Religious/mythological foundation for kids
April 12, 2022 9:59 AM Subscribe
I have a 4-year old that loves reading about Greek Mythology, Norse Mythology and the Bible - some Egyptian mythology too. I'm non-religious, but am happy I have a somewhat solid foundation from my own childhood in these subjects. However, it was all very "western" focused. Plus, my wife is Jewish. So I'd like to expand my own kids' foundation - looking for some recommendations.
This question was prompted by my realization that while I understand at a high level that the Torah/Tanakh mirrors parts of the old testament in some general sense, I don't really know if the gloss/understanding of Jewish tradition on the overlapping books is the same as that in the Christian tradition I grew up with. So I'd like a recommendation for a book written from the Jewish perspective for kids - something similar to a Children's Bible. Ideally something with some illustrations but that tries to capture the actual stories, is fairly comprehensive (lots of words) and not overly sanitized for kids. This book is what we have for the bible and he loved it. I like that it includes some of the more (in my opinion) questionable/interesting stories like Abraham/Isaac and Job, which other kid bibles omit. (On the other hand, the writing is pretty bad and the stories don't flow that well, but I often google the stories/actual text and supplement as needed. And my son doesn't seem to care.)
But that got me thinking that I'd like my kids to have a better foundation in non-"western" mythology/religion. (Not sure if there's a better term than "western" these days; it's the term I grew up with.) I didn't really study other religions/mythologies until high school/college. Are there similar books for kids that you would recommend drawn fairly directly from foundational texts for Islam (also abrahamic), Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto? I welcome suggestions on others as well, particularly foundational mythologies similar to Greek/Roman/Norse mythology from other areas of the globe? I remember reading Tad Williams' Otherland books and enjoying learning something about the San religion. I also remember reading a few books on certain Native American tribe's religions/myths.
I can find them myself of course, but I went through a few children's bibles before I found one that struck the right balance and am hoping that people have specific book recommendations. I'm ideally looking for recommendations for specific books that you and your families have enjoyed and learned from, not general recommendations on categories of books. Thanks in advance!
This question was prompted by my realization that while I understand at a high level that the Torah/Tanakh mirrors parts of the old testament in some general sense, I don't really know if the gloss/understanding of Jewish tradition on the overlapping books is the same as that in the Christian tradition I grew up with. So I'd like a recommendation for a book written from the Jewish perspective for kids - something similar to a Children's Bible. Ideally something with some illustrations but that tries to capture the actual stories, is fairly comprehensive (lots of words) and not overly sanitized for kids. This book is what we have for the bible and he loved it. I like that it includes some of the more (in my opinion) questionable/interesting stories like Abraham/Isaac and Job, which other kid bibles omit. (On the other hand, the writing is pretty bad and the stories don't flow that well, but I often google the stories/actual text and supplement as needed. And my son doesn't seem to care.)
But that got me thinking that I'd like my kids to have a better foundation in non-"western" mythology/religion. (Not sure if there's a better term than "western" these days; it's the term I grew up with.) I didn't really study other religions/mythologies until high school/college. Are there similar books for kids that you would recommend drawn fairly directly from foundational texts for Islam (also abrahamic), Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto? I welcome suggestions on others as well, particularly foundational mythologies similar to Greek/Roman/Norse mythology from other areas of the globe? I remember reading Tad Williams' Otherland books and enjoying learning something about the San religion. I also remember reading a few books on certain Native American tribe's religions/myths.
I can find them myself of course, but I went through a few children's bibles before I found one that struck the right balance and am hoping that people have specific book recommendations. I'm ideally looking for recommendations for specific books that you and your families have enjoyed and learned from, not general recommendations on categories of books. Thanks in advance!
Response by poster: Definitely doesn't need to be "religious" in the western sense -- and unfortunately I'm sure for many cultures I have no idea what their foundational religious/mythological/cultural materials are. As I noted in my question, what I'd find most helpful is specific children's book recommendations in this general area. The comics seem like a great example and I'll explore them - I would ideally like printed books so I can sit in a chair and read them to my kids, but have an ipad I use sometimes for online materials. Thanks!
posted by slide at 10:37 AM on April 12, 2022
posted by slide at 10:37 AM on April 12, 2022
I had this book of Greek myths as a child and loved it.
posted by ananci at 11:04 AM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ananci at 11:04 AM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
How about all the Gerald McDermott books? Anansi the spider, Papagayo, Coyote, etc. All are adaptations of indigenous culture folk tales for children and have a decidedly different feel from Judeo-christian Eurocentric stories.
posted by SinAesthetic at 11:05 AM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by SinAesthetic at 11:05 AM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
In my house my kid has really sunk into Daulaire's Book of Greek Myths, which I got remembering how fascinated I was with it at her age.
By the same authors is Daulaire's Book of Norse Myths, which is of course fundamentally different in content but has drawings that are just as engaging.
They are a bit bowdlerized for young audiences, and I have been a little frustrated by that, but as an introduction they are just as beautiful and mysterious as I remember.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:06 AM on April 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
By the same authors is Daulaire's Book of Norse Myths, which is of course fundamentally different in content but has drawings that are just as engaging.
