Can anyone recommend a simple bok for five year old asking questions about God and religion

[HairyToe]

This may have been done before but I've searched old threads and haven't been able to find anything suitable.

I should say straight away that I am an atheist so I am not looking for a 'Christian' book but something to help me explain to her what religion is, why some people believe and others don't. I'd like to mention something about different people having different religions. I want to make it clear to her what I think, but also teach her about respecting other people's beliefs and that she's free to work out what she thinks for herself as she gets older.

I've seen a few books in the library but a) they were still a bit too 'old' for her and b)they didn;t mention anything about it being ok to not believe in a higher power at all (ie a more humanist approach which is broadly what I ahere to).

Anyone know of anything which might help? I know it may be a bit of a tall order given the subject matter for there to be any books aimed at such a young age.

PS After viewing some past threads I'm aware they sometimes tend towards passionate religious debate. I'm not intending this thread to do that if at all possible!

Just looked at clock and realised i need to get off to school! I'll be back later on to see if anyone has been able to help me, Thanks

I took up the challenge and foundthis on Amazon. Reviews are good although one says it is good for non believers and one says it isn't. Not a personal recommendation I am afraid - I did wonder if there would be one for the right age range out there

We've got that book Nettee, and although explains well some of the differences between religions (places of worship, dress, festivals etc), it does not address atheism at all and does not explain what religion and faith are.

I will be following this thread with interest as I am also still looking for the right book!

Thanks Nettee and mamya for your help. I'll have a look at that one.

The basis problem is the difficulty of explaining the concept of 'belief' to a 5 year old. Up till this point everything she has encountered has either been true or not true, black and white - with a bit of vagueness around the subject of fairies, magic, mermaids, Father Christmas etc. I feel instinctively it would be too flippant to group religions concepts in with these childish fictions as I do want her to appreciate that for people who are believers their religion is very important to them. Basically if her friends start talking about God and Jesus I don't want her to tell them they're talking rubbish. But I also feel she (and I) shouldn't have to just go along with it.

Sorry I pressed post too quick. I guess "What is religion" and "What is faith" and the questions I'm trying to ask are ones that have been posed by philsophers throughout history so maybe I'm expecting too much to look for a book to explain these ideas to a reception pupil!

Don't know of a book but if it's any help, I think of faith in the following terms (though I am a Christian) -

Most people believe that their parents love them. Most people feel love for someone and believe that it is real. We can't see love, but we believe in it.

Other people believe in things that we may find it hard to prove, but they believe them too.

When we love someone that changes the way we behave towards them. When we believe in something, that also changes the way we behave. Over the years, people have tried out different ways of behaving, and have drawn up rules, which they believe are the ways to behave for them - we call these rules religion. They may involve dressing in certain ways, praying in certain ways, or remembering certain days of the year . . .

HTH

Hi Hairytoe. I consider myself to be religious (I'm a catholic) and i do not have a problem with religion being connected to fairies, mermaids etc...! I have read many books on the subject which say that a child's sense of 'make-believe' and magic is the first step towards having 'faith'. A child believes that magic can transform something ugly into something beautiful, a christian believes that faith and love can transform the dreary and mundane into something wonderful... I think you will need to explain these things to a young child in terms they understand. Hope that is helpful in some way!

this is interesting - maybe not quite what you were looking for but supposed to be aimed at 4 -8 year olds and describing the concept of God in a way not connected to any particular doctrine.