Building the Way to Heaven: The Tower of Babel and Pentecost {Review & Giveaway}

"The New Testament lies hidden in the Old, 

and the Old is unveiled in the New." 

- Saint Augustine

Happy Pentecost! Are you doing anything special to celebrate the birthday of the Church? Hamburgers and hot dogs are currently on the grill, a new tabletop fire pit is set up out on the patio, and our cake is about to go into the oven. After Mass this morning I gave the kids a brand new picture book to read which is perfect for today!

Building the Way to Heaven: The Tower of Babel and Pentecost is the third book (so far!) in the "Old and New" series written by Maura Roan McKeegan and reverently illustrated by Ted Schluenderfritz. The first two books (The End of the Fiery Sword: Adam & Eve and Jesus & Mary and Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb: Jonah and Jesus) are definitely on our list of favorite Catholic picture books for children and I'm happy to add another book from this wonderful series, introducing children to the intriguing study of biblical typology, to our collection. I snapped a few pictures to share with you all.

Have you heard of the Tower of Babel? 

Do you know about Pentecost, too?

One is from the Old Testament, 

One is from the New. 

Both stories are the Word of God, 

Their messages are true; 

But when you see them side by side, 

A hidden part comes through. 

Now take a closer look

At how their histories are told: 

See the Holy Spirit work

As mysteries unfold. 

Find the buried treasures

That the Sacred Scriptures hold; 

Let the New unlock the door

To secrets of the Old! 

- Excerpt from the title page of Building the Way to Heaven: The Tower of Babel and Pentecost

.: Giveaway :. 

Emmaus Road Publishing has generously offered to send one of my visitors a paperback set of all three books by Maura Roan McKeegan! The winner will be selected and announced in this post next Sunday and the books will be shipped to the winner directly from Emmaus Road Publishing.

Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter box below:

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The End of the Fiery Sword: Adam & Eve and Jesus & Mary

Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb: Jonah and Jesus

Building the Way to Heaven: The Tower of Babel and Pentecost 

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New Additions to Our Book Baskets + Giveaway

As we continue celebrating the Easter season, I have some really great giveaways to host, both here on the blog and over on Instagram, starting with this one sponsored by St. Augustine Academy Press.

I get excited about each and every book that St. Augustine Academy Press republishes and am very happy to be able to share the latest three releases with you all. I don't have them in my hands yet, but they will be coming soon and the the publisher has generously offered to send a set of the three new books to one of you too!

Updated with a couple of my own photos now that our copies arrived. The books are even lovelier in person than I had expected!

Here's a peek at the new covers and the original pages: 

The Rhymed Life of St. Patrick

“…in lively recitative ballad verse, Katharine Tynan tells the entire story of St. Patrick, without missing a single incident of any significance or importance. The book consists of thirty-two large folio pages, where 'a rivulet' of large, opulent type 'meanders through a meadow of margin,' set off by artistic illustrations. If Blessed Patrick and sweet St. Bride only respond to the prayer of the Envoy, and 'Bless this book and scatter it wide,' old and young may easily acquire and retain a comprehensive, if not complete, knowledge of all that is to be known of Ireland’s patron saint."

--from a review in The Catholic World, December 1907

I've never seen this book before and can't wait to read it with our children! 

+   +   +

A Child's Rule of Life
“It is not every one that can keep his childhood. Father Benson has, and speaks to children bout the great, big eternal things in a child’s way. The little ones will be delighted to learn these verses by heart, and thus almost unconsciously gain a deep knowledge of Christian doctrine, and a love and habit of Catholic practice.

The Rule takes the little child from the moment it awakes…through his morning prayers; going to church; hearing Mass; saying grace; reciting lessons; practicing obedience; confessing his sins; receiving Holy Communion; evening prayers, and bed. Round them all Father Benson has put the fragrance of verse that will make them sweet and delightful to the child mind.”

--from a review in The Catholic World, May 1913

We have an out of print copy of the Neumann Press edition and I'm so happy to see this back in print again! 

+   +   +

Old Testament Rhymes

“A book intended to give to children a general idea of the course of Old Testament history from the Fall to the Redemption, especially of those incidents and personages that point to Christ. The rhymes are designedly simple and colloquial, as the book is meant for smaller children only, and the narrative may be thought very sketchy; but it is hoped that the book will form a kind of “thread,” easily discernible, on which the child may learn to connect his more explicit and detailed lessons.”