They are a bit bowdlerized for young audiences, and I have been a little frustrated by that, but as an introduction they are just as beautiful and mysterious as I remember.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:06 AM on April 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
For a four year old I'd highly recommend Myth Atlas which gives broad strokes of the mythology of 12 cultures across the world/time. The art is good and is appealing to kids who like to look at a lot of details. It could be a good jumping off point for the non-European stories.
One of my kids ATE UP the Amar Chitra Katha issues we've been able to get our hands on, but they might be a little too much for a 4 year old as they are quite encompassing.
There are so many picture books and graphic novels in English related to the Ancient Greek pantheon that it's hard to suggest one in particular. Do you have a decently-funded public library near you? I'd just go through the stacks and see what catches your eye.
posted by stowaway at 11:37 AM on April 12, 2022
One of my kids ATE UP the Amar Chitra Katha issues we've been able to get our hands on, but they might be a little too much for a 4 year old as they are quite encompassing.
There are so many picture books and graphic novels in English related to the Ancient Greek pantheon that it's hard to suggest one in particular. Do you have a decently-funded public library near you? I'd just go through the stacks and see what catches your eye.
posted by stowaway at 11:37 AM on April 12, 2022
This pop-up book Zahhak: the Legend of the Serpent King is a story from the Persian foundational epic Shahnameh, which is also full of amazing stories .
It is a spectacularly beautiful pop up book. There is some killing involved but it's not graphic. It's not currently in print but I've seen it available used.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 11:46 AM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
It is a spectacularly beautiful pop up book. There is some killing involved but it's not graphic. It's not currently in print but I've seen it available used.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 11:46 AM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
It would be almost inappropriate to do the huge oral tradition of Nasreddin tales of morality and stuff-happens through books. His life is remembered as a series of quippy anecdotes in which his persona shoulders a number of roles: joker and jokee. teacher and student, wise and foolish; respected and contemptuously dismissed. Many of these tales involve collapse of stout party as pomposity & pretension are pricked; and injustice is exposed by irony. Nasreddin tales are known across the Arab and Arab-adjacent world. I suspect the parables are popular because they give power to the dispossessed and make subversive fun of The Man.
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:52 AM on April 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:52 AM on April 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
I second the Amar Chitra Katha recommendation.
posted by brainwane at 11:58 AM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by brainwane at 11:58 AM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Two suggestions for young kids--not at all comprehensive, but nice introductions to thinking about religious traditions outside their own:
In the Beginning, a collection of creation stories from different traditions (by Virginia Hamilton, with illustrations by Barry Moser). It's very good, though also somewhat solemn.
More lighthearted: There's a book called Celebrations! in the excellent "Children Just Like Me" series from Unicef/DK. It's all photographs of real kids celebrating feast days, holidays, etc., with a bit about their religious significance and more about traditional food / clothes / rituals. My kids have been fascinated by this one.
posted by miles per flower at 12:53 PM on April 12, 2022
In the Beginning, a collection of creation stories from different traditions (by Virginia Hamilton, with illustrations by Barry Moser). It's very good, though also somewhat solemn.
More lighthearted: There's a book called Celebrations! in the excellent "Children Just Like Me" series from Unicef/DK. It's all photographs of real kids celebrating feast days, holidays, etc., with a bit about their religious significance and more about traditional food / clothes / rituals. My kids have been fascinated by this one.
posted by miles per flower at 12:53 PM on April 12, 2022
Thirding or fourthing the D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths. I still have a hardcover copy I've had since childhood. So beautiful!
posted by Kitteh at 3:34 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Kitteh at 3:34 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
There's a picture book "Onions and Garlic" by Rebecca Sheir, which is adapted from an old yiddish folktale.
Rebecca Sheir hosts a podcast "Circle Round" which includes a very diverse set of folktales from all sorts of traditions (Native American, Asian, European, etc). There's even a story with Nasreddin. It might be a good source to find additional tales. (And I know I would be remiss not to mention Greeking Out if podcasts might also be of interest)
posted by skunk pig at 4:17 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Rebecca Sheir hosts a podcast "Circle Round" which includes a very diverse set of folktales from all sorts of traditions (Native American, Asian, European, etc). There's even a story with Nasreddin. It might be a good source to find additional tales. (And I know I would be remiss not to mention Greeking Out if podcasts might also be of interest)
posted by skunk pig at 4:17 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
For your ask for a recommendation for an illustrated whole-Torah book written from the Jewish perspective (and you're right; we don't read or interpret the stories the same way as they're conveyed in the OT), there's not a lot out there. The JPS Illustrated Bible is probably the closest (I've never read it, but it's a solid publishing company). The Illustrated Jewish Bible for Children is good, but it's a bit more like an encyclopedia than a storybook.
posted by Mchelly at 4:24 PM on April 12, 2022
posted by Mchelly at 4:24 PM on April 12, 2022
Response by poster: This is all wonderful! We have devoured the D'aulaire's green and norse myths books, and it's great to walk around the Met and see my son finding Hercules, the muses, the fates, etc. on vases and statues, and then see depictions of some of the myths (Ruben's prometheus) in paintings.
