.org/blog.