(taken from an advertisement for the book by its original publisher in 1913, Longmans, Green & Co.)

We have an out of print copy of the Neumann Press edition and I'm so happy to see this back in print again! 

.: Giveaway :. 

The publisher has generously offered to send a set of all three books - The Rhymed Life of St. Patrick, A Child's Rule of Life and Old Testament Rhymes - to one of my visitors!

(Giveaway closes on April 24th. Winner will be announced in this post on April 25, 2018)

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Click here to visit St. Augustine Academy Press 

I'm also giving away a set over on Instagram so make sure and enter over there too! 

The Jesus Tree :: A Lenten Craft and Bible Study

First Communion Bible • Lenten Jesus Tree Verses

This is the 10th Lenten season since I created a Jesus Tree to use with our children during Lent! I have really loved using it over the years as a Lenten Bible Study picking up when our annual Advent Bible Study leaves off.  So many wonderful (and funny!) memories over the years... 

Last year, since we were traveling during some of Lent and Holy Week, I didn't end up pulling it out to use with our little ones, and this year our schedule has been so packed that I decided to just keep things simple and we've been focusing on our annual Lenten calendars, Stations of the Cross every Friday night, and additional books (including books for the older children) when we can fit them in each day. 

Yesterday afternoon, after getting home from work, I decided to print out the new Jesus Tree Lenten Activity Printable from Do Small Things With Great Love and work on it with our two youngest children. They are really enjoying this fun and educational craft and are already back to coloring more of the ornaments this morning as we catch up! 

I didn't have any poster boards large enough for the crosses, so we just printed them out on card stock and glued the four sections together. I'm pretty sure our little guy used a different shade of brown for each section.. lots of variations in the wood of his cross!

While they were working on coloring their crosses today I pulled out some additional books to read with them during these last couple weeks of Lent and displayed them on our portable library! (I'm really loving this new addition to our homeschool!)  One of the older girls helped set up some of our Holy Week/Easter themed toys for them as well! 

My Path to Jesus • Chat's With God's Little Ones • The Jesus Garden • Easter

The Shepherd's Song • The Life of Christ • The Twelve Apostles (for the pics) • The Easter Story

Alphabet of the Altar • The End of the Fiery Sword • Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb • The Three Trees

The Parables of Jesus • The Apostles of Jesus • The Boy Jesus • Saint Peter • My Holy Week Missal 

The Teaching of Jesus • The Miracles of Jesus

He Is Risen! Easter Puzzle with Jesus and Mary Magdalen from Naturally Catholic 

Jesus, the New Adam and Mary, the New Eve from Almond Rod Toys

Homemade Purple Vestments: Teaching Children the Liturgical Colors of the Church Year

Last Supper Wood Blocks and Wooden Mass Kit from Almond Rod Toys

Lent and Easter Blocks from Almond Rod Toys

(You can also buy the craft sheets and make the Lent Blocks yourself!) 

Looking for the perfect shade... 

While they colored each ornament I read through the various bible verses provided for each image from the Gospel of Matthew. 

Occasionally we'd take a break from coloring and add in some extra stories and discussions, including the section on The Incarnation from My Path to Heaven and Lesson 55: The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes from Chat's With God's Little Ones.  These are both such excellent resources and I highly recommend them for young children. 

The pretzel I had picked up at Trader Joe's a couple days ago didn't "multiply" but it did end up being plenty big enough for the two of them to share with three of their older siblings! ;) 

Before tucking them into bed, we also read through The End of the Fiery Sword and Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb. These are a couple of my favorite Catholic picture books.  

That's where we left off, even though they were ready for me to read though all the rest of the books on that shelf... We will definitely be reading more today! 

Jesus Tree Lenten Activity Printable 

from Do Small Things With Great Love

From the Archives: 

The Lenten Season in Our Catholic Home

The Jesus Tree Lenten Readings and Coloring Pages

100+ Easter Basket Stuffers & Catholic Gift Ideas

Easter Symbols :: Easter Basket Stuffers & Catholic Gift Ideas

Scroll through all our past Jesus Tree posts here. 

