by Maurice Prater
Illustrated by Jason Koltuniak
Bismarck, ND: Divine Providence Press, 2014
It isn’t every day that you pick up a book intended for small children and find a foreword by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, but Counting on Faith by Maurice Prater is no ordinary children’s book. It is a counting book, focusing on the numbers one through ten, but each page also teaches a tenet of the Catholic faith.
One is for God the Father is heaven. There were two of each animal on Noah’s ark. Three is for the three members of the Holy Family. Four is for the four evangelists. Jesus had five wounds which he showed to St. Thomas after the Resurrection. God created the world in six days. Seven is for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the Our Father, we ask God to help us eight times. There are nine different types of angels. Ten is for the Ten Commandments.
The illustrations by Jason Koltuniak are attractive and reverent and serve to enhance the text. “Counting on Faith” is a great book to share with your 3 – 6 year old child at home or to read aloud in an early childhood classroom or religious education class.
