Another Outstanding Children's Book!

I had earlier reviewed a children’s book published by Kloria Publishing based on a remarkable idea - one that makes you wonder why nobody thought of it before: to use the church’s hymns as texts of children’s books - richly illustrated and robustly made.

Since that time, Kloria Publishing (which is actually a small, Lutheran family business run by the delightful Meyer family) has produced several more books in the same series - each one with a different and unique character. I actually don’t know if Dear Christians One and All Rejoice was the first one or not, but it was the first one that I saw. I was smitten by it.

And now there is another installment in the series just in time for Advent: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. The illustrations by Edward Riojas are glorious and bright, done in the style of church stained glass windows. The hymn stanzas are on the left pages, and the antiphon or refrain appears on the right pages - providing an ingeniously-done patterned repetition that is so beneficial for the learning of young children.

Unlike other children’s books - including the usual Christmas offerings - the illustrations reflect the entire life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Biblical context of His incarnation - not simply the image of Him in a manger. That is in there too, but the stunning and attention-grabbing pictures also include the burning bush and the Ten Commandments, the crucifixion with the imagery of blood flowing from our Lord’s side, imagery of Jesus the priest, Jesus the liberator, and Jesus the king. This book is not merely theologically sound, but profoundly Christocentric.

And since this ancient hymn is based on the O Antiphons used liturgically in the church for centuries on the dates December 17 to 23, the book includes these seven antiphons (each with a small illustration) as a kind of appendix. The book closes with the hymn itself on pages that reflect the old-fashioned storybook motif.

Once again, I cannot recommend this book highly enough - as well as the other similar books (picture books, as well as board books for the really little ones).

And as a bonus for those raising their children according to the classical model of education, there is a Latin edition of this book: Veni, Veni Emmanuel! It is the exact same book with the exact same pictures - with the two exceptions that the Latin version has the “Easter Egg” of demonstrating the hidden code “Ero Cras” (“I’ll be [there] tomorrow”) embedded in the Latin of the O Antiphons. Also, in the Latin edition only, the final page showing the hymn set to music is indicated in Gregorian notation.

Such a treat! These - and their other books and music - make great Christmas gifts.

Check out their site. Your children, grandchildren, godchildren, nephews and nieces will love these books. I’m serious. You’ll basically want to buy one of everything!