Treasury of Saints and Martyrs [Hardcover]

Brenda Mulvilhill (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

From early saints and martyrs such as Saint Patrick, Francis of Assisi, and Joan of Arc to the first American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, the lives of saints and martyrs make fascinating reading. Covering the stories of more than fifty saints and martyrs, this treasury offers personal histories of each saint, tales of their most famous deeds, and information on patron saints. Illustrated with art from stained-glass windows and illuminated manuscripts as well as masterpieces of painting by Caravaggio, Goya, Ingres, Titian and many others, the book also includes a calendar of Saints' Days and an explanation of what it takes to make a saint. Chock full of interesting stories and quotes from the saints themselves, The Treasury of Saints and Martyrs is an invaluable reference work--and wonderful reading, too.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-This meaty compendium provides short essays on the definition of a "saint," on the making of saints, and on four key periods in the history of Christianity. Brief biographical sketches introduce 50 saints, relate their engaging stories and give passing attention to their virtues and iconography. Males outnumber females by nearly four to one, though a few women walk on as mothers of male saints. The most egregious omission is any reference to Mother Teresa in the "Modern Saints" essay. The copious, full-color and black-and-white fine-art reproductions are well chosen and effectively laid out. There is no index to the art, however, and only sporadic identification of artists or dates. Nor have the saints been selected with art history in mind: popular artists' subjects (like Sebastian, Ursula, Jerome, Mary Magdalen) are missing, and iconographic symbols are not necessarily shown or mentioned (Paul's sword). There is a glossary (omitting friar, priory, lay brother, cloister) and a calendar of saints' days. The elegant beauty of the images is both homage and lure to our admiration of these inspiring models. Those interested in religion, ethics, art, literature, or social history will appreciate this treasury.
Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Books about the lives of saints are not in vogue the way they once were, but this exceedingly handsome volume might be just the thing to get children interested once more. Oversize and illustrated with museum art, the book introduces more than 40 saints, from the beginning of Christianity to the modern day. The life of each saint is discussed in a page or two of straightfoward text that also features several illustrations. The book begins with a brief but informative introduction, "What is a Saint," and follows with "The Making of a Saint," describing the process of canonization. Divided into groupings by time period, the saints include: Mary and Joseph, Paul, the gospel writers, Augustine, Basil, Hildegard, Dominic, Catherine of Siena, Martin de Porres, and modern saints, Bernadette and John Bosco. A pleasure to look at and often inspiring. A calendar of saints and glossary are appended. Ilene Cooper

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670887897
• ISBN-13: 978-0670887897
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #476,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring imagery of heavenly inhabitants, June 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Treasury of Saints and Martyrs (Hardcover)

A beautifully illustrated rendition of the lives of the most common Saints. If anything was left out of the history of any particular Saint, the images make up for it. I give it only 4 stars, due to small inaccuracies which should have been worked out with a little more research, and some misleading myths about Catholicism have crept into this work (hopefully by accident), such as the sale of indulgences. A good source of information for anyone wishing to make an introductory trip into the lives of the Saints, and how their example has led others to sanctity.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reads more like history than like enjoyable stories, July 7, 2005

By 

Miryam Shoresh (Adirondack Mountains, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Treasury of Saints and Martyrs (Hardcover)

This book has the attraction of high gloss pages with 1-4 pages per saint, but I would not recommend it for children. It reads more as a historical text than as true stories. It covers 46 different saints. The saints are covered chronologically from Mary and Joseph to Elizabeth Seton (1774-1821). Each saint is covered in 1-2 pages. The pages are 11 1/2 in. by 9 in., much of the space covered with beautiful pictures. The saints under each section heading are as follows:

EARLY DAYS....................ROMAN EMPIRE....................MIDDLE AGES
Mary..................................Antony of Egypt......................Hildegard
Joseph...............................Martin of Tours.......................Thomas a Becket
John the Baptist..................Nicholas.................................Francis of Assissi
Peter.................................Basil.......................................Dominic
Andrew..............................Augustine................................Catherine of Siena
Paul...................................Patrick....................................Thomas Aquinas
Thomas.............................Columba..................................Birgitta of Sweden
James...............................Benedict..................................Joan of Arc
John..................................Gregory the Great....................Ignatius Loyola
Matthew............................Bede.......................................Francis Xavier
Mark.................................Boniface..................................Teresa of Avila
Luke..................................Cyril........................................Martin de Porres
Christopher........................Methodius................................Rose of Lima
Veronica............................Wenceslas...............................Vincent de Paul
Early Martyrs.....................Stanislaus................................Louise de Marillac
.........................................Elizabeth of Hungary.................Elizabeth Seton