At the beginning of each month I fill a basket with books featuring the the various saints whose feast days will be celebrated during the month and place it in the living room. Throughout the month I will find the children curled up on the couch reading books they have chosen from the basket, either on their own or to their younger siblings. I also choose books from the basket for some of our afternoon family read-alouds. Our collection started very small and we have continued adding additional books over the years which we have either purchased or have been given as gifts. Some are picture books, some are chapter books, and some are collections of saint stories. This post is a work in progress and I will continue adding links as I sort through our collection.
This list just includes our Saint Books for April. You can find most of our Lent and Easter Picture Books here and a few more here.
April 1st, St. Hugh (Hist.):
- Saint Hugh and the Swan (Brother Wolf, Sister Sparrow) by Eric A. Kimmel
April 2nd, St. Mary of Egypt (Hist.):
- Saint Mary of Egypt (Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
April 3rd, St. Richard of Chichester:
- St. Richard of Chichester: Bishop without a Diocese (The Book of Saints and Heroes) by Andrew Lang
- R- St. Richard (An Alphabet of Saints) by Robert Hugh Benson (Neumann Press - also available from TAN)
April 4th, St. Benedict the Moor (New):
- Benedict of San Fradello (Once Upon a Time Saints) by Ethel Pochocki
April 4th, St. Isidore of Seville (New, Trad.):
- St. Isidore of Seville (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
April 5th, St. Vincent Ferrer (New, Trad.):
- St. Vincent Ferrer (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
April 7th, St. John Baptist de la Salle (New) (Trad – May 15th):
- St. John Baptist de la Salle (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
- Saint John Baptist de La Salle (More Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
- Saint John Baptist de La Salle (Along the Paths of the Gospel Series)
April 16th, St. Magnus of Orkney:
- The Last Viking (The Story of St. Magnus) Audio
- St. Magnus, The Last Viking
Note: I wanted to note that the story of St. Magnus is a pretty intense and one that we probably should have saved until the boys were teens before sharing it with them - they were only 6 and 7 at the time. Nevertheless, the heroic life of St. Magnus made a strong impression and he has remained one of our oldest son's favorite saints ever since. You can see him dressed up as St. Magnus in 2007 here.
- St. Bernadette (Saints and Angels) by Claire Llewellyn
- St. Bernadette Soubirous (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
- Saint Bernadette (Saints for Girls) by Father Gales (Neumann Press - also available from TAN/Neumann) Immaculate Conception by Rev. Jude Winkler
- Bernadette: The Little Girl from Lourdes by Sophie Maraval-Hutin
- Bernadette: Our Lady's Little Servant by by Hertha Pauli (Vision) The Lady Spoke to Her (Golden Legend of Young Saints)
- The Song of Bernadette (DVD)
- Bernadette and The Passion of Bernadette (DVD)
- Bernadette: The Princess of Lourdes (DVD)
- Saint Bernadette: The Miracle of Lourdes (*recently ordered a copy to give as a gift to one of the girls on her birthday.)
I'm so happy that Saints for Girls will be back in print SOON! This sweet book will be going in Rose's Easter basket this year.
April 16th, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s Birthday:
- Our Holy Father, the Pope: The Papacy from Saint Peter to the Present
- Joseph from Germany: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI for Children
- Friendship with Jesus: Pope Benedict XVI Speaks to Children on their First Holy Communion
- Be Saints!: An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI
- Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat
- Max and Benedict: A Bird’s Eye View of the Pope’s Daily Life (Ignatius Press currently has this beautiful hardcover on sale for only $3.00!)
April 21st, St. Alexandra (Hist.):
- Saint Alexandra (Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
April 23rd, St. George (New, Trad.):
- George (Lives and Legends of Saints) by Carole Armstrong
- Saint George (Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
- St. George: Patron Saint of England (The Book of Saints and Heroes) by Andrew Lang
- Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
From the Archives: Saint George and the Dragon :: A 3-D Sugar Cookie Story Quilt (2012)
and Saint George and the Dragon :: A 3-D Sugar Cookie Story Quilt (2013)
and Saint George and the Dragon :: A 3-D Sugar Cookie Story Quilt (2013)
New additions to our collection this year: (These will probably end up in one of the boys' Easter baskets after they arrive.)
- The Saint Who Fought the Dragon: The Story of St. George by Cornelia Mary Bilinsky
- Saint George and the Dragon by Jim Forest
April 25th, St. Mark:
- St. Mark (Saints and Angels) by Claire Llewellyn
- The Boy Who Fled in the Night (Golden Legend of Young Saints)
April 27th, St. Zita of Lucca (Hist.):
- Zita (More Once Upon a Time Saints) by Ethel Pochocki
- Z- St. Zita (An Alphabet of Saints) by Robert Hugh Benson (Neumann Press - also available from TAN)
April 27th, Canonization of John XXIII and John Paul II :
- Helen's Special Picture
- Our Holy Father, the Pope: The Papacy from Saint Peter to the Present
- Lolek: The Boy Who Became John Paul II
- Karol from Poland
- Glory Stories: Blessed John Paul II (also available from Holy Heroes)
With the canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II coming up on Divine Mercy Sunday, we will be reading some stories about these two past popes!
Have you ordered a copy of Our Holy Father, the Pope: The Papacy from Saint Peter to the Present yet? You can find a short story about John Paul II inside!
New and Upcoming Releases that I've ordered to add to our collection:
- Karol: The Boy Who Became Pope: A Story About St. John Paul II (Neumann Press)
- John Paul II: The Journey of a Saint (Ignatius Press)
- Pope John Paul II Comic Book
- Blessed John Paul II: Be Not Afraid
- The Story of Saint John Paul II: A Boy Who Became Pope (Pauline Books) *These last three books are also available at a discount from Sacred Heart Books and Gifts, which is where I ordered my copies.
April 28th , St. Louis Marie de Montfort (New):
- St. Louis De Montfort: The Story of Our Lady's Slave by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (also available from TAN)
April 29th, St. Catherine of Siena (New) (Trad. – Apr. 30th):
- Catherine of Siena (Around the Year Once Upon a Time Saints) by Ethel Pochocki
- St. Catherine of Siena (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
- Saint Catherine of Siena (More Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
- St. Catherine Of Siena: The Story of the Girl Who Saw Saints in the Sky by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (also available from TAN)
- Lay Siege to Heaven: A Novel about St. Catherine of Siena by Louis de Wohl
- Saint Catherine of Siena by F.A. Forbes (Pro Multis Media) Audio CD
April 30th, Blessed Marie of the Incarnation:
- Blessed Marie of New France: The Story of the First Missionary Sisters in Canada by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (also available from TAN)
Other Links for April:
