The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts

by Abbie Farwell Brown, Fanny Y. Cory (Illustrator)

A collection of folktales about various saints and animals. Includes: Saint Bridget and the King's Wolf / Saint Gerasimus and the Lion / Saint Keneth and the Gulls / Saint Launomar's Cow / Saint Werburgh and Her Goose / The Ballad of Saint Athracta's Stags / Saint Kentigern and the Robin / Saint Blaise and His Beasts / Saint Cuthbert's Peace / The Ballad of Saint Felix / Saint Fronto's Camels / The Blind Singer, Saint Hervé / Saint Comgall and the Mice / The Wonders of Saint Berach / Saint Prisca, the Child Martyr / The Fish Who Helped Saint Gudwall / The Ballad of Saint Giles and the Deer / The Wolf-Mother of Saint Ailbe.

Genres: Folklore, Classics

225 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1900

About the author

Abbie Farwell Brown was born in Boston, Massachusetts on August 21, 1871. Her family resided in New England for ten generations, and Brown spent her entire life living in the family's home. She was the oldest of two children. Her sister, Clara, was also part of the literary world; she became an author and illustrator, using the pen name of Ann Underhill.

In 1886, Brown received the honor of valedictorian of the Bowdoin School. When she went on to the Girls' Latin School, she was one of the founders of the school newspaper, The Jabberwock. Still being published by the school, it is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States. From Girls' Latin School, Brown went to Radcliff College in 1891.

It was during her time at Girls' Latin School that Brown began contributing her writing pieces to magazines, launching her career. In 1900 she published her first children's book, The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts. In addition to stories, Brown also produced poetry for children. Her poetry for adults was not as successful. Writing song lyrics was also part of her accomplishments. The official song of the Girl Scouts of the USA, "On the Trail," was written in part by Brown.

Literary life was important to Brown, and she became a member of various literary clubs and did editing work.

Brown passed away on March 5, 1927 from cancer. She was 55 years old.

from https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poe...

Reviews

[Frank]

This has an interesting theme. It is about individual saints and various animals. The first for instance is St. Bridget (Ireland) and the King's Wolf. Others include Gulls, cow, Robin, mice and even fish. Just started.

[Jessica Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok how to review this one?

Sometimes being myth obsessed you tend to look for the story BEHIND the story and are quite disappointed when you don't get it. But this is a book for children. It's a bit sappy, but not more than anything written at the time. It doesn't condescend, well not more than most kid books. And for those of us who want the story behind the story....we can jolly well get off our posteriors and go research it for ourselves! So there!

[Rusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and wholesome

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t like most of the narrators.