Summa Theologiae for Babies Prima Pars

Written and Illustrated by Adele Gulick

Published by Tan Books

When I had a reversion back to the Faith when my oldest daughter was a baby, I had so many gaps in my faith formation – I was a baby Catholic just like her! I started reading her children’s Bibles, and I realized these books that were written for kids were perfect for me as a “baby” Catholic to access the wisdom and knowledge that God has for me. I wish I had this awesome new book by Adele Gulick when I was re-learning my Faith. The Summa Theologiae for Babies Prima Pars will get kids and parents excited to dive into St. Thomas Aquinas’ famous and influential piece of theological writing and instruction.

How the Book is Organized

This book covers the first part (or, prima pars) of the Summa Theolgiae (The Summa is organized into three parts total). The first part of the Summa covers Sacred Doctrine, One God, The Blessed Trinity, Creation, The Angels, The Six Days, Man, and The Government of Creatures.

All of these topics are included in this book. Under each section, there are a number of questions that St. Thomas Aquinas addresses one-by-one. In the board book, the author has listed the question numbers for reference. I love this because if you want to dive deeper into a topic yourself, you can easily find the corresponding question in the Summa.

In the Summa itself, Aquinas presents objections and counter arguments to each objection. The baby Summa includes simple summaries and concrete illustrations for the ideas that St. Thomas Aquinas writes about.

My favorite part is the section about angels. It provides clear and accurate descriptions of what angels are and how they help us. Everything is in simple language for little ones to understand.

The Illustrations

The illustrations are so adorable! They are appealing to all of my children ages 1.5 – 10 years old. The little babies drawn in the book are so sweet, and the diagrams are both informative and fun. The sweetest image is at the end – it’s a drawing of Our Blessed Mother and a baby St. Thomas Aquinas praying under her mantle!

Learn the Summa with your Baby!

If you are curious about the Summa, but feel intimidated by it’s depth and breadth, why not learn alongside your child? The Summa Theologiae for Babies Prima Pars can be enjoyed by family members of all ages who are new to the Summa. After you have read it a few times, I bet you will be eager to read St. Thomas Aquinas’ original version which you can access here in the public domain for free.

You can find The Summa Theologiae for Babies Prima Pars at Tan Books.

This review also appeared on CatholicMom.com.