The Childhood of Jesus: A Seek and Find Book for Kids to Enjoy

Janele Hoerner reviews a seek-and-find book that engaged her children ages 4 through 10.

The Childhood of Jesus (Seek and Find Sarah and Simon series)

By Geert De Sutter

Publisher: Magnificat/Ignatius Press

Have you ever scoured the internet at night in search of the perfect book for your children, one that will hold their interest time and time again? Have you ever picked up a book at a local bookstore and thought, "This would be perfect for my child IF it just included my faith within its pages," before putting it down? Well, if you have, then the Seek and Find Sarah and Simon series is a great book series for your young reader. It includes reading as well as that seek-and-find component children love to get their hands on.   

The Adult Perspective  

My review of The Childhood of Jesus Seek and Find begins with my four daughters age 10 and under. My children have always loved seek-and-finds and when my boys were little, they did them so much we couldn’t keep up with magazines. To finally hold a Catholic seek-and-find book seems to be that wonderful treasure that has been missing from our household book collection. With this type of book, you will help further each of your children’s individual relationship with Jesus.  

This is not the first book in the Seek and Find series by Magnificat and Ignatius, it is actually the fifth. Each book follows the same set of characters: Sarah and Simon (a girl and a boy), Felix and Estella (a teacher and his daughter), Lavan and Hoom (a white cat and a brown cat), Gil (a goat), the child Jesus, and Shiloh (a three-legged dog). There is also a short paragraph to accompany each picture for the older children to read or for the younger children to have read to them. There are included in this book 12 different bright and colorful seek-and-finds.  

I just love the smooth matte cover and the 8 ½ by 11 size of this book, which makes it easy to balance in little hands. The design will grab a child’s attention with a variety of colors and scenes that will keep your child involved.  

The Child's Perspective 

My girls range from 4 to 10 and although our youngest girl cannot read yet, she loves to find the above-mentioned characters again and again. My oldest two daughters, 8 and 10, will read the descriptions on the page and this is a nice addition for the older children. The complaint that I have from my 6-year-old is that the characters change positions from the pictured characters that you are looking to find. This confuses her, but seems to be only a complaint from her age, because my older two daughters do not have trouble finding the differently positioned characters. Now my 4-year-old, on the other hand, always needs help to find the characters the first time, but loves to go back and acts just as excited when she finds them again and again as she reads the book before bed. 

Timeless Seek and Finds 

Seek-and-finds go back throughout the history of printing for children, but I am very glad to find them in a Catholic book. Until this series they were hard to come across, with the last one that I could find going back into the early 2000s. I am thankful for this series by Magnificat and Ignatius who never disappoint in faithful books about childhood topics.

If you are looking for a great selection for your busy children during a car ride where you aren't able to read with them, this is the book for you. Also, if you want something that you and your child can do together, this again is a great addition for your collection. I am always so happy to find Catholic books that hold my children’s interest that will not be pushed aside after the first reading. I know that if you have an inquisitive child, like my own, they will love this seek-and-find book on the childhood of Jesus. It is a perfect spring gift!

Is this a book you'd like to read? Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2025 Janele Hoerner
Images: Canva