About Meet Jesus
liberal religious children’s book
Meet Jesus:
The Life and Lessons of a Beloved Teacher
Introducing children to the historical Jesus
Price: $12

Buy this book now!

Meet Jesus is a picture book that introduces young children (age 4 and up) to Jesus' lessons of love, kindness, forgiveness and peace. What makes this book different from traditional children’s books about Jesus?

  • The story focuses on Jesus’ humanity rather than divinity; his life rather than death.
  • Meet Jesus is respectful of the range of beliefs about Jesus, giving it broad appeal for parents and teachers of many faiths – as well as those who aren’t religious at all.
With simple text and lively, full-color illustrations, Meet Jesus follows Jesus’ life from childhood through his ministry and death, including a brief discussion of different beliefs about Jesus. It ends on an optimistic note, encouraging children to honor Jesus’ memory by living as he did, with full hearts, kind words and loving actions.

Meet Jesus is a valuable tool to help parents and teachers from a wide range of religious backgrounds to open a discussion with their children about the important historical figure of Jesus.

Meet Jesus includes Bible references in the text, with the corresponding passages in the back of the book to provide some historical basis for the story. This book is based on a liberal interpretation of the Bible. The Bible passages are included to encourage parents and teachers to discuss their own understanding with the children in their lives.
...Gunney presents a sweeping look at Jesus’ life. The author focuses...on Jesus’ role as an accessible and very human teacher rather than on his divinity as the son of God...young readers will likely come away with a more general sense of how Jesus might have lived as a man sharing new ideas about kindness, love and respect.

- From Publishers Weekly
Now, two thousand years later, we can still learn from the life and lessons of Jesus. Some people say that Jesus was the son of God....Some people say that Jesus was a wise and beloved teacher, whether or not he was the son of God. They say it is important to remember him because he taught us to treat people with love and to stand up for justice and peace.

- From Meet Jesus

Also included are Questions to Talk About, such as:

  • What good deeds have you done for others?
  • Is it hard to be nice to someone who is mean to you? Why?

Meet Jesus is published by Skinner House Books, an imprint of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA).

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