Everyone Prays: Celebrating Faith Around the World

by Rabiah York Lumbard, Alireza Sadeghian (Illustrations)

Christians, Jews, and Muslims all pray. So do Hindus and Buddhists. Many others pray too. So begins Everyone Prays, a bright and colorful concept book celebrating the diverse ways that people pray. In a vibrant yet accessible manner, young readers are transported on a visual tour across the globe. They will discover the Native American sun dance ceremony, visit the sacred sites in Jerusalem, behold the Shinto shrines in Japan, watch Maasai dances in Kenya, see pilgrimages to the river Ganges in India, and much, much more. With an appendix to help answer questions children might have, Everyone Prays offers young hearts and minds a chance to learn that although people from other places and cultures may seem different, we all share the diverse world of faith and prayer. And what a bright and beautiful world it is!"

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Religion, Cultural, Spirituality

28 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

Alexis York Lumbard aka Rabiah York Lumbard is an American Muslim children’s book writer whose debut picture book, The Conference of the Birds with illustrations by renowned artist Demi (Wisdom Tales Press, Sept. 2012), is a contemporary retelling of the classic Islamic work by the 13th century poet Farid ad-Din Attar. Her most recent picture book, The Gift of Ramadan, is a heart-centered approach to the Muslim holiday that goes beyond food to the original impulse of the sacred month (Albert Whitman, April 2019). She has several other PB titles including Everyone Prays: Celebrating Faith Around the World, Pine & the Winter Sparrow, and When the Animals Saved Earth--winner of 2015 Middle East Book Award. No True Believers is her upcoming YA debut title, a conspiracy thriller with Crown (Feb 2020). She currently lives in Doha with her husband and three daughters. An active member of SCBWI and a current MFA student at Spalding University, Alexis regularly visits schools, mosques and libraries to share her passion of books, storytelling and the various places she calls home (Doha, Qatar, Washington DC and Nashville, TN). Favorite pastimes include rescuing Arabian Maus and kayaking in the Persian Arabian Gulf.

Reviews

[robin friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ecumenism In A Children's Book

This short, beautifully illustrated book, "Everyone Prays: Celebrating Faith Around the World" (2014) will introduce young children to the diversity of religious traditions and practices. The book is intended for children between 4 and 8 years of age. The author, Alexis York Lumbard, has written several earlier children's books and lives in Massachusetts while the illustrator, Alireza Sadeghian, also has illustrated many earlier books in addition to teaching art in his native Iran. Between the two, the author and illustrator themselves exemplify diversity.

In a simple, eloquent way, the book shows identify through difference among religion. It offers short portrayal of individuals in prayer in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In addition to these Abrahamic religions, the book portrays in prayer Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Shintoists, Jains, North American Indians, and the Maasi people of East Africa. The adherents of these religions are shown in prayer in a variety of places and circumstances. The texts are brief while the accompanying illustrations are detailed and colorful. A section at the end of the book offers an overview of the different religions presented together with explanations of the pictures. The book concludes: "Although people all over the world pray in different ways, it is to each heart the most precious light."

The book can be read to children in, perhaps, 15 minutes and discussed further as the reader and child see fit. It constitutes a beautiful introduction to faith and diversity. The statement that "everyone" prays overlooks the many people who are secular or nonbelievers. This does not seem to me a serious deficiency in a brief book for young children about religious diversity.

This book is published by Wisdom Tales Press, a children's book subsidiary of the World Wisdom publishing house. Wisdom Tales describes the aim of its many books for children and teens as "sharing the wisdom, beauty, and values of traditional cultures and peoples from around the world with young readers and their families. The content, illustrations, and production quality of these books is intended to assure them a lasting value for children, parents, teachers, and librarians.....Our books reflect our commitment to help others appreciate the beauty and sacred ways of diverse cultures and traditions. " "Everyone Prays" admirably meets the goals of Wisdom Tales Press.

The publisher kindly provided me with a review copy of this book.