The Jesse Tree :: Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories

Happy First Sunday of Advent! I had hoped to have one last giveaway all ready to go for this weekend, but between hosting Thanksgiving dinner for twenty (thankfully I had help!) combined with the nausea I've been fighting (thank you all so very much for the prayers, love, and support!), I'm a little behind and haven't even started the post... I will do my best to get it up on the blog sometime this week. In the meantime, I thought I'd share our Jesse Tree plans for this Advent.

Advent varies in length from 22-28 days, beginning with the Sunday nearest to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (November 30th) and embracing four Sundays. The first day of Advent can fall as early as November 27th or as late as December 3rd. This year we, with Advent beginning on November 27th we get the longest Advent possible with four complete weeks! 

The Jesse Tree provides a meaningful way for us to count down the days until Christmas. Moreover, it increases our understanding of this portion of salvation history and is an effective way to prepare spiritually for Christmas.

In the past we have used a combination of the New Catholic Picture Bible and the Bible for our daily Jesse Tree readings. This year we will be reading through Amy Steedman's Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories (originally published between 1907 and 1922 as The nursery book of Bible stories, republished with minor editorial revisions in 2009 by Sophia Institute Press) and adding in some extra picture books as well! 

Homemade Jesse Tree with Felt Ornaments

Jesse Tree Treasures Rustic Wooden Advent Purple Ornaments

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories by Amy Steedman

Optional: Additional Picture Books

"There shall come forth a shoot form the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." ~ Isaiah 11:1-2

Here is our plan for this year's twenty-eight days of Advent: 

1. Creation
Felt Symbol: The Earth
Wooden Symbol: The Earth
Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Beautiful World, Pages 3-5
Picture Book: The Genesis of It All

2. Adam & Eve 

Felt Symbol:  The Apple
Wooden Symbol: The Apple

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Beautiful World, Pages 5-7
Picture Book: The End of the Fiery Sword: Adam & Eve and Jesus & Mary

3. Noah
Felt Symbol: Ark
Wooden Symbol: The Ark

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Noah and the Rainbow of Hope, Pages 9-13
Picture Book: Noah's Ark and Noah's Ark (Board Book)

4. Abraham
Felt Symbol: Stars
Wooden Symbol: The Camel
Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Story of Abraham, Pages 15-19
Picture Book: The Ballad of Matthew's Begats

5. Isaac

Felt Symbol:  Bundle of wood
Wooden Symbol: The Ram

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Isaac and Rebekah, Pages 23-28

Picture Book: Sarah Laugh's 

6. Jacob
Felt Symbol:  Ladder
Wooden Symbol: The Ladder
Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Jacob and Esau, Pages 29-36

Picture Book: Old Testament Rhymes (Hardcover - Neumann Press) 

7. Joseph
Felt Symbol: Joseph's Coat of Many Colors
Wooden Symbol: The Coat

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Joseph the Dreamer, Pages 37-44
and Joseph, the Ruler, Pages 45-52
Picture Book: Joseph

8. Moses

Felt Symbol: Basket (need to make and add to our collection)
Wooden Symbol: The Basket

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Finding of Moses

Picture Book: Exodus

9. Moses

Felt Symbol: Ten Commandments/Stone Tablets
Wooden Symbol: The Tablets

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Moses, the Great Leader, Pages 59-64

Picture Book: Exodus (continued)

10. Joshua

Felt Symbol: Sword & Trumpet
Wooden Symbol: The Horn (Joshua)
Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Story of the Spies, Pages 67-75
and Gideon, the Soldier, Pages 77-87

11. Ruth

Felt Symbol: Sheaths of Grain
Wooden Symbol: The Wheat

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Ruth, the Gleaner, Pages 89-95

12. Samuel

Felt Symbol: Oil Lamp
Wooden Symbol: The Oil Lamp
Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Samuel, the Little Server, Pages 97-104
and Jonathan, the Soldier Prince, Pages 105-114

13. Jesse

Felt Symbol: Shepherd's staff
Wooden Symbol: The Tree

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: David, the Shepherd Boy, Pages 115-122

14.  David

Felt Symbol: Harp
Wooden Symbol: The Harp

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: David, the Fighter, Pages 123-130

15. Solomon

Felt Symbol: Scales of Justice
Wooden Symbol: Use Isaiah's "Scroll" for Solomon

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Solomon, the Wise King, Pages 133-140

