Book of SaintsWho are the saints, why are the lives of saints important for children, and what can children learn from lives and actions? In Loyola Kids Book of Saints, the first in the Loyola Kids series, best-selling author Amy Welborn answers these questions with exciting and inspiring stories, real-life applications, and important information about these heroes of the church. This inspiring collection of saints’ stories explains how saints become saints, why we honor them, and how they help us even today. Featuring more than sixty saints from throughout history and from all over the world, Loyola Kids Book of Saints introduces children to these wonderful role models and heroes of the church. Ages 8-12.
Mini-biographies of more than sixty saints from across the ages, with both men and women equally represented and while the majority are from times long ago there is a steady collection of 19th and 20th century saints interwoven throughout. We thoroughly enjoyed the well-written stories which are written to the child, asking them questions so they can relate to the person being discussed. The saints' stories are age appropriate for all ages but the needed details have been presented so while we don't get the gory details of explicit martyrdom, the truth of what happened isn't avoided either. Many types of saints are presented here. In fact, the book is broken up into 15 Parts, with each part grouping 4-5 saints together under a theme: those who loved children, were creative, were teachers, helped the poor, traveled far, helped us to understand God, etc. For each saint we are given their birth/death dates (if known) and feast day. We are not told what the saints are known to be patron saints of though, and at first I found this annoying. But after a while I was glad that focus was shifted from this often asked question about a saint to their actual life and accomplishments. Following the biography is a very short discussion question that can be used for devotional, or family time. We found some of these to be very thought provoking and stimulating. A great book for this age group which includes all the famous saints you'd expect in such a book along with obscure, lesser known and multi-cultural ones. Highly recommend for reading at home or use in the Catholic classroom.
For young readers, this is the perfect book for learning about/teaching about Catholic saints. I will be adding it to my classroom library. The opening pages contain information that will help children understand why we want to learn about the saints as heroes and leaders. The lives of the saints included are categorized by the ways the saints can teach and inspire us in the modern world. It is easy to locate an appropriate saint's story for a lesson. It is easy to quickly locate a saint by virtue, such as telling the truth or being helpful to others. It is interesting enough to just read from cover to cover if you're not looking for a particular lesson.
I studied church history without the saints for most of my adult life. Saints are people you can depend upon. My goal is to have a 1000 eternal Facebook friends.
Back Cover: Who are the saints, why are they important, and what can we learn from their lives and actions? This inspiring collection of saints' stories explains how saints become saints, why we honor them, and how they help us even today. Featuring more than sixty saints from all over the world, "Loyola Kids Book of Saints" introduces children to these wonderful role models and heroes of the church.
We greatly enjoy this book. We study the saint of the day, and this book offers an interesting perspective. Saints are divided into the following chapters: Saints are people who love children, saints are people who love their families, saints are people who surprise others, saints are people who create, saints are people who teach us new ways to pray, saints are people who see beyond the everyday, saints are people who travel far from home, saints are people who are strong leaders, saints are people who tell the truth, saints are people who help us understand God, saints are people who change their lives for God, saints are people who are brave, saints are people who help the poor and sic, saints are people who help in ordinary wa.ys, and saints are people who come from all over the world.
FYI: You should buy this book on its own merit. However, know this. The author's husband died young, leaving her to support their family. Just another good reason to buy a book we should all own anyway. ;-)