Robin Friedman

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a world where difference is all too often seen as threat, Everyone Prays, by Alexis York Lumbard, pulls aside the veil and reveals an important way in which we might all be the same. With bright illustrations to capture a small child’s attention, an astonishing level of authenticity and detail to intrigue older siblings too, and well-written explanations for the adults, this simple book has much more to offer than the average picture book. The text is rhythmic and clear. Together with images it invites questions and uncomplicated understanding, and welcomes readers to a wider world of shared spirituality where, indeed, everyone prays in their different ways.

From cathedral to mosque, from African plain to Temple in Myanmar, from baptism to coming of age, and fasting to washing, the illustrations are firmly anchored in honest depictions of faith around the world. Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and Dome of the Rock bring Jews, Christians and Muslims together in one two-page spread, while Buddhists and Hindus pray by the Ganges River.

A lovely appendix offers symbols and brief explanations of different faiths, together with detailed and fascinating descriptions of the illustrations. The bright pictures will make this a favorite book for small children. The text offers a valuable reading experience. And the combination is a pleasing book to share with family and friends, crossing cultural boundaries, inviting thought, and, calling us all to recognize the beauty of prayer.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and I offer my honest review. It’s beautiful!

[Dee Dee G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful introduction for young children to understanding differences. I think reading books like this at a young age could help prevent hatred and promote understanding of a religion that may look different from their own.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everybody Prays is a good introduction for children curious about different religions. The illustrations were colourful and accurate and the language was friendly and simple.

I do feel like this book could have been elaborated on a bit more. The back of the book includes a lot more information on each religion but it is in small text with no pictures, I'm assuming this part is meant for the adult to read to the child. I would have preferred for the detailed information to be represented in the main part of the book with pictures and simple descriptions that children could read themselves.

Overall though this was a good, basic book on worldwide religions and I would recommend for ages 4-8.

Note: You do not have to be religious to enjoy this book. There is no preaching inside.

P.S- I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Tibby]

I have to add a personal spin to this review, especially since I read some of the reviews on GoodReads and was surprised by the criticism. We’re a pretty a-religious family. The holidays we celebrate are tied to cultural tradition and significance rather than religion for us. That being said I don’t want my daughter to think religion isn’t okay if she’s interested and I want her to know about other faiths beyond our vaguely Christian one. I also think you need some conception of religion to really be culturally literate. So, I often seek out books that share religious stories, figures, and other religions (especially Islam since one of my closest friends is Muslim) to share with my daughter so she is exposed to the idea of religion. That is why I picked up this book.

I know this type of book, one that presents religion, can be really hit or miss. Some people on GoodReads complained that it was too didactic. I agree the book is didactic, but it’s essentially seeking to do what I am seeking to do with my daughter: expose her to religion and how it’s similar and different across faiths and cultures. Nonfiction is, at its heart, didactic. I did not get the impression here that there was a Message with a capital ‘m’, nor did it feel like there was some agenda underlying the text.

The other complaint I saw was that the text within the book was sparse and there wasn’t much information except in the back matter. This is true, but I didn’t see it as a downside. In fact, it made it the perfect book to share with my three-year-old. I love nonfiction books, but the more text heavy they become the less interested my daughter is and I think this is true for younger audiences in general.

We both liked the bright simple illustrations and I thought they complimented the text nicely. I was relieved to see that the pictures have a white field and modern feel rather than the bland, watery or cutesy illustrations that seem to plague religious picture books. It’s also refreshing to see a mix of people in a book, a mix of people that are primarily brown, not white.

So, the long and the short of it is, I think this is a great book for exposing kids to different religions to see how they are the same and how they differ. It’s probably best for the younger set 3-7ish (preschool up into first grade). Certainly older kids might be drawn in by the extra information at the back and it would make a good read aloud because it doesn’t get too bogged down with tons of information. There is a lot here to spark discussion about different religious ceremonies, traditions, and rituals and because it’s not all included in the picture book part of the book the audience can pick and choose what they are curious about. Return visits to the book would spark more questions and discussion.