16. Elijah

Felt Symbol: Raven
Wooden Symbol: The Stones
Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Elijah, the Hungry Prophet, Pages 141-148

17. Jonah

Felt Symbol: Whale and Teardrops (Hezekiah)
Symbol: The Big Fish (Jonah) 

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: (no specific story for Jonah)
and Elisha, the Man of God, pages 149-155
and Hezekiah, the Good King, pages 157-163
Picture Book: Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb and The Hard to Swallow Tale of Jonah and the Whale

18. Jeremiah

Felt Symbol: Stone
Wooden Symbol: The Clay Pot

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Jeremiah, the Prohet, Pages 165-172

19. Daniel
Felt Symbol: Lion 
Wooden Symbol: The Lion
Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Story of Daniel, Pages 173-180

20. Esther

Felt Symbol: Queens Crown
Wooden Symbol: Use Solomon's "Crown" for Queen Esther

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Queen Esther, Pages 181-189
Picture Book: The Story of Queen Esther

21. Nehemiah

Felt Symbol: Walls of Jerusalem
Wooden Symbol: The Temple

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: Nehemiah, the Warrior Builder, Pages 191-198

22. Zachary and Elizabeth
Felt Symbol: Angel
Wooden Symbol: The Prayer Shawl
Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Messenger of the King, Pages 199-204

23.  St. John the Baptist

Felt Symbol: Shell with water
Wooden Symbol: The Shell

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Messenger of the King, Pages 199-204

24. The Angel Gabriel

Felt Symbol: Angel with lily
Wooden Symbol: The Angel

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Coming of the King, Pages 205-207
Picture Book: The Angels' Alphabet

25.  St. Joseph

Felt Symbol: Carpenter's Saw
Wooden Symbol: The Hammer

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Coming of the King, Page 207-208
Picture Book: Father and Son: A Nativity Story, Good Saint Joseph and Story of St. Joseph

26. Blessed Virgin Mary

Felt Symbol: Lily
Wooden Symbol: The Lily

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Coming of the King, Pages 208-211
Picture Book: Mary's Song

27. Bethlehem

Felt Symbol: Bethlehem (need to make and add to our collection) 
Wooden Symbol: The Star and Town

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Coming of the King, Pages 208-211
Picture Book: B is for Bethlehem: A Christmas Alphabet and Bethlehem (Catholic Edition)

28. Birth of Jesus

Felt Symbol: Infant Messiah
Wooden Symbol: The Manger

Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories: The Coming of the King, Pages 211-213

Picture Book: The Nativity

O God, You fill us with happiness each year as we wait for our celebration of Christmas. May we also joyfully look forward to the coming of Jesus as our final Judge. We ask this of You through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The Jesse Tree :: A No-Sew Picture Tutorial with Readings

Our 2010 Jesse "Tea" for Advent and A Jesse "Tea" for Advent (2009)

You can scroll through all our past Jesse Tree posts here. 

Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb: Jonah and Jesus {Sponsored Review & Giveaway}

"The New Testament lies hidden in the Old, 

and the Old is unveiled in the New." 

- Saint Augustine (from title page of Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb)

In the same thread as the author's first book in the "Old and New" series, which I was excited to add to our collection last Easter, comes the story of Jonah and Jesus, which I purchased for our children this Easter! This beautiful and colorfully illustrated book for children is a simple way for them to discover biblical typology.

Without having to endure a weighty lecture on this topic, children can easily flip through the pages of the "Old and New" series books and ignite a simple yet deep understanding of the Old Testament foundations prefiguring the New Testament covenant between God and man. 

It is refreshing to see an author realizes the importance of this finely woven thread in our salvation history. Absorbing this material as a child will assuredly provide them a deeper appreciation for the Faith and our place in salvation history.  As a parent my heartfelt thanks to Maura Roan McKeegan for enlightening our children's minds to biblical typology.

The End of the Fiery Sword: Adam & Eve and Jesus & Mary

Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb: Jonah and Jesus

.: Giveaway :.

Emmaus Road Publishing has generously offered to send THREE of my visitors a paperback edition of Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb: Jonah and Jesus!  The winners will be selected and announced in this post next Sunday. The books will be shipped to the winners directly from Emmaus Road Publishing.

Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter box below:

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You can find the rest of the books in Our April Book Basket and Our Lent & Easter Book Baskets in the archives.