My Book of Readings
My Book of Readings is intended as a companion to My Book of Prayers, which is a more accessible and user-friendly prayer book for children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old. However, it may also have a wider application for those with poor eyesight, stroke victims, new Bahá'ís unused to private contemplation and others. Each double page has a question on the left-hand page, e.g."What can I read when... I can't have what I would like?", and an answer on the right, in the form of a short reading suitable for that occasion. Each page has line drawings, of varied styles and forms, which the user can colour, thereby personalising the book. The concept of the book was devised and developed by Maggie Manvell, a Bahá'í living on the Isle of Skye.
Uses[edit]
This book should enable the child who owns it to undertake a number of things. Firstly, s/he is able to begin personal spiritual readings, of the sort which an adult Bahá'í undertakes daily, in the privacy of their own room. Secondly, they can share these readings with their friends. Third, the child may elect to read them at a meeting. Their spiritual development then becomes less dependent on direction by, or mediation of, adults, which can often otherwise be the case.
Many prayer books start with a list of categories, e.g. Assistance, Enlightenment, Forgiveness, Guidance, etc. A child may well have only a vague notion of what these words mean, or not recognise them at all! The format of this book completely avoids the user having to wrestle with these more abstract concepts, and enables the child to select a reading for a concrete situation.
The book has also been kept at a very low cost in order to enable families, or children's classes, to purchase one book for each child.
Publisher[edit]
Warwick Bahá'i Bookshop is a small, not-for-profit, publisher based near Warwick, England. As a publisher it specialises in cheap, readable material for use in the teaching and deepening field. Items are posted world-wide on request, and overseas arrangements are being sought.
ISBN[edit]
978-0-9957335-6-5
Available From[edit]
- Warwick Bahá'i Bookshop
- Bahá'i Books U.K. [2]
- Distribution Agency, South Africa [1]
- Toronto Bahá'í Centre: email - bahaicentre@bahaitoronto.org
- Ottawa Bahá'i Centre
- Peaceful Pages Bookstore [2]
- Book Centre, Haifa.
- Singapore National Bahá'í Centre, 55, Cantonment Road, Singapore, 089754