Half way through the book my daughter asked if we could buy our own copy of the book once we returned the library copy and if that isn’t a ringing endorsement I don’t know what is.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the story not so much the illustrations
Would have liked to see real photos included as well
But- that said, I think this belongs in libraries everywhere
Well written

[Reggie_Love · Rating 2 out of 5]

Surprise, people! Everyone prays! Actually, I'm usually hesitant about religious books, especially ones for kids, but I decided to give this a try because the cover seemed so beautifully all inclusive. While incredibly simple, the author explains the many different types of ways, places, and reasons for which people pray. I liked that it was mostly encompassing and didn't focus just on the "traditional" or most popular religions, but the book was not without its faults. It confused me that she didn't explain to whom the people in the story were praying, but in the very end (after the story) there was a page devoted to the specific religions mentioned and a short blurb on their beliefs. There were three major downfall to this book: the exclusion of certain groups in the list of people who pray, the word "pray" itself, and the illustrations accompanying the story. First, the exclusions. Wiccans, atheists, agnostics, and others were not a part of this story. In fact, there was not a mention of the possibility of there being other beliefs or religions. Second, the word "prayer" is slightly misleading and very Christian based. While the action of one religion may parallel prayer, it may not be called that. Calling it praying seems disrespectful to the religion in question. Third, the drawings were just sad. The illustrator had no concept of dimension. On one page, a man looked like he was floating because of the off angles. Another page made the grass look like a sinkhole because all you saw were ankles and above. Frankly, the book had great possibility and good intent, but the execution failed.

[Reggie_Love · Rating 2 out of 5]

Surprise, people! Everyone prays! Actually, I'm usually hesitant about religious books, especially ones for kids, but I decided to give this a try because the cover seemed so beautifully all inclusive. While incredibly simple, the author explains the many different types of ways, places, and reasons for which people pray. I liked that it was mostly encompassing and didn't focus just on the "traditional" or most popular religions, but the book was not without its faults. It confused me that she didn't explain to whom the people in the story were praying, but in the very end (after the story) there was a page devoted to the specific religions mentioned and a short blurb on their beliefs. There were three major downfall to this book: the exclusion of certain groups in the list of people who pray, the word "pray" itself, and the illustrations accompanying the story. First, the exclusions. Wiccans, atheists, agnostics, and others were not a part of this story. In fact, there was not a mention of the possibility of there being other beliefs or religions. Second, the word "prayer" is slightly misleading and very Christian based. While the action of one religion may parallel prayer, it may not be called that. Calling it praying seems disrespectful to the religion in question. Third, the drawings were just sad. The illustrator had no concept of dimension. On one page, a man looked like he was floating because of the off angles. Another page made the grass look like a sinkhole because all you saw were ankles and above. Frankly, the book had great possibility and good intent, but the execution failed.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been looking forward to reading Everyone Prays, as I appreciate any book that helps kids to understand the similarities between different religions and that expands their understanding of the world. And Everyone Prays does that...to an extent.

The illustrations do indeed show people all around the world, of all different religions, praying in their own ways. Unfortunately, the text accompanying the illustrations is somewhat simplistic. I was hoping for more information about each scene along the way. Instead, all the information on religions and the different scenes in the back is crammed into a text-heavy two-page spread at the end of the book. Yet there were some illustrated pages that had large amounts of white space. Surely a bit more information, even just labels as to the locations or religions, could have been fit throughout the book?

All in all, Everyone Prays shows children what you'd expect, everyone praying, but I would only recommend it for young children, who will mainly want to look at the pictures and won't mind the simplicity and lack of information. For older kids, I'd recommend books with more in-depth information.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.

[Lonnie Martin Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished this one, and there's not a whole lot to say about it, because it doesn't say a whole lot. Although it isn't a deal breaker for me. This book is clearly written a publish for a young audience, possibly one that doesn't have much background knowledge on religion, I say children form 4-6 would enjoy this book. It's not going to enlighten them about the diverse religions around the world, but it does a good job of convey a general them that each religion mentioned in the book share. It's also a good thinking book as I feel a child when read to will have a bunch of question about the different cultures in the book, and that has to be a positive. The illustrations in the book are mildly detailed but lack some realism due to the bright vivid colors that sort of pop out at you. Alireza Sadeghian also leaves a lot of white space on several pages which doesn't bother me, I just really notice on some pages only half is used for illustration and with that the text is placed in the white space. Over this book is informative and simple which is good for a parent to reach to their child or a teacher to reach to his or her students.

[Awenydd Orchantra Faeryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

0 stars

A children's book to show that many religions pray.

This book had potential that I hope to find well executed someday. This book, however, was more of a list, that was lacking emotion, even in the artwork, and was missing many religions, like nature-based, or polytheistic religions. This book starts with: "Christians, Jews and Muslims all pray, and so do Hindus and Buddhists." It doesn't do anything informative or descriptive besides the labels, and stereotypical pictures, but includes a list in the back asking if you've ever wondered what "Jew" means and then defining it as: "A Jew is someone who follows Judaism, a 3,500 year-old religion based on the Torah, revealed to the prophet Moses on Mount Sinai. The holy book of the Jews is the Tanakh, which is made up of the Torah and other books of the Jewish prophets. A Jewish place of prayer is called a synagogue." As you can see this is not age appropriate, nor faith-informative, and so I would not recommend this book to anyone.

(Review featured on www.evolvingthread.com )

[Awenydd Orchantra Faeryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

0 stars

A children's book to show that many religions pray.

This book had potential that I hope to find well executed someday. This book, however, was more of a list, that was lacking emotion, even in the artwork, and was missing many religions, like nature-based, or polytheistic religions. This book starts with: "Christians, Jews and Muslims all pray, and so do Hindus and Buddhists." It doesn't do anything informative or descriptive besides the labels, and stereotypical pictures, but includes a list in the back asking if you've ever wondered what "Jew" means and then defining it as: "A Jew is someone who follows Judaism, a 3,500 year-old religion based on the Torah, revealed to the prophet Moses on Mount Sinai. The holy book of the Jews is the Tanakh, which is made up of the Torah and other books of the Jewish prophets. A Jewish place of prayer is called a synagogue." As you can see this is not age appropriate, nor faith-informative, and so I would not recommend this book to anyone.

(Review featured on www.evolvingthread.com )

[Jaime K · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won this in a goodreads giveaway.

I knew it was for children, but I didn't read the reviews before entering.

As another reviewer said, it had a lot of potential but there was no information.
"Some pray with their heads covered and others don't."

Well, WHY? And who does?

The list in the back covers more information than the actual book does. While it's not very detailed, it would have been much better if the 8 religions represented were described in more detail throughout the book.

What is a temple? What is a church? What is a mosque? Where are the main countries they are located?

The illustrations were beautiful, but they should have also been described within, not as a "notes" page. As a child, I wouldn't want to go to the back to see what I am looking at.

The last pages are a two-page spread with a rainbow and the words above "EVERYONE PRAYS!"
That was the cheese on the stale nachos.


It was not an adequate celebration of world faiths. The only thing it has going for it is the illustrations.

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are lots of religions from around the world. Many of the followers who are bonded to their faith pray in one way or another. Young readers will learn about different religions, where the followers pray, the books they hold dear, and how they pray.

Young readers of all ages will enjoy learning that Christians, Jews and Muslims all pray. Some cultures pray in churches, or mosques and even temples. Some cultures pray with books, beads or candles. Water is often used in ceremonies too. People pray when they are happy and sad. Prayer is healing and can teach the heart the most precious light.

This enlightening tool is simplistic and perfect for any home library. Curious readers will learn about many types of religions and cultures along with illustrator notes that share a visual account of churches, synagogues and mosques. Teaching children to embrace the differences can also show what similarities we all share.

[Jessi · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are many children's books about prayer and world religions that are better than this one. The text is so simple (and large) that it might be better suited for a board book. Come to think of it, I'm not sure there are many board books about prayer. Anyway, this is the book in a nutshell: "Everyone prays. Some people pray out loud, in their minds, through song, in a church, in a mosque, in a temple, every day, during a dance, with their heads covered." The end. There isn't much explanation. I don't expect an in-depth description of various religious practices, but the book isn't really informative enough to merit being printed as a picture book, or children's non-fiction, in my opinion. And, just to throw this out there: not everyone prays. There are plenty of athiest and agnostic families out there, too.

[Norma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any form of compensation.

This was an illustrated book that depicts people from various cultures and religions praying. The sentence structure in the book makes it seem like this book is for very early stage readers. However, they used some words that early readers would not be able to understand. So the writing style doesn't necessarily fit the reader age.

Plus the illustrations seemed a little off to me. However, that is just my opinion.

I did like that in the end of the book, it had some general quick definitions of the various religions mentioned in the book, but those definitions were over simplified for adults and too advanced for young readers.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

My book-loving colleague shared this with me and I wanted to share with you. With so much strife and heartache in our world that seems to be about religious differences, I wonder why everyone doesn’t know that there are such connections among all the religions. This book is for young children, with simple text and gorgeously detailed illustrations, it’s a beginning look (and conversation) about where we are alike in our spiritual lives, praying. Although in slightly different ways, the author shows that all faiths use prayer for their own comfort and for celebration. I would have liked if more information had been included in the story itself. There is more in the backmatter, but it seems very basic, and doesn’t include some religions that might have been.

[Dolores · Rating 5 out of 5]

The message is clear - - - Everyone Prays. We all have the same goal, but just like we look different, dress differently, and speak differently, our methods of praying are also different.

This book is simple enough to be read and enjoyed by a young reader, yet bound to appeal to the older reader as well. I spent a good bit of time going back through the illustrations, comparing them with the notes in the back of the book. There's also an "About the World's Religions" page to give the reader more perspective and perhaps inspire further research.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice, inclusive book about religion for young children. It shows people who participate in a wide variety of religions praying from Jews, Christians and Muslims, to Buddhists, Maasai, and Native Americans. I like that the book is very multi-cultural and accepting of all religions, but, by stating that "everyone" prays, it leaves out the children who are raised in households that do not pray. It might be more inclusive if it said something like many people pray. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

[M.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet and to the point. Everyone Prays explores how others around the world celebrate their faith and pray. This nice book shows children that although we may look a little different and live all over the world we still celebrate faith and have a purpose. In addition, although our God may look different he is still our God and we can have faith and celebrate him all over the world. The illustrations done by artist Alireza Sadeghian help to add to the story. They are colorful, well thought out and accurate.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the simplicity and diversity of this book as well as the vibrant art work! My husband and I were pleased to see many religions depicted as well as some Plains Native Americans. This book was great exposure for my children and gave them an opportunity to ask questions about the interesting things they saw in the book - a great jumping off point to explain and explore.

(I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.)

[Elsa Reyes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this from a first reads goodreads giveaway from wisdomtalespress.com

Although I really loved the concept of this book for children, I wish the book went into religions a little more in depth. I felt like there wasn't any new information in the book that most children already know about praying. The illustrations were nice and the I did appreciate how diverse this book was in terms of religion.

[Linda Merson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brings to light the common heart of all traditions, that is prayer. Religions differ on moral and ethical norms, and even on the nature of the Divine, but it is upon prayer that they all agree, and in which their followers find comfort and ultimately transcendence. Children are introduced to this profound concept in the most simple and heart warming way in this wonderful and cheerfully illustrated book by Alexis York Lumbard.

[Loren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a quick and easy book that teaches children the different forms of prayer through the different religions that are among the world. I liked that it focused on different cultures as well. One thing that I really enjoyed was the page “About the World’s Religions.” This page informs it readers by giving a brief history on said religion which is very nice. The illustrations were also very beautiful and colorful. I very much enjoyed reading this book.

[Breanne Driesel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason I liked this book was because it brought a sense of unity for all people. We are used to separating all religions especially into categories of what we believe and who we are (christians, athiest etc.) But this gives us a greater understanding that we are all children of God and even though we are different we all have similarities.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This beautifully illustrated picture book gives a brief overview of a number of religions and how and why they pray. The text is simple, not too informative, but the idea is well-done. My favorite part is the illustrations, the warm and vibrant color palette is perfect for a religious theme.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy to read story about the variety of ways in which people pray. Beautiful illustrations and good information about religions at the end of the book.

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures tell the story of the faith of many people in many religions.

[Ursula S · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork is interesting and I like the inclusion of Native American traditions as well as some African tradition. It's very generic, however, and so I can't give it more stars.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

#religion #prayer #multiculturalism emphasis on the universality of prayer. Beautiful illustrations