Half of the book is explaining fasting and actually feels like a course in fasting and cooking. One really needs to be committed to follow this book. I give it 5 stars because of the work and thought process the author puts into explaining everything..Now for my family it would not work but for maybe one or two recipes. Just because it doesnt work for me doesnt mean it cant work for another family.

Since Orthodox kids' books are in short supply, I'm always excited to find a new one for my son. However, this one was a major disappointment to me.

The good:
The illustrations are great.
The story is ok. It has a good message. (Although it may be a bit opaque for little ones.)

The bad:
The rhyming, rhyme scheme, and meter drive me insane. The wildly variant meter makes it difficult to read aloud smoothly. And since I have a young non-reader, I have to read it aloud to him.

Most of the time, when an author decides to make a rhyming children's book, they choose one rhyme scheme and stick to that. (It's easier for the little ones to process it that way.) This book is mostly AABB, but there are two pages that are randomly ABAB, and another that is ABBAC. It could have been done purposefully, but as a reader, it feels sloppy.

This may be me nit picking, but I'm not a fan of some of the rhymes chosen by the author either, especially considering its a children's book, and not graduate-level poetry. There are just too many slant rhymes (celery/see). And some of them, I would argue, are not slant rhymes, but don't rhyme at all (sulked/speak).

Personally, I would skip this book. There are much better Orthodox books out there, such as "Sasha and the Dragon" and "The Littlest Altar Boy".

Very good for our times, Saint Paisios of Mount Athos as well.. Saint Porhyrios

Essential items, very nice pictures, and great faith. Thanks from Belgium.

I personally liked the other Memory Eternal Cards better.

One of the best books ever on the Passion of our lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

This is such a nice way to introduce our faith to children !
The book was a gift to our granddaughter on her birthday.

A perfect addition to your prayer corner.

Perfect addition to any Orthodox Christian’s icon corner! Makes a lovely gift, too! I especially love the multiple built-in bookmarks.

A must-read for all Christians! Thanks be to God for Fr. Andrew and his ability to convey such profoundly important and heady concepts into concise and understandable content.

Really enjoyed. I belonged to a ‘nondenominational’ church that tried to center itself on what the New Testament church looked like, and this book is a great answer. A little (a lot) more detail on Christ fulfilling the Torah would have been nice. I like the example of Sabbath and the Lord’s day, but was still left with some pretty basic questions. Probably just me. Highly recommend.

This pendent has beautiful icons on it! This is a great gift idea for anyone. Will definitely order more of them.

I'm not a young adult, but an old adult, and this prayer book is very useful to me. Many of the prayers have great depth to them and some of them are for situations you wouldn't find in other prayer books.

Great Stuff

Excellent oil lamp for olive oil. I would recommend using this to any one. It's quite beautiful to look at, and I love the cross cut on the back so the light shines out a cross on the wall behind it.

The rose incense has such a wonderful fragrance to it. I will definitely stock up on it soon.

Beautiful writing and artwork💛

The Prayers by the Lake are soul searching and leaves me contemplating my own worth at times. Life without prayer to God makes our lives meaningless. I am honored and humbled to have been given the opportunity to embrace my Orthodox faith at deeper levels and realms.

I really like it because it contains the akathists of our Lord and Blessed Mother, Mary immaculate. Actually, I heard of it from a podcast reviewing Orthodox prayer books.

Preciously narrated and illustrated. Teaches little ones about love in every day actions and events.