“Little Star” by Anthony DeStefano

If you are looking for an original, Christ-centered Christmas picture book, then “Little Star” by Anthony DeStefano might just be the one for you.

A little boy is looking out his window for the Christmas star and his father tells him why he cannot see it in the sky. He tells the tale of a little star who is often overlooked by the bigger stars. They are all talking about the upcoming birth of Jesus. When the great event occurs, the little star puts forth all of his energy to cast light upon the infant Jesus to keep the baby warm and help others to find Him. He burns himself out in the process, but is remembered forever for his place in history.

You can look at this book at many levels. Behind the story in the forefront lies a loving relationship between father and son. Parents who have been sharing the lives of the Saints with their children might also want to talk about the way the little star gave his life for Jesus as did many of the Saints. Children can also be invited to discuss bullying (as displayed by the bigger stars) and using their little talents to glorify God in their own ways.

“My goal was to try to encapsulate the whole gospel message in a simple Christmas story,” said DeStefano. This he has done, and has received rave reviews on Amazon.com and elsewhere.

A few months ago DeStefano’s first children’s book was published - This Little Prayer of Mine. He has also written a couple of bestselling non-fiction books — A Travel Guide to Heaven, and Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To — both published by Doubleday. You Tube has a video of Pat Boone reading the new book to a group of children.

With realistic, colorful illustrations of the humans in the story mixed in with the fanciful cartoons of Little Star, Mark Elliott has captured the meaning of the story in a way that will be easily understood by children. My own four-year-old was a little scared of the pictures for some reason, but that is for you decide if you think the paintings will appeal to your children or not.

The author sent me his book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Young People's Book of Saints

The Young People’s Book of Saints by Hugh Ross Williamson is a compilation of 63 saints of the Western Church from the first through the twentieth century. Originally published in 1960 by Hawthorne Books, it is now available as an ARKive Edition from Sophia Institute Press.

Starting at the year 58 A.D. with St. James the Greater and ending with St. Frances Xavier Cabrini in 1850, Williamson strings the stories along in chronological order, traveling from country to country and from the houses of kings to those of servants. He tells the essentials of their lives, not sparing the sorrowful details of their deaths, but in a matter-of-fact way that respects the way children can absorb this information. Many details and higher concepts are included that often are left out in more modern texts; the author realizes that children indeed are capable of understanding. The illustrations by Sheila Connelly are appealing to children and display the individual traits of each of the saints quite well.

I have taken my time in writing this review because I wanted to read it for myself, as well as present the material to children in different forums to see how they reacted to the stories within. I was pleased with the organization of its content, the selection of saints, and the way their stories were told. I used several of the stories in my Little Flowers group, which is a Catholic girls’ group composed of girls ages 5 through 12, in teaching about the saints and their virtues. I also had my eight-year-old son read some of the stories for his Blue Knights group, a Catholic boys’ group that also learns about saints and their virtues. The children both understood and enjoyed the stories.

Each chapter can be read on its own, as I did with my groups of children. When read from pages 1 through 239, however, this could be used as part of a Church History or World History course in a homeschool. The book would also make the perfect gift for a birthday, First Communion, or special achievement for a special child in your life.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. The company sent me the book in exchange for my honest review. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Young People’s Book of Saints.

The Kitchen Madonna by Rumer Godden

This little gem is a great story to read out loud with the whole family. Only 89 pages and not separated into chapters, the book can easily be read in an hour silently, or two hours aloud.

The character who sets the story in motion is Marta, the Ukrainian housekeeper brought into a London home. She tells the children of the house that she is sad that the kitchen has no “good place”. She describes to them how her kitchen in her native home had a special place for a shrine with a beautiful picture of Our Lady and the Holy Child. The Madonna had to be a specially adorned picture in a beautiful frame. She was to be crusted with gold and stones of many colors.

