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Just Pretend: A Freethought Book for Children
This illustrated book for freethinking children examines religions and myths like God and Santa Claus. Overtly freethought, it encourages the child to make his or her own decisions about religion, and champions skepticism, atheism, and informed doubt.
72 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1988
73 people want to read
About the author
Dan Barker
22 books185 followersDaniel Edwin Barker is an American atheist activist and musician who served as an evangelical Christian preacher and composer for 19 years but left Christianity in 1984. He and his wife Annie Laurie Gaylor are the current co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. He has written numerous articles the organization's newspaper Freethought Today. He is the author of several books including Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist. Barker has been an invited speaker at Rock Beyond Belief. He is on the speakers bureau of the Secular Student Alliance.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 23, 2022
Although I agree with the overall message behind this book, it was poorly written. The arguments against religion and god (and even Santa) are weak and straight-up telling kids that it's all fake is ineffective. It tells kids "People only believe this stuff because they were told to" and "to prove that it's all fake, just THINK ABOUT IT!" Even the most amateur apologist could easily counter any of the points made in this book.
On top of that, I ran into several inaccuracies. Some had to do with misinterpreting/misquoting bible stories or raising questions that have already been answered and some had to do with things from the physical world, such as referring to the North Pole as nothing but "snow and ice" when in reality, it's a patch of the ocean. And the other doesn't understand the difference between poisonous and venomous. To make matters worse, the artwork is terrible. It looks like something pulled from the margins of Mad Magazine, which is not going to appeal to children at all.
The intended message in the book is a good one and I am in support of promoting freethought in children, but you're better off without this particular book. I'm not aware of a better alternative, other than articles and Youtube videos, but something like Me & Dog is a good starting point for young children. It may be a bit too subtle for them to get but it can lead to some good discussions.
On top of that, I ran into several inaccuracies. Some had to do with misinterpreting/misquoting bible stories or raising questions that have already been answered and some had to do with things from the physical world, such as referring to the North Pole as nothing but "snow and ice" when in reality, it's a patch of the ocean. And the other doesn't understand the difference between poisonous and venomous. To make matters worse, the artwork is terrible. It looks like something pulled from the margins of Mad Magazine, which is not going to appeal to children at all.
The intended message in the book is a good one and I am in support of promoting freethought in children, but you're better off without this particular book. I'm not aware of a better alternative, other than articles and Youtube videos, but something like Me & Dog is a good starting point for young children. It may be a bit too subtle for them to get but it can lead to some good discussions.
June 23, 2021
Normally, I'm all about using comparison and reversal strategies to teach truth, but this one -- was preachy in an overtly offensive way. And, well, I'm it's intended audience!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews