The Apostles’ Creed by Ben Myers

A vibrantly illustrated picture book that helps parents explain the historic Apostles’ Creed to their children.

The Apostles’ Creed: For All God’s Children by Ben Myers and illustrated by Natasha Kennedy. Lexham Press, 2022. 48 pages.

Reading Level: Picture books, ages 4-8

Recommended For: Ages 4 and up.

Many of us recite the Apostles’ Creed* regularly in Sunday morning worship. But have we thought about what it really means? Have we tried explaining it to our children? The Apostles’ Creed: For All God’s Children tries to help parents do just that: explain to our children the layered theological truths embedded in this ancient creed of the church. Stylized, thoughtful illustrations fill every page; each picture also includes the “fat cat,” but he is relatively unobtrusive.

As with any book that attempts to be all things to all people (or, in this case, all things to all Christian denominations), the text is vague in some places and causes me to scratch my head in others. On the whole, it’s a traditional Protestant understanding of this historic creed, and it has much to offer in the way of unpacking the layers of meaning in the creed. Back matter includes not only more references and explanations of the creed, but the Scripture passages used to direct—and limit—the illustrations. Indeed, the illustrations are perhaps the most intentional element of this book!

Jesus is pictured on every page, and He is clearly dark-skinned. Whether a Middle Eastern Jew would have been as dark as He is pictured, I don’t know; I do know that most of us grew up with very white-skinned images of Jesus, and those are not historically accurate either. The people in the book (some children, some adult) represent a wide range of skin colors, which is a clear reminder of Revelation’s portrayal of the church as composed of all tribes and nations. All in all, the illustrations are a welcome change from some of the Sunday school material I, at least, grew up with.

*In case you’re unfamiliar with the Apostles’ Creed, this Presbyterian church from Texas has it on their website; this is the same version used in the picture book reviewed here. It’s also found in many traditional hymnals and is used by many denominations.

Considerations:

• Theology: This is a book to preview to see how it lines up with your theology. Of particular note is the page explaining “He descended into hell.”
• Illustrations: As mentioned above, the book contains many images of Jesus.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5

• Worldview/Moral Rating: 4.75 out of 5
• Literary/Artistic Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Read more about our ratings here.

Related Reading From Redeemed Reader

• A Review: God Made Me for Worship by Jared Kennedy (another recommended picture book perfect for helping young children understand what we do in church)
• A Review: Miracle Man and Go and Do Likewise by John Hendrix are two great picture books about the life of Jesus
• A Resource: Children’s Best Bibles Guide (a free resource!)

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