The Penny Catechism + An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Saint John Of Damascus)

Questions and answers on all aspects of the Faith. Excellent basic class text and short summary of Catholic teaching for everyone. Easy to read, won’t overwhelm the prospective convert! Great for missionary work or apologetics. An official catechism.
The Penny Catechism is a simpler approach to learning the basics of the Catholic faith; in this book close to 370 short sentence questions are asked, and you get a 1-2 sentence answer in return. There is also an appendix at the end of the Penny Catechism containing basic Catholic prayers as well as the Mysteries of the Rosary. Some answers to the questions also contain the scripture passage it pertains to.
The Penny Catechism is the place to start if you found the several hundred pages long "Catechism of the Catholic Church" too difficult to start reading; eventually you can read the official Catechism for a more complex and mature look at the teachings of the Catholic faith. Don’t expect to get complicated answers to questions in the Penny Catechism, obviously. If you find you are craving more after reading the Penny Catechism but are not ready to dive deep into "The" Catechism, you can make your way to the "Compendium: Catechism of the Catholic Church," an "abbreviated" but still highly thorough description of the Catholic faith. The Compendium also has the same question-and-answer format of the Penny Catechism, with slightly longer answers.
Overall, getting back to the basics is what is most important for those who are reverts to the Catholic Church, and the Penny Catechism is a great way to do so. Highly recommended for all converts, reverts, cradle Catholics, and non-Catholics alike, of all ages.

John of Damascus (Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός, romanized: Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós, IPA: [ioˈanis o ðamasciˈnos]; Latin: Ioannes Damascenus; Arabic: يوحنا الدمشقي‎, romanized: Yūḥannā ad-Dimashqī), also known as John Damascene and as Χρυσορρόας / Chrysorrhoas (literally "streaming with gold"—i.e., "the golden speaker"), was a Christian monk and priest. Born and raised in Damascus c. 675 or 676, he died at his monastery, Mar Saba, near Jerusalem on 4 December 749.[5]

A polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, and music, he is said by some sources to have served as a Chief Administrator to the Muslim caliph of Damascus before his ordination.[6][7] He wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still used both liturgically in Eastern Christian practice throughout the world as well as in western Lutheranism at Easter.[8] He is one of the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox Church and is best known for his strong defence of icons.[9] The Catholic Church regards him as a Doctor of the Church, often referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption due to his writings on the Assumption of Mary.[10]

The most common source of information for the life of John of Damascus is a work attributed to one John of Jerusalem, identified therein as the Patriarch of Jerusalem.[11] This is an excerpted translation into Greek of an earlier Arabic text. The Arabic original contains a prologue not found in most other translations, and was written by an Arab monk, Michael, who explained that he decided to write his biography in 1084 because none was available in his day. However, the main Arabic text seems to have been written by an earlier author sometime between the early 9th and late 10th centuries AD.[11] Written from a hagiographical point of view and prone to exaggeration and some legendary details, it is not the best historical source for his life, but is widely reproduced and considered to contain elements of some value.[12] The hagiographic novel Barlaam and Josaphat, traditionally attributed to John, is in fact a work of the 10th century.[13]