‘World Religions’ is a non-fiction book written by Brian Doyle & illustrated by Derry Dillon. In this book Doyle covers six of the largest religions in the world; Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism.
Each chapter looks in depth into each religion covering aspects like Festivals, Symbols, Holy Books and what the main beliefs are. I studied this book with 6th class and they thoroughly enjoyed reading about each religion. The pictures are child friendly and the class were able to easily identify similarities and differences between each religion.
Doyle has also covered typical questions the children might have in each religion like who the Dalai Lama is, why some foods aren’t eaten in certain religions and what the major landmarks are like the Mecca. There is also a colour coded world map indicating where each religion can be mainly found.
My class, after reading about each religion, created a fact wheel. This was a nice closing exercise to recap what the children had learned and why is it important to learn what they have in common. Further extensions on this book could be to interview a student in your school who might be a member of these religious communities.
I would recommend this book for older primary school classes, 5th & 6th, as it gives clear and concise information about these major religions.
Book review by Ms Daly 6th Class Teacher in Scoil Mhuire na nGael, Dundalk.
“World Religions” by Brian Doyle is published by Poolbeg Press and is now available to purchase for €4.99.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher, Poolbeg Press, free of charge to Seomra Ranga for the purposes of this review
