“A Glimpse at Parenting Toward the Kingdom: a Companion Guide” by Kendra Hunter, Kristina Tartara, Stephanie Petrides, and Dr. Philip Mamalakis

Ancient Faith Publishing’s Parenting Toward the Kingdom: a Companion Guide is aptly named. It is both a companion and a guide to parents whose aim is to help their children toward the Kingdom of God. Intended as a study guide to be used alongside Dr. Philip Mamalakis’ well-received book Parenting Toward the Kingdom (read our 2017 review, https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2017/02/08/gleanings-from-a-book-parenting-toward-the-kingdom-by-dr-philip-mamalakis/), this spiral bound book both supports and extends the original book while also personalizing it for each reader. This companion guide was written by a team, Kendra Hunter, Kristina Tartara, and Stephanie Petrides (who each led a parenting group in their parish, discussing the original book), along with Dr. Philip Mamalakis. Their investment in the project is evident through the insights in the companion guide.

The guide is set up in 10 sessions, each focusing on one or more chapters of the original book. (The authors suggest that it may take more than one group gathering to do justice to one “session” in the guide, so discussion groups should be open to some flexibility in extending their session discussions as needed.) There’s a prayer to open each session that includes a different part of the “Akathist to the Mother of God: Nurturer of Children” each time. Following the opening prayer, there are eight different segments in every session that open the discussion. These include additional insights from Dr. Mamalakis. They also incorporate individual experiences, allow parents to reflect on their past actions, encourage individualized practice, help parents set goals for future actions, and briefly review the session’s learnings. There is ample room for readers to write down their own insights, ideas, and goals in the guide’s pages. Each session’s pages are sprinkled with relevant quotes from the original book.

Parenting Toward the Kingdom: a Companion Guide offers a practical way for parents to take a close look at their parenting, consider how to apply the principles in the original book within the context of their own home, and set themselves up for growth in parenting their children toward the Kingdom of God. The book is intended to be used in a group setting, so that parents can bounce ideas off each other and support each other in their ups and downs. In order to get the best benefit from this book, the reader will have to invest time and thought into each session. This companion guide will enable parents who make that investment to become better parents, and better lead their children towards the Kingdom of God.

Purchase your copy of Parenting Toward the Kingdom: a Companion Guide at https://store.ancientfaith.com/parenting-toward-the-kingdom-a-companion-guide/ 

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Education Ministry thanks Ancient Faith Publishing for providing a copy of this book for us to review and share.   

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts.  

After reading the 2017 review of Parenting Toward the Kingdom (https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2017/02/08/gleanings-from-a-book-parenting-toward-the-kingdom-by-dr-philip-mamalakis/), and learning that there are six principles of child rearing which the Mamalakis family follows, you may wish to explore some or all of those principles a little deeper. We have linked our shorts posts for each principle below. May God help (and forgive!) all of us as we parent, grandparent, godparent, and otherwise raise His children towards His Kingdom!

1. Always parent with the end in mind. https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/on-orthodox-christian-principles-of-child-rearing-principle-1-always-parent-with-the-end-in-mind/
2. Respond, don’t react. https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2017/10/04/on-orthodox-christian-principles-of-child-rearing-principle-2-respond-dont-react/
3. Understand struggles in terms of the values and the virtues of the Kingdom of God. https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2017/10/20/on-orthodox-christian-principles-of-child-rearing-principle-3-understand-struggles-in-terms-of-the-values-and-the-virtues-of-the-kingdom-of-god/
4. Separate feelings from behaviors. https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2017/11/01/on-orthodox-christian-principles-of-child-rearing-principle-4-separate-feelings-from-behaviors/
5. Teach the joy of obedience. https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2017/11/15/on-orthodox-christian-principles-of-child-rearing-principle-5-teach-the-joy-of-obedience/
6. Teach the joy of repentance. https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/on-orthodox-christian-principles-of-child-rearing-principle-6-teach-the-joy-of-repentance/

A Glimpse at “The Light” by Presvytera Angela Alatzakis

The Orthodox Children’s Press has a lovely picture book about the light of Pascha. The Light by Presvytera Angela Alatzakis walks with a child through the black night of Holy Saturday, into the darkened church, and slowly through the glorious services of Pascha. The focus of the book is on the light that each parishioner receives (and then takes with them to share with the world) to remind them of the Light of Christ. 

The book is (appropriately) very darkly illustrated at the beginning, as both the world and the church are dark at the beginning of the Paschal services. The gently engaging illustrations gradually brighten, as the light is shared from priest to parishioner, across the parish, and then outside and around the neighborhood…  Until the whole world is saying “Christ is risen!” in their own languages, and the reader’s own heart lights up with joy as they anticipate that moment once again.

This book will be a valuable Lenten/Paschal resource for anyone working with children. It will likely be read by families year after year, as together they anticipate (and prepare to receive) the light of Pascha. It will also be helpful to Church school teachers who want to teach their students about the Paschal services, so that they can better participate in the events.

In how many languages can you say “Christ is risen” after reading this book? And why do many Orthodox Christians take their light home, to keep it for a long time? Read the book to find out! 

