Do you want to help your children understand that saints are not simply people who sit around and pray all the time? A new book of saint stories underscores the fascinating stories of some of the best-known saints. Stories of the Saints by Carey Wallace, illustrated by Nick Thornborrow, is subtitled “Bold and Inspiring Tales of Adventure, Grace, and Courage” – and it delivers.

From the Introduction:

Saints aren’t born better or braver than the rest of us . … Saints aren’t people who are always good and never afraid. They’re people who believe there must be more to life than just what we can see. This world may be hard and unfair, but saints believe in a God who is bigger than the world, whose law is love, and whose justice is mercy. And this faith gives them courage: to stand up to evil kings, to care for people everyone else forgets or hates, to slay dragons. … Led by their faith, they actually bring the better world to be, and invite us all in.

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The stories of 70 saints (71, actually, since Perpetua and Felicity’s stories are told together) are told in this oversized book that’s a perfect read-aloud for children 6 and up, and just right for independent readers in 4th grade and up. At the beginning of each saint’s story, you’ll find a box listing their vital stats: year of birth and death, location(s) where the saint lived and worked, emblem (something the saint is often depicted with in art), patronage, and feast day. The saints in this book are listed in chronological order by year of birth.

Which saints are featured in Stories of the Saints? Bishops with healing powers (Blaise), princesses who helped the poor (Margaret of Scotland), visionaries who pioneered a beloved form of prayer (Dominic), a pope who quit his job and was imprisoned by his replacement (Celestine V), a priest who was tortured rather than break the secrecy of the confessional (John Nepomucene), an artist who cried every time he painted a picture of the cross of Christ (Fra Angelico), a young woman who found a buried sword and saved her country (Joan of Arc), a priest who cared for slaves as they arrived in Colombia (Peter Claver), and many more.

The illustrations in this oversized hardcover book are done in a bold, modern style that evokes the active love the saints showed for God through their deeds.

Would you like to win a copy of Stories of the Saints for your young reader? To enter, leave a comment with the name of your favorite bold and inspiring saint.

One winner will be drawn from entries in the comments of this blog and comments on social media. One entry per person per platform: you can enter here, on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram on my posts about the book on those platforms.

This giveaway is open to winners with an address in the USA. Contest closes at noon Eastern on Friday, December 18. Winner will be notified by email or direct message (if winning entry was made on social media) and will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If prize is unclaimed, an alternate winner will be chosen. Prize will not likely be delivered in time for Christmas but I’ll do my best to get it mailed as soon as possible.

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Copyright 2020 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Images courtesy of Workman Publishing. All rights reserved.
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I received a free review copy of this book, but no other compensation. Opinions are my own.