Many Ways

by Shelley Rotner, Sheila M. Kelly

Photographs show the differences and similarities between various religions.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Religion, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 13, 2004

About the author

When I was five, I refused to go to kindergarten. I declared it was for babies. I already knew how to read, but what really bothered me the most was that the kids mixed up the paintbrushes and colors at the easel so there was never true blue, red, yellow or green. Every time my teacher turned her back, I left the room and headed to the first grade class diagonally across the hall. Luckily, I had a friend there who happily shared her desk with me until the teacher noticed and sent me back to kindergarten. After many successful escapes, a trip to the principal and some testing, I was officially moved to that first grade class with beautiful autumn leaves painted on the door.

Reviews

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good addition to a church library. Great photos.

[CanadianReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good, simple and colourful introduction to world religions for early primary children. The photos are reasonably large and can be shared in a read-aloud

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Many Ways: How families practice their beliefs and religions", a Notable Children's Trade Book in 2007, is intended for a preschool and early primary audience as indicated by the sparse, simple text, although the vibrant photographs could be enjoyed by anyone of any age. The variation in size, number and placement of the photographs holds the reader's attention. The stated purpose of the book is "to help young children become aware of the diversity in spiritual traditions and of similarities between their families and those whose faith-based traditions and practices differ from their own" (page 3). The photographs accurately represent important religious symbols and ceremonies as well as everyday family life. The authors'/photographers' acknowlegement of the "many children and adults who welcomed us into their homes and places of worship" (page 3) is the only statement that addresses authority and accuracy; no other sources are cited, although other books are recommended for further reading. There are no captions under the photographs; instead there are notes at the end for "parents and teachers" (page 3). Perhaps the intent was to keep the book simple and uncluttered, but this arrangement makes it difficult to discuss the photographs in a read-aloud or for the independent reader to understand what is represented; small captions could make the information more accessible (and therefore more meaningful) without detracting from the photos or making the book too busy. The simple text simply yet eloquently unifies the photos for the reader, identifying the common theme. For example, the single line, "Sometimes, music calls people to prayer," accompanies six photos, includin a girl blowing on a tusk horn, a hand poised to ring a bell over a shrine and a choir singing. Overall, the book is visually appealing, particularly to children since many of the photos depict children like or different from themselves, and the message and tone of the text are respectful and uplifting.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This non-fiction book shows how families practice their beliefs and religions through photographs and descriptions or those practices. The main idea is even though we believe different things, we should all love one another. I would use this book in a literacy lesson to show how illustrations match the text. Students will like this text because of the real photographs of children and families like them. On each page of the book, there are pictures from different cultural backgrounds that go with the sentence on the page. An example is a page that shows different texts from various religions. It shows that even though the religions are different, there are similarities. That concept is how I would use this book to teach about different cultures.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures and words showing the similarities and differences of different religions.

[Marianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple look at world religions.

[Leen Turki]

“Many Ways” is a book written by Shelley Rotner and Sheila Kelly and is about the many different religions and how they practice their beliefs, and how they are all the same. What I love about this book is it shows how we are all connected no matter what we celebrate. This book is informative but also gives the students a variety of things to think about. It shows the children that no matter what religion you are, everyone around you is just like you and deserves respect and understanding. This book mainly focuses on visuals, there are about six photos and only one sentence per page. The pictures are real life photos, which gives the reader an accurate representation of the religious beliefs. Another thing I love about this book is the variety of cultural groups shown in the book, and reflects a variety of backgrounds. I am so glad I found this book, because it was hard finding books that represented different religions, cultural groups, and avoided stereotypes.