Find a copy at the following sites based on your needs: orders of multiple copies (5+, may be a combination of titles from The Orthodox Children’s Press) can be placed at https://www.orthodoxchildrenspress.com/product/the-light-paperback; orders of 1-4 copies should be placed at https://www.amazon.com/Light-Angela-Alatzakis/dp/0991216466/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RU43M3K5RSPP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ErB9elfUHm8SnxjlpK8YvYGsPEYdfhM1302BnCMchhu6tC9SOsxuQ-5vq-4mwrEMc-61njmDuEBBFjx1pMpH8tmyWkpLrDWU2HmKNkX0bJ8.yjPWMjVy0H-D-P_ZgVvDnEYFa4m2Ps-fQhRvXQePqbo&dib_tag=se&keywords=Alatzakis&qid=1713287210&sprefix=alatzakis%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-1

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Education Ministry thanks the Orthodox Children’s Press for providing a copy of this book for us to review and share.  

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts.  

A Glimpse at “Down the Valley” by Edith M. Humphrey

Professor Edith Humphrey has once again woven a beautiful tale for children, incorporating her own grandchildren as the main characters, and allowing them to time-travel and meet their very own saints! Fans of her Beyond the White Fence (Ancient Faith, 2021) will be overjoyed to learn that she has written a sequel, Down the Valley, which has been published by Cascade Books (an imprint of Wipf and Stock).

It’s been two years since some of the cousins found themselves beyond Gramgon’s (what they call their grandmother) white fence, and wondrously transported back in time to meet their saints. Many of the other cousins wished for a turn, but two years have passed with no opportunities. Until now. This time cousins James, Isaiah, Allie, and Kevin, and their friend from Gramgon’s neighborhood, TJ, each have their own adventure down in the valley beyond the fence. (Most of the adventures include several other cousins, as well.) Every trip across time introduces a cousin/friend to their saint and allows them to experience part of their saint’s life. 

How do some of the cousins cause a distraction that keeps one of Christ’s disciples’ homes from being searched? Will some of the boys make it all the way through the dark to Bethany (and find the right house there) in time to deliver something important to an early Christian leader? Who accidentally meets their saint inside the Jewish temple at night? Which of the children find themselves in another time and place alone? Who winds up in jail with their saint? Whose saint had an otter and a cow as their friends? Who was almost too late to this saint-meeting party, but arrives in time to find themselves on a beautiful beach in India, where they learn that their saint knows all about lateness and has learned to see the gifts in it? And why do the cousins keep snitching Gramgon’s giant book (that they almost can’t handle because of its size) off of her shelf? 

Find answers to these questions, and a great deal of adventure, with these real-life friends when you read Down the Valley. The book stands on its own, and will make sense to readers who have not read Beyond the White Fence, the first book in the series. Having read the first one, however, will give the reader deeper insights into these children and their escapades. Readers of both will meet many different saints, in the context of their time and culture. There is so much to learn about the saints and how the world looked during their lifetime, and these books are an adventurous way to do so without taking a single class.

This book will be a fun read-aloud for younger children, it is sure to be devoured by older children, and adults will also enjoy reading it (this one certainly did!). Purchase your copy of Down the Valley to begin your own learning adventure here: https://wipfandstock.com/9781666772067/down-the-valley/ 

Enjoy Kristina’s review of Humphrey’s first book in the series, Beyond the White Fence, in an earlier post on this site: https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2021/10/26/a-glimpse-at-beyond-the-white-fence-by-edith-m-humphrey/

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Education Ministry thanks Cascade Books for providing a copy of this book for us to review and share.      

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts.  

A Glimpse at “You are an Orthodox Christian” by Theofanis Sawabe, Illustrated by Vladimir Ilievski

Newrome Press’ picture book, You are an Orthodox Christian, helps its readers to better understand who they are, and gives them the chance to learn why/how to better value their faith. Theofanis Sawabe begins the book with, “You are an Orthodox Christian. Do you know what that means?” He begins to answer his own question by taking a look at Orthodoxy’s family tree, which stretches all the way back to Christ and His apostles. 

Page by page, Sawabe shows how Orthodox Christians through the years have carried the Faith so that we, today, can be part of it. He tells of their kindness to strangers, their courage in the face of impossible situations, their steadfastness in maintaining the Faith. He continues into modern times, showing how Orthodox Christians continue to carry and share their faith as they are able. He emphasizes that the reader (who he calls “dear child”) is part of this big Orthodox family, and that they are inheritors of a great blessing: the Holy Orthodox Faith.

Vladimir Ilievski has illustrated this book in a truly Orthodox manner. Almost every page features a saint (or more) whose life illustrates the words on that page. Readers may easily recognize the saints, as they look similar to their icons, but the saints’ illustrations also beautifully fit the style of the rest of the illustrations in the book.

You are an Orthodox Christian concludes with an appendix of several pages that tell abbreviated life stories of those saints and notes which previous page of the book features their image. This book offers the opportunity for readers to come away from it better appreciating their faith. Readers will also have learned more about twenty of the Church’s saints!

This book will be an excellent resource to families or Church schools. It encourages its readers to not just appreciate their faith, but to carry it on (as so many others have) for the generations to come. It is a book about family, the family of the Orthodox Church.

Find your copy of You are an Orthodox Christian here: https://newromepress.com/you-are-an-orthodox-christian/ 

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Education Ministry thanks Newrome Press for providing a copy of this book for us to review and share.      

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts.