Disclaimer: I received a copy of Chime Travelers from the author. This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support!
So I decided to do this month’s Saint Picture Book Club a bit differently. The Saint Picture Book selection for July is St. Kateri Tekawitha. Her feast day is July 14.
Books about Saint Kateri
The first book I want to share is only available used and none are available for prime shipping. They are cheap now though ($0.01 + shipping) and so worth it! From the Saints You Should Know Series, Kateri Tekawitha is intended for children in grades 5-6, but I think you could do it as a read-aloud book earlier than that.
It is similar to the Joan of Arc books in that it’s heavy on the text but light on the pictures. It has a beautiful border around each page and weaves a beautiful story about the history of Kateri’s people and the settlement of the New World as well as Kateri herself. It was so well told, from both a historical and spiritual POV that I’m excited to start it with the girls this week during tea time. It’s an ideal book for your study of early America if you homeschool. Another bonus is that it’s only available in hardcover (that I can tell). I’m now on a hunt for the other three titles this one was so well done. I didn’t share this earlier because it JUST arrived Thursday.
The other book I want to mention is not a picture book, but an early chapter book. The second in the Chime Travelers series by Lisa Hendey, The Sign of the Carved Cross, is about the life of Kateri. The new Chime Traveler series is available for preorder and will be released next week, so go order it now to have it this month :).
When the search results came up that she had this new book coming out, I emailed her asking if I could get a sneak peek at a few pages so I could share it this month and she sent me this book and the first one about the life of Saint Patrick. I read the Sign of the Carved Cross and it was delightful. I have not let my 7-1/2 year old read it because we have a few road trips coming up and I’m saving it. I know it’s the kind of book she would love!
It’s written from the POV of a young Catholic girl who struggles with the things all girls do — trying to do what is right, being popular, being nice and thinking different is weird. I remember all that. A new girl, who looks much like Kateri comes to her school and through church & riding lessons she is put into frequent contact with her. One day while cleaning the church with her family, she travels back in time to Kateri’s time and village right around the time she is to be baptized (just like the new girl in HER time). She spent years traveling with her and learning about her life to find that only minutes had passed in her time.
It was a good story that left me wanting to know more about Kateri’s life and the Saints You Should Know series fleshed it all out. If you have a girl in the 7-10 year old range, I would read them both.
Native American Food & Crafts for Saint Kateri
Since I didn’t get the books up for you to be able to have them today, you can read a short snippet about her life here if you don’t get SaintMail. (And if you don’t, why not?!?). Here some activities & food you can do for the Saint Kateri Tekawitha’s feast day.
Native American Food
Now, I totally get that these are probably not all things Kateri would have eaten, but choose to consider them to be regional differences among cousins.
- Plank-cooked salmon (or any other fish would be appropriate–since I’m in Michigan, I will probably get some whitefish.)
- Indian fry bread (western U.S.)
- Johnnycakes (corn pancakes)
- Any wild game — bear, moose, rabbit, buffalo, squirrel, etc
Native American Crafts & Activities
I also found these crafts that look interesting for kids to do:
Just writing this post made me totally nostalgic for the days when we used to Rendezvous (fur trade reenactment). Such beautiful things and my collection is much larger than is in the picture above :). I kind of miss it. But it’s a LOT of work.
Do you have any traditions, books or recipes for the Feast of Saint Kateri?
[…] – This early chapter book is ideal for girls ages 6-9. Or so. I really liked it and you can view this and my other favorite Kateri book at my […]