Books For Introducing Young Children to World Religions

In our increasingly multicultural world, many of us are concerned in introducing our children to religions other than our own. And what best way to do it than through books? The following list is of books for introducing children ages 3-9 to religions other than their own. Included are two books for each of the five major world religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. There are a few honorable mentions linked to other traditions, or geared for older Kids, thrown in at the end.

Buddhism

Becoming Buddha: The Story of Siddhartha, by Whitney Stewart - This is an introduction to the main themes of Buddhism through a telling of the Buddha's life story. One of the few Buddhist offerings geared for children this young, the challenging artwork and challenging story hold young children's interest.

Peaceful Piggy Meditation, by Kerry Lee Maclean - This book introduces children to meditation by portraying it as a tool they can use to help them deal with the difficult everyday situations they most often confront - getting teased by their siblings, falling down at school, or served a dinner they can't stand.

Hinduism

Lighting a Lamp: A Diwali Story, by Jonny Zucker - Geared for the younger end of this age range, this book introduces the Hindu festival of Diwali by walking through one family's celebration of the day. It is part of the Festival Time series, a variety of books introducing holidays from all the major religions.

The wee Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow, by Sanjay Patel - This is honestly not a children's book, but children love it. The author is an animator with Pixar Studios, and has drawn hip, colorful drawings of all the major Hindu deities, along with brief descriptions. An challenging way for anything of any age to learn about the Hindu pantheon.

Islam

Ramadan, by Suhaib Hamid Ghazi - This book follows a young boy named Hakeem through the major rituals of Ramadan, including fasting, praying and visits to the mosque. The illustrations are exquisite, capturing children's eyes and minds.

Salaam: A Muslim American Boy's Story, by Tricia Brown - A profile of a real-life American Muslim boy and his family, depicted through simple text and photographs. This book introduces the five pillars of Islam, and cultural aspects of Islam such as hijab (women's headscarves) in an accessible way, as well as broaching the difficult topic of religious intolerance.

Judaism

What Makes man a Jew? by Lauren Seidman - With rhyming text and color photographs, this book introduces children to the diversity of Jews around the world. Focused on the basic shared tenets of loving and kindness, this book focuses more on a sense of inclusiveness than religious theology, but presents a marvelous multi-cultural image of contemporary Judaism.

Beni's family Treasury for the Jewish Holidays, by Jane Breskin Zalben - For a more informative yet challenging introduction to Judaism's tenets, try this variety of five stories about bear Beni and his family's trials and tribulations while celebrating various Jewish holidays. These tales consolidate educational information and good storytelling in a way rare for children's religious books.

Christianity

Humphrey's First Christmas, by Carol Heyer - This adorable version of the nativity story is told from the perspective of Humphrey, a grumpy camel witnessing the event. As Humphrey begins to appreciate the value of what he is complicated in, he puts his own complaints aside and learns the true meaning of Christmas - selfless giving and love.

The Easter Story, by Brian Wildsmith - The story of Easter is not an easy one to relay to children, with betrayal, suffering and death all prominently featured. This beautifully visible version does it justice, focusing on the deeper meaning of each event without glossing over the details too much. Like in the prior book, an animal features prominently, this time the donkey Jesus rides into Jerusalem.

Honorable Mentions

These books are geared for sLightly older children, or deal with religions other than the ones covered above.

One World, Many Religions: The Ways We Worship, by Mary Pope Osborne - inspect of all the world's religions from children's perspectives, geared for 9-12 year olds.

Religion (Dk Eyewitness Series), by Myrtle Langley - an additional one inspect book for 9-12 year olds, from the well-known instruction series Dk Eyewitness.

Meet Jesus: The Life and Lessons of a favorite Teacher, by Lynn Tuttle Gurney - Accessible and Universalist telling of Jesus' life story, suitable for liberal Christians and non-Christians.

Aisha's Moonlit Walk, by Anika Stafford - Introduction to pagan holidays and celebrations throughout the year.

Zen Shorts, by Jon Muth - Introduction to Zen law by a giant panda, targeted to children 9-12, but the pictures pulled my four-year old in as well.

The Elephant Prince: The Story of Ganesh, by Amy Novesky - Beautifully visible tale of Ganesh, Hindu deity.

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What If My contractor Does Not Return My Call

This is one of the biggest problems in enterprise today. You have some work done on your home in good faith that the contractor knows what he is doing. When all is said and done you have a question that needs to be resolved as soon as possible. I well don't care how long it has been since the work was done. If you have a question the least that your contractor can do is write back the telephone.

Some fellowships go out of enterprise and others get to busy to write back to your problem. You will hear the old excuse "That's not my problem" or the ever favorite " I didn't do that". I have been in enterprise for over twenty years and had very few problems. Of policy I built things to last as long as possible.

Keep in mind that some contractors are a one man doing and they might be on vacation. Some contractors do not write back their phones over the week ends or after enterprise hours. So don't sink the ship to fast.

Do not call the Contractors Licensing Board or the better enterprise Bureau unless it has been at least a few working days. I would give it at least a week or so. Oh yeah don't assume that the contractor got your message. Call a few times at the least.

It has always made me mad when I have to fix person else's problems. I get the call when the other contractors won't respond. I listen to the home owner with regret for being in a enterprise where I am considered a crook. This is one of the reasons why contractors in my enterprise get out of it.

If you have the contractors address and they aren't responding by phone you can always send them a letter by certified mail. Invite a return receipt. That's your proof that the enterprise received your letter. Keep a copy for your files.

The good news for a home owner when a contractor will not write back to your calling them is the division of consumer Affairs. Most states have a complaint division of some sort that will listen to your complaints. Does this mean it will get resolved? No there are no guarantees here.

If your state has a licensing board for contractors, this will be your next step.

This will get your contractors attentiveness and there is a great opportunity they will write back now. If there are sufficient complaints against the contractor and they do nothing about them the contractors board will take their license away.

If your contractor does not write back after all of this. There is very little you can do about it. Hire person to fix the question and look at it as a very foremost chapter learned.

If your state doesn't have a contractors licensing board contact the better enterprise Bureau or your local government for their recommendation. Ask some of your friends if they have had any problems like this and how they handled them.

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Tips to Write a Sound Complaint Letter

A complaint letter, also known as, a letter of complaint is a type of formal letter that is written to express a grievance or discontent towards a definite organization, man or situation. These letters ask for a plea to take the required performance to solve the problem when all the other attempts to find a explication fail.

These are written to deal with situations in different walks of life. For example:
a) A letter of complaint against a neighbor to the implicated authority for trespassing.
b) A letter against the company by an manager for delayed compensation.

The letter legitimizes a problem and hence is a great instrument to conclude issues. However, writing an efficient complaint letter is a small challenge that needs to be dealt with. Here are definite tips that can help you write a sound complaint letter.

1. Identify the right recipient of the letter - Before writing the letter, it is very important to Identify the right man or the authority to whom the letter will be addressed to.

2. Brevity of the subject - The subject or the purpose of the letter should be brief but clearly stated. The subject should not be more than a line.

3. Sense information - Do not forget to mention your complete Sense information. This will be used by the implicated authority to reply to the letter.

4. Clarity of the problem - The problem situation should be clearly but briefly stated. Avoid fabricating the problem by over-expressing your personal emotions thereby digressing from the main points.

5. Inclusion of all the factual information - any factual information that either describes the problem more vividly or adds weight to your earlier efforts to solve the problem should be accurately mentioned. For example, the date, place and bill number of the buy of faulty equipment.

6. Tone of the letter - The letter should be assertive, professionally-worded but not rude at the same time. Avoid sarcastic and abusive statements.

7. Relevant enclosures - Attach the copies of all the former documents relevant to the problem.

8. Impact of not attending to the problem - To ensure that the implicated authority takes your plea seriously, do mention the loss that will arise to the authority or the faulty organization by not redressing the problem.

9. Constructive comment - In a complaint letter, you can liberally criticize the faulty for production false promises and maintaining a fake good reputation. This may help you seek a quick response to the letter.

10. Suggestions - After stating the problem, if you have any alternative solutions to deal with the problem, do mention them in the letter.

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