I can't wait to order some of these books and dig in - thank you all so much and please keep them coming!
posted by slide at 4:33 PM on April 12, 2022
I can't wait to order some of these books and dig in - thank you all so much and please keep them coming!
posted by slide at 4:33 PM on April 12, 2022
I had howard schwartz’s Elijah’s Violin & Other Jewish Fairy Tales & isaac bashevis singer’s Stories for Children given to me as, I think, a christmas present one year. intercultural households with all the childhood educational responsibility on one parent’s shoulders, what are you going to do. anyway I still have both of them and you definitely want to get em for a kid before any twelve daulaireses. which are also fine in their way but certainly less essential.
posted by queenofbithynia at 4:40 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by queenofbithynia at 4:40 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yaaaas Amar Chitra Katha. When I was a kid we would go to India every summer with a checked bag of Kit-Kats and saffron to be distributed and replaced with PG Wodehouse, Asterix, and Amar Chitra Katha. (RIP Popular Book House in Deccan Gymkhana.) I guess you can get them online now? There used to be a weird section with a Big Game Hunter in every issue. I hope that's gone now....
I also had a Children's Illustrated Mahabharata. In my mind this is the greatest story ever told. It's fairly complex though, so maybe better at a slightly older age.
posted by basalganglia at 6:10 PM on April 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
I also had a Children's Illustrated Mahabharata. In my mind this is the greatest story ever told. It's fairly complex though, so maybe better at a slightly older age.
posted by basalganglia at 6:10 PM on April 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
Oh! Akbar Birbal stories !
These are riddle/puzzle type folktales about Emperor Akbar and his wise minister Birbal. Akbar usually asks some silly question like "exactly how many crows are in the city at the very moment?" and Birbal reasons out an answer. Perfect if the kid wants to try to figure out the answer "before" Birbal.
posted by basalganglia at 6:18 PM on April 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
These are riddle/puzzle type folktales about Emperor Akbar and his wise minister Birbal. Akbar usually asks some silly question like "exactly how many crows are in the city at the very moment?" and Birbal reasons out an answer. Perfect if the kid wants to try to figure out the answer "before" Birbal.
posted by basalganglia at 6:18 PM on April 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
OMG, YES to Akbar and Birbal stories. I think the clever twists hit a sort of Encyclopedia Brown-ish niche for me as a kid, and my kid appears to feel the same way.
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 9:43 PM on April 12, 2022
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 9:43 PM on April 12, 2022
UK books contemporary and parallel with D'Aulaire myth books are the gorgeous series by Roger Lancelyn Green illustrated by Janet and Anne Grahame-Johnstone and published by Purnell in the 60s. You could start your 4yo off as a comparative mythologist.
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:03 AM on April 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:03 AM on April 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
For Eastern European Jewish folktales, I remember reading Isaac Bashevis Singer as a kid, but the book I remember best was actually not by him: The Diamond Tree: Jewish Tales from Around the World
I think you'll also want to expose them to Chelm stories. (The wise men of Chelm are a European Jewish folk tale trope, they turn logic on its head and reach foolish conclusions, and they are well known and referenced in Jewish cultural circles so it may be helpful to them to be grounded in.) There are several books and honestly I found a bunch of the stories online when I was looking! So you can easily read a few and see if you want to buy any of the books too.
posted by Lady Li at 6:28 AM on April 13, 2022
I think you'll also want to expose them to Chelm stories. (The wise men of Chelm are a European Jewish folk tale trope, they turn logic on its head and reach foolish conclusions, and they are well known and referenced in Jewish cultural circles so it may be helpful to them to be grounded in.) There are several books and honestly I found a bunch of the stories online when I was looking! So you can easily read a few and see if you want to buy any of the books too.
posted by Lady Li at 6:28 AM on April 13, 2022
The Children Just Like Me series is the first thing that sprung to mind for me I'd also recommend their Our Favorite Stories book, which includes ten folktales from around the world.
This beautiful Illustrated Book of Myths groups myths from around the world by theme, and is a good jumping off point for myths you want to explore in more depth.
For children's books about Judaism, you may want to look at the books PJ Library has curated here. They cover a wide range of topics related to Jewish tradition, and you can sort by age range and topic.
posted by earth by april at 9:15 AM on April 13, 2022
This beautiful Illustrated Book of Myths groups myths from around the world by theme, and is a good jumping off point for myths you want to explore in more depth.
For children's books about Judaism, you may want to look at the books PJ Library has curated here. They cover a wide range of topics related to Jewish tradition, and you can sort by age range and topic.
posted by earth by april at 9:15 AM on April 13, 2022
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One interesting question - are you specifically looking for religious texts in the western sense? That already makes it harder to answer your question. At least in our household, Hinduism was inextricably wound together with history, philosophy, and culture in a way that expands the overall realm. The foundational canon works are probably the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, but they have so many stories nested in them, and there are thousands of tales about the gods and their incarnations. And if I was looking for fables for children, I might start with the Panchatantra, which isn't religious like the Bible, but isn't exactly not religious.
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 10:25 AM on April 12, 2022 [3 favorites]