Marigold HuntThe First Christians: The Acts of the Apostles for Children

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone wanting to help their children understand the Acts more and the life and customs of the first Christians and want to bring the Bible alive for their children and themselves. Marigold Hunt fulfills her goal of explaining life during the time following Christ's resurrection from how they lived, dressed, spoke and other customs. She gives great historical background and explanation in an engaging and entertaining way.My children love Marigold Hunt's books. I have never seen them so excited about reading the Bible. Before, to them, I think it was just something that happened a long time ago and they didn't understand a lot of what was going on because of the difference in the way people dressed, lived, they way they spoke and their customs. I learned a lot from reading the book as well. We also learned how the Mass is from the traditions of Christ and the first Christians, not some medieval custom as is sometimes believed. And how the hierarchy of the Church was in place from the beginning of the Church as set up by Christ. You see the Apostles meeting in a council in Jerusalem with the presbyters and other bishops with Peter as the Pope discussing and praying about whether Christ would want the Gentile Christians to have to follow the laws of Moses and how they came to their decision.Her books bring to life Christ and the Apostles. The Apostles and disciples are seen not as some mythical character but actual people who lived and struggled to follow Christ even with great obstacles and their inner weakness and also loved, laughed and showed great courage and kindness. I would definitely recommend her books.When we read this book, we first read the chapters from Acts followed by the corresponding chapter in the book. My kids have even been sharing their favorite stories from the Acts like when Sts. Paul and Barnabas were mistaken for Greek gods after healing a man in Christ's name and are barely able to stop the pagan leaders from sacrificing a bull to them or when the angel of God released them from prison even when they were chained to the guards.Thank you Marigold Hunt for writing these books!

I read somewhere that a classic is something you can read over and over and get something new from it each time. This book definitely falls under that category. My young boys are absorbed in it as we read it to them. I am sure they do not understand everything, but when they read it again on their own they will get more out of it and as their faith life and their understanding of the rest of our Christian story grows deeper, this book will continue to offer new material to ponder and meditate upon. My husband and I enjoy it as well.

My children and I are enjoying reading this during the Easter season, and I would recommend it for families who want to delve into the Scriptures with their, but also want to learn themselves. The style is conversational, and respectful of a child's vocabulary and level of understanding. Marigold Hunt's legacy lives on -- and I'm glad we have this edition to call our own!

I think adults and children can learn a lot from this concise, conversational approach to how the early church got started. My children and I received a great education from it and I enjoyed the extra thoughts that prompted discussion. The cultural background explanations helped to really understand the environment that the early Christians were in.

This is a book that helps kids study the Acts of the Apostles. It is written in an engaging manner that has my kids groaning when it is time to stop. I read it aloud because I enjoy the book as much as they do. It can be used by adults even though it is written for kids. You will not be disappointed if you purchase this book!

Great book

Beautiful book, beautifully written. Engaging for adults and children.

Marigold Hunt did a wonderful job of explaining the acts of the apostles. There is much information about the people of the time and why they may have done the things that they did. It is not just a retelling of the story. I loved this book and "A Life of Our Lord for Children". Both are great ways to help children understand our faith.

I am sorry to only give this three stars but I found the writing style soo looong winded. It loses a child's attention because of it. (I was trying to read it to my 6yr old. Maybe I will try again when he is older, might be more appropriate for an older child,,,say 9yrs or more).