Gregory, a quiet and artistic boy, recruits his sister Janet to help him with his mission to create a “good place” for Marta’s Madonna. First they go shopping, thinking they can purchase an icon, but they are too expensive and they lose what little money they have. Then he finds a picture in the newspaper that he can use as an outline. He goes to a material shop and, after describing his project to the owner, is given lovely materials to work with.

Finally he produces his handmade Madonna, in a beautiful picture frame, and sets it in a special spot in the kitchen, set about with little red votive candles. Marta and his entire family are blessed by his creation, and he vows to produce many more of its kind.

This story is so simple and touching. It shows that there can be meaning in physical things. It delves into the artistic process of creation. It explores the innocent motives of a child wanting to please a loved one in his life. Finally, it describes the blessings of the vision of the Madonna and Child, in the many forms they may take.

Published by Viking Press in 1967. Out of print but available used from online sellers such as Amazon.com

Review of “St. Thomas Aquinas: For Children and the Childlike” by Raissa Maritain

“St. Thomas Aquinas: For Children and the Childlike” by Raissa Maritain, originally published in 1934. Illustrated by Ted Schluenderfritz. New edition published by Sophia Institute Press, Manchester, New Hampshire, 2009. Available from The Catholic Company.

This young reader introduces children to the lofty notions of saints, angels, and theology in poetic terminology that they can understand, and yet does not condescend. Each brief chapter includes an appealing illustration done in soft charcoal that demonstrates one of the many virtues of Saint Thomas Aquinas. With all his amazing attributes, he still comes across as a humble fellow that one would like to have known personally.

The story of his life starts in childhood, describing the unusual graces and influences that the boy carried as he embarked on his education. It describes how he was called to the Dominican Order and obeyed that calling despite the opposition of his parents. His mother even had him held captive to thwart his actions, but he escaped. She would eventually remember that his calling had been foretold to her long ago.

St. Thomas was so humble that he allowed himself to be known as the “Dumb Ox”. Time would tell that he was wrong, and he brought so much Divine Knowledge to the Church that he is now widely known as the “Angelic Doctor” or “Angel of the Schools”. Although there is no reference section, it is clear that the author drew on many original documents for her information.

Maritain does not talk down to children. She knows that many ideas are within their grasp, and presents them in a way that whole families can benefit. Parents of younger children might want to read this aloud, stopping often for discussion. Middle-grade children would enjoy reading this alone. Parents who would like to know about St. Thomas and are afraid to pick up an adult text on this awesome giant will enjoy the brief chapters and the focus on one-idea-at-a-time.

Separate chapters are dedicated to each of his outstanding virtues: his search of Truth, the Holiness of his Intelligence, Charity, Divine Wisdom, and Humility; the behavioral characteristics of his constant preaching, prayer without ceasing, frequent weeping, and distractibility when focused on a certain problem; the important work of The Office of the Blessed Sacrament, the Miracles of the Roses and the Star, and his Divine Favors. Most biographies end with death, but this book goes into great detail about the special way that he died, how he was glorified afterwards, and his final canonization.

Children and adults alike can glean much from this character study. The message comes through that everyone has a calling from God that he or she must listen to and follow.

This classic work was originally published under the title “L’ange de l’eicole (Paris: Desclee, de Brower, & Cie, c. 1934)”. An English translation by Julie Kernan, titled “St. Thomas Aquinas: The Angel of the Schools”, was published by Sheed and Ward, NY, in 1935. This 2009 edition, which includes minor editorial revisions to that English edition, is published by Sophia Institute Press, a nonprofit institution dedicated to making knowledgeable works more available to the public by publishing out-of-print books, translations of foreign works, and new books.

For more about Raissa Maritian see Brenna Moore’s
Feminized Suffering in Modern French Catholicism: Raïssa Maritain (1883–1960) and Léon Bloy (1846–1917). Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality - Volume 9, Number 1, Spring 2009, pp. 46-68.

This review was written as part of the Catholic Book Reviewer Program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on “Saint Thomas Aquinas”.

