PROVIDENCE, R.I. — On Saturday, December 14, Sts. Vartanantz Church Mourad Armenian School welcomed Ani Nalbandian, author of the newly-released book “Քրիստոնեայ Մանուկին Այբ ու Բենը” (The Christian Child’s Alphabet). School co-director Lala Attarian introduced the author to the students and teachers and thanked her for taking the time to visit the school and share this achievement with the students.
Nalbandian introduced the book to the K-2nd grade students, asked questions and answered theirs. When asked what prompted her to write this book, Nalbandian responded, “My “aha” moment was when I was sitting down on the rug in my second grade classroom, teaching my students religion. Seeing my students’ faces light up while talking to them about the love of God, made me want to do it on a wider scale. I wanted to teach not just my own second grade students, but children everywhere.”
She began her teaching career at St. Stephen’s Sunday School during her senior year of high school. “As an intern, principal Nayiri Baljian assigned me and a classmate to teach second grade. From then on, I fell in love with not just teaching but teaching about God. God has given me a calling, and that calling is to teach children about the love of God. When God knocks on your door, you answer!” she said.
Nalbandian shared that she never imagined herself a published author, and then she became the mother of her now one-year-old daughter. “Once I realized there are minimal resources to teach our young children about our church and faith in Western Armenian, I decided to take the wheel and write a book myself,” she said. “I want my daughter to have accessible Armenian resources about our Apostolic church and faith.”
As Nalbandian read with the students, they were very excited to learn new vocabulary and facts about the birth of Jesus (as she focused on the topic of the Nativity).
Through the book, Nalbandian wants to encourage families “to talk to and teach their children about God, Jesus Christ and our Armenian Apostolic church. Being a Christian is such a huge part of who we are as Armenians, and it is vital that we integrate that Christian teaching into our children’s lives…If I cannot encourage people to wake up early on Sunday morning and go to church, then maybe through my book I can bring God’s word into their homes,” she shared.
The author concluded the book reading session with arts and crafts, during which the students made mangers and enriched their vocabulary in Armenian.
Mourad Armenian school is thankful for this fun and educational book reading session. It was a great opportunity to have an active discussion about Christmas and our religion. The book is available for purchase at armenianwithani.com. It will be a perfect gift for Christmas!
When asked if she has plans for additional books, Nalbandian answered with an enthusiastic, “Absolutely! There is so much to teach our children about our Apostolic faith and church.” Her second book will once again be geared for early elementary students.
Since this first book arrived in October, Nalbandian has sold almost 400 copies throughout the U.S. and Canada. “People are happy that there is a resource like this out there and are encouraging me to continue publishing! The exact day my books arrived, by the grace of God, I was able to hand deliver a copy to Catholicos Aram I. If that isn’t God winking down at me, telling me to continue doing His work, I don’t know what is!” she said.
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