MANA EDITIONS SERIES / 05
SACRED STORIES,
YOUNG MINDS
DIFFERENT PATHS
A SHARED HUMANITY
A BRIGHTER TOMORROW
“The world’s great sacred stories and traditions, thoughtfully introduced to young readers.”
THE IDEA
For thousands of years, people have used stories to explore some of the largest questions a human being can ask.
Where did the world come from?
What makes an action right or wrong?
What do we owe to other people?
Why do people suffer?
What does it mean to forgive?
How should we live?
What gives life meaning?
Sacred Stories, Young Minds introduces young readers to the stories, characters, teachings and traditions through which different cultures and religions have approached questions like these.
The purpose is neither to persuade nor to compare faiths as though one must defeat another.
It is to understand.
A child can discover a story from a tradition different from their own without being asked to adopt that tradition.
Understanding what other people believe — and why certain stories, symbols and practices matter to them — is part of understanding the world we share.
Different traditions may offer different answers.
Curiosity and respect allow us to encounter them.
DIFFERENT PATHS
—
SHARED QUESTIONS
• ORIGIN
• MEANING
• GOOD & EVIL
HUMANITY
• RESPONSIBILITY
• COMPASSION
• SUFFERING
• HOPE
• COMMUNITY
• LIFE & DEATH
TRADITIONS & SACRED STORIES
“The Series is designed to explore traditions individually, with care for their own history, language and context.”
JUDAISM
Stories, traditions and teachings from the Hebrew Bible and Jewish history and culture.
CHRISTIANITY
Biblical stories, teachings and traditions that have shaped Christian communities across the world.
ISLAM
Stories, teachings and traditions associated with the Qur’an, the Prophets and Muslim history and culture.
HINDUISM
Stories, ideas and traditions drawn from the diverse sacred literature and cultural traditions of Hinduism.
BUDDHISM
Stories and teachings exploring compassion, suffering, wisdom and the path toward understanding.
TAOISM
Stories and ideas exploring harmony, nature, balance and ways of living in the world.
SHINTO
Stories and traditions connected with nature, place, community and the spiritual heritage of Japan.
ZOROASTRIANISM
Stories and teachings from one of the world’s ancient religious traditions, including its influential ideas about moral choice.
ONE TRADITION AT A TIME
Each book in Sacred Stories, Young Minds should allow a tradition to speak in its own context.
We do not combine different sacred traditions into a fictional single mythology.
We do not rewrite one tradition through the assumptions of another.
Where stories have multiple interpretations or versions, the book should acknowledge that complexity in a way appropriate to the age of the reader.
Accessibility matters.
Accuracy matters too.
OUR APPROACH
01
RESPECT BEFORE SIMPLIFICATION
Make stories understandable without making the tradition itself look simplistic.
02
CONTEXT MATTERS
Explain who, where and why when that knowledge helps a young reader understand the story.
03
NO TRADITION IS THE DEFAULT
Every faith and tradition should be treated with the same editorial seriousness.
04
EXPLAIN — DO NOT PREACH
The books introduce beliefs and stories. They do not instruct children what they must believe.
05
DIFFERENCES ARE NOT PROBLEMS TO ERASE
Traditions sometimes offer different answers to the same question. Those differences can be explained respectfully.
06
CURIOSITY WITH CARE
Questions should be welcomed while recognising that sacred subjects matter deeply to many people.
FOR YOUNG READERS
“A sacred story can contain unfamiliar names, places, customs and ideas.
Our task is not to remove everything unfamiliar.
It is to give the young reader enough context to enter the story with confidence.”
STORY → CONTEXT → UNDERSTANDING → CURIOSITY → RESPECT
BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
Sacred stories and traditions thoughtfully introduced to young readers.
FOR PARENTS, FAMILIES & EDUCATORS
Children encounter religious diversity in history, art, literature, travel, school and everyday life.
These books are designed to provide a thoughtful starting point for those encounters.
Families may approach questions of faith differently.
Sacred Stories, Young Minds respects that difference.
The aim of the Series is to give young readers knowledge, context and vocabulary — and to leave families free to continue the conversation in their own way.
PUBLISHING WORLD
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
“Sacred Stories, Young Minds belongs to the MANA EDITIONS Children’s Books Publishing World.”
EXPLORE MORE SERIES
KNOWLEDGE, SIMPLY →
THE INNER ARCHITECTURE →
DECISIONS, SYSTEMS & POWER →
GREAT STORIES, YOUNG MINDS →
IMAGINATION, UNBOUND →
LIFE, PRACTICALLY →
SACRED STORIES,
YOUNG MINDS
“Different paths. Shared humanity.”