The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery

“The Story Girl” was L.M. Montgomery’s personal favorite among the books she had finished by the end of her residence at Prince Edward Island, according to her autobiography, “The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career”.

Set in the sleepy rural town of Carlisle, this is the story of a group of children who spend an unforgettable summer together. It is told through the eyes of Beverley King, who is reminiscing about his boyhood memories of the Story Girl and all the good times the children had together while listening to her stories.

Many of the stories were actual occurrences that had been rumored throughout the town of Cavendish, Lucy Maud’s early residence, and a certain fringe character named Peg Bowen, a mentally unstable woman whom all the children were afraid of, is the one real live person that Montgomery transplanted into her books.

I read a review on Amazon in which the reader wondered if The Story Girl was actually the young Lucy Maud. I doubt it, for while Sara Stanley, a.k.a. The Story Girl, was an excellent verbal storyteller, her written stories fell absolutely flat.

One could certainly find one’s young self in at least of the diverse lot of children who cast their lots together that summer. There is the beautiful Felicity, who knows how to cook lovely things but wishes she could be as interesting as The Story Girl. In turn, The Story Girl wishes she could do something useful, but fails every time she tries to bake. Cecily is all-around sweet and well-wishing. Sara Ray is dull but a good and loyal friend. Peter, the hired boy, seems to have much promise as a leader. Felix is chubby and sensitive. And Beverley does not tell much about himself – but he is an insightful story-teller with a great memory and a well-kept journal.

The tales are quite diverse in range: funny, sad, wild, scary. What they have in common is that they all have a captive audience when told by Sara Stanley. One could read the book for the little stories alone. But there is a larger story throughout, one of the personal growth of all the children. They learn about the importance of forgiveness, the silliness of grudges, the lost days given to fear. They also learn that pickles and milk might bring on enviably wild dreams, but are also quite poisonous to the stomach when taken together.

The story is timeless as a tale of the importance of stories in general, to bringing friends and family together. This book is well-suited to being read aloud to your children, given for their personal reading, or read by adults for pleasure.

Fighting a Caspian-like Battle on the Home Front

I took the children to see Prince Caspian this weekend. I thought the movie was incredibly well-done. One of the great things about movies based on classic literature is that you basically know what you will be getting. In fact, very rarely will I take the children to see any movie that is not based upon a book that I have read. Even if the movie is rated G, there may be materials I find objectionable because they run counter to our beliefs. Or, it might be so inane that I find it a waste of our time and mental energy.

Caspian was rated PG for violence, but it was not senseless violence. As scary as the battle scenes may be, you know the good side is going to beat the evil side. And good and evil are clearly defined. Children also need to know that there are battles worth fighting.

Just like many of our American men felt a strong urge to go fight for our country after the attacks on 9/11/01, I came out of the movie with a desire to fight for something worthwhile. After making dinner and cleaning up, I did a cross-stitch while the children watched a BBC version of Prince Caspian that we had on VHS.

How can I fight for something worthwhile? I thought, thinking that I was doing next-to-nothing. To paraphrase A.A. Milne in his Winnie-the-Pooh stories, Christopher Robin says that “nothing” is what you tell your parents you’re doing when you go outside to play. We all know the importance of childhood playtime. So, “Nothing” can actually be “something” worthwhile.

I pondered that for a while and realized that the “nothing” I was presently doing was really quite something. I was enjoying my children while they filled their minds with great stories. I was relaxing, taking delight in the wonderful family life God has granted us. I was making a handmade gift for someone, something the family in that household can take joy from for many years to come, rather than writing out a check or buying something off a registry.

We mothers are indeed fighting a holy war in our homes. We are fighting a culture that says things are more important than people, morals are relative, and God is a creation of our minds.

King Miraz feared the truth and brainwashed his people until they came to believe that the Narnians were extinct. The secular establishment fears the righteous, and brainwashes us through the media, textbooks, and schools to believe that really good people are extinct. Good politicians are considered oxymorons, brides are generally assumed to be unworthy of wearing white, men are believed to be incapable of remaining faithful in both mind and body, and religion is held to be something for the weak-minded.

