100 Prayers, 100 Praise Songs by Stephen Elkins, Ill. by Tim O'Connor

100 Prayers, 100 Praise Songs is a devotional-type book of prayers for children with accompanying music for each prayer. When I first saw the book, I thought "Great, what kind of quality prayers could be included in a book of 100 of them?" The answer is, fantastic ones! While this book is geared toward young children, it is filled with famous prayers from Bible heroes, poets, authors, and historical figures. Accompanied with tastefully vibrant illustrations, each prayer focuses little minds on God--and teaches them to pray! The song that accompanies each prayer is conveniently marked at the top of each page for easy reference.

This book came in the mail just as we were beginning serious potty training with our three-year-old. Since each prayer is rather short, I figured this would be a good book to read during sits in the bathroom, to accommodate the varying lengths of each visit. We'd typically read 3-5 prayers at a time, unaccompanied by the music because of our location. Although we didn't go through the book as a devotional one prayer at a time, my little guy--who relishes books in general--absolutely loves it! He even calls it his other Bible. Ha! The prayers are short enough to keep his interest, and usually something on each page sparks a conversation--including the artistic illustrations. This book makes a great addition to our library, and we love having a tool that helps us teach the many facets of prayer. Today I even caught our sweet boy reading this book to his "baby" who was "going potty"--he was teaching his doll the same truths we're trying to instill in him!

The only disappointment for me was that we can't just pop the CD in and let it play all the way through. The music is just too upbeat and the voices too grating for that. But I imagine that for one song at a time--as was intended--it would be about right. Once our newborn is old enough to participate in family prayer time with his older brother, we'll probably revisit this one for its intended purpose. I have no doubt it will be a big hit.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”