"An Alphabet of Catholic Saints"--what a creative, unusual alphabet book! Perhaps one of a kind!
As librarian in a small PreK-8 Catholic school, I just added this book to our library, a wonderful addition to our nice collection of saints' books. Our second grade prepares individual saints' projects: they study, report orally to the class dressed as the saint, then go to Mass (as well as the rest of the school) on one Wednesday morning dressed as their saint. (We go weekly to Mass.) It is a big annual event. "An Alphabet of Catholic Saints" will provide great information, including costume ideas, for these children.
Here is why this book is so fabulous:
1. The alphabet letter is not just the beginning letter of the saint's known name, but also a prop of that saint. Look at the cover using "A." Saint Anne, Mary's mother, is sitting on the bar of A, teaching little Mary.
2. For each saint, there is a quatrain of verse, then at the bottom a short paragraph adding to the verse.
Example: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is the namesake of one of the Catholic churches in our city. Here's the verse:
"Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
was first a wife and mother.
Then she taught kids just like you
to have love for one another."
And the paragraph: "After Elizabeth's husband died, she became Catholic and started a school for girls. She founded the Daughters of Charity and is the first American saint born in the United States."
And the use of the letter "E":
"E" is a bit taller than Elizabeth. Tacked to the long stem of the E is a sign that says--God is Love on a little chalkboard framed in wood. On the middle arm of E is a stack of books being used to Elizabeth facing the class, smiling and looking at the book in her hands. Elizabeth is dressed in black with a white collar and the E is black. On the verse page between the verse and the paragraph is a book with an apple on top.
My school is located in a complex of elementary school, then parish cathedral, then high school which initially was called Jesuit.
St. Ignatius: "As a wounded knight, Ignatius read about the Saints. Their stories led him to a strong, deep faith by which he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), who teach and preach all over the world."
Ignatius' best friend was Francis Xavier: "One of the first members of the Jesuit Order, Francis Xavier was a missionary who traveled to India and Japan, and brought the faith to thousands."
Francis is sitting on a chest (travel) in front of the X. He is holding a book in his lap and a crucifixion in his hand. On the floor is a map. It's just a perfect illustration of his life and work.
Without even thinking about it, I noticed fairly soon that the book includes as many women saints as men, and not only Europeans, but also Americans, Native Americans (Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha), Latino (Martin de Porres), Chinese (Joseph Yuen), Arab (Sharbel Makhlouf), mythical (St. George), and of course Roman/early Christian (Cecilia)
Not only a must-have for Catholic libraries, but also for the individual child. What a great early teaching tool!
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