In the book, Prince Caspian’s nurse (who was not mentioned in the movie) was sent away for disobeying the king. She and the tutor who takes her place, Doctor Cornelius, raise a righteous leader by defying the King and secretly telling the child all the stories of Narnia. Like them, we can do our part in bringing up righteous citizens by instilling God’s Word in our children’s hearts and rearing them in homes that live uprightly.

“Rather, the law of the Lord is their joy; God’s law they study day and night.”
Psalm 1:3

The Runaway Bunny

Margaret Wise Brown’s classics “The Runaway Bunny” and “Goodnight Moon” have earned their place on millions of children’s bookshelves. It is difficult to pin down exactly why the stories are so enchanting.

Aha, because they are based on scripture.

In “The Runaway Bunny”, a bunny tells his mother that he will run away from her. She tells him that she will follow him wherever he may go. Clement Hurd’s enchanting illustrations show the mother rabbit as as she takes the form of the wind, a tree, and several other shapes. The boy bunny decides he might as well stay in his cozy home with his mommy who loves him.

As I read this to my toddler, the Psalm came back to me and I knew I was reading Brown’s interpretation, whether she knew it or not.

Psalms 139: 1 - 12
"1 O LORD, thou hast searched me and known me!
2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, ‘Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light’ –
12 Darkness is not dark for you,
and night shines as the day.
Darkness and light are but one."

The Golden Key

The impression I held from my childhood reading of “The Golden Key”, by George MacDonald, was that of a gorgeous fairytale, a whimsical story of a boy and girl in search of the lock that would turn with their golden key.

When I read the story aloud to my children, however, I was amazed by the depth of its meaning. The story is so obviously about the Journey of Life, and the continuation of that Journey with Death; Growing Old Together, the Passage of Time, the Relativity of Age and Youth, and Love. Like all great fairytales, it unlocks the questions children unconsciously ask about Life. It gives them quiet answers, disguised by delightful characters, but doesn’t bludgeon them with it.

Mossy, so named because he would read in the moss until it seemed he would grow mossy, lives at the edge of Fairyland. His great-aunt tells him that he can find the golden key at the end of the rainbow. She does not know what the key is for. That would be his job to find out. One day he finds the key.

MacDonald leaves Mossy there and brings us to Tangle. He does not divide up his 78-page story into chapters. Sometimes his characters sleep – at which time I would take a break in my reading – then they get up and continue with their journey.

The fairies are disgusted with the household that is bringing up Tangle. It is a slovenly house, and fairies hate messes. The child is unkempt and disused. The maids fail to brush her hair and hence call her Tangle. The fairies decide to teach everyone a lesson by chasing Tangle out of the house.

Tangle winds up at her fairy godmother’s house. “Grandmother” summons her fish-bird to bring a boy who is sitting at the end of the rainbow. Mossy, who holds the golden key, will be a trustworthy companion for Tangle. Together they are sent to find the lock that will turn with the golden key.

The years pass by. They walk through the Valley of Shadows – I see now it is the Valley of the Shadow of Death – and are not fearful. They realize the key must unlock the Land from where the Shadows Fall, and make it their life’s journey to find that Land.

In the course of events they lose each other, and each separately run into the Old Man of the Sea, who appears as a middle-aged man. Then they meet the Old Man of the Earth, who is supposed to be even older, but appears as a young man. Finally they meet the Old Man of the Fire, who is supposed to be ancient, but appears as a baby. He shows them the way to the Land of the Shadows.

Now they are old and beautiful. They find the sapphire-encrusted lock and go up a stair that goes out of the earth, into the rainbow, and up to the Land of the Shadows.

What a delicious read. I highly recommend this book for all ages, zero through one hundred or so.

I recommend purchasing the single volume illustrated by Maurice Sendak (creator of "Little Bear").

You can read the entire text at:
http://www.mrrena.com/misc/GoldKey.shtml