Children’s Books

Simon and the Easter Miracle {Book Review}

by jen.

I ran across another review of Simon & the Easter Miracle several weeks ago and in it they mentioned the author was Catholic and that the story was an old Polish folktale. I’ve been unable to discover if there is truth to that, but it would explain why I enjoyed it so much. I’m a 100% polish (5 generations in) and cradle Catholic to boot .

If you are familiar with the stations of the cross, you know that the 5th station is Simon carries the cross of Jesus. Simon & the Easter Miracle is a gorgeous children’s picture book that gently tells the story of Simon, the man who carried Jesus’ cross. This hardcover book is richly illustrated and is accurate while remaking age appropriate. My 4 year old has requested it many times.

If I did not know that this was a “religious” Easter book, I would consider it so good that it had to be mainstream. I have a huge beef with the fact that religious books tend to, well, suck. It’s a beautiful story and where in other books it seems like the author tries too hard, Simon and the Easter Miracle is fabulous!

A simple farmer, Simon is grumpy going into town. He is forced by Roman soldiers to carry Jesus’ cross. Struck by Jesus’ mannerisms and the people so adamantly for and against him, he hightails it back to the city and finds his goods ruined. He trudges back to his farm in a very Eeyore sort of way, and later discovers an Easter miracle.

Simon and the Easter Miracle by Mary Joslin and illustrated by Anna Luraschi is a great Easter book for your older preschoolers and up. It will end up in your library for generations! I think this will be a favorite read all year, not just during Lent & Easter.

Do you have any Easter favorites?

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was received in exchange for an honest review. As usual, all opinions are my own.

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Catholic Children’s Toolbox {Book Review}

Mar 13th, 2012

by jen.

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Catholic Children's Treasure Box

A lot of Catholic preschool & kindergarten programs reference the Catholic Children’s Treasure Box. None of them, however, tell me WHAT they contain. The Catholic Children’s Treasure Box is a reprint of a children’s magazine by the Mary Knoll sisters in the late 50′s.

Let me start by saying that I really love these. I bought them for my them 3 year old and she would bring me the whole stack at once. Each issue of the Catholic Children’s Treasure Box has the same essential format. The inside front and back covers have information on the contents for the parents to be able to expand upon the topics if necessary.

The beginning has a story about a major Catholic figure that is continued from book to book. It starts with St. Therese and goes to others. I only have 1-10 (there are 20) so I’m not sure who else might be covered. There is a continuing story about an African boy name Sunny & his guardian angel, Wupsy. Many times the book contains a rebus (stories with pictures in place of words), which my daughter loves!

There are games to play & crafts to make with seemingly nothing, that obviously harken from a simpler time. Children, however, don’t change because my daughter wants to do them all. I would say that a 7 or 8 year old would be able to do them though. The rest of the Catholic Children’s Treasure Box contains poems or stories with morals where the child learns a lesson. Finally, the back cover has a poem about a child with a bad habit or character trait.

I love that these aren’t dumbed down. The theology behind these seems advanced compared to what is currently available. They are totally not politically correct, but I’m not the type that cares . The illustrations are simple but pretty and they way they are broken down, it’s not something that needs to be read all at once.

Overall, I adore these and think that any Catholic home with small children needs to have these books. The best price I’ve ever seen is $39.99 for Vol. 1-10, or vols. 11-20 at Catholic Heritage Curricula, though they are available at many other online Catholic booksellers.

Disclaimer: This post does contain affiliate links.

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New Christmas Books {Read Aloud Thursday}

Dec 15th, 2011

by admin.

4 comments

I haven’t participated in Read-Aloud Thursday in a while, but I found these three awesome books at Sam’s Club and had to share.

The first one is a AniMotion edition of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. It’s a beautifully illustrated version made even better with the AniMotion effects on many of the pages. It’s large (8×10) and has thick paper pages. Normally retailing for $18, I scored mine from Sam’s Club for $10 and change. WELL worth the money!

The other one was a copy of Twelve Days of Christmas by the same publisher. Awesome illustrations with one 2-page spread per verse. Everything else was same as above.

The last find was more loved by my kids than me, but I’m going to include it anyway. I got a large (8×10) board book copy of Oh Little Town of Bethlehem. I picked it up because someday I would like to have 25 books to wrap up and it was cute. My daughters love it because it has stars that blink and it sings the song. *I* like that it has an on/off switch . Annoyance factor aside, I do like that the story is told in rhythm with the song so you can sing the story with the music if you are so inclined. The last page is the first verse of the song. This one, like the others, was about $10. They also had Little Drummer Boy in this format, too.

If these sound fun, go check out Sam’s Club before they’re gone! Or you could always help support this site by using the affiliate links above . Merry Christmas!

This post is linked to Read Aloud Thursday @ Hope is the Word and Three Thinking Mothers holiday book link up.

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Baby’s Little Bible {Book Review}

Dec 8th, 2011

by jen.

1 comment

Baby’s Little Bible is a great collection of children’s bible stories. If you are looking for something a little more casual with fabulous illustrations, this book is for you! It’s small enough to tuck in your purse or diaper bag for your little one to look at in church. It has plenty of pictures go keep a child busy and just enough words to keep even young toddler engaged. Baby’s Little Bible has a padded cover and is available in pink or blue. The pages are paper but are thick and will handle the use.

The language was a little casual, but it wasn’t too bad — I’ve seen MUCH worse. Sarah Toulmin did a great job of summarizing the stories without being wordy. At the same time, she managed to tell the important parts of the story. I also liked the stories she chose to include. The fact that creation was not given more credit than any other story was great.

The only part of this book that I didn’t like was that they included the story were Jesus gave us the Our Father. And she massacred it. My 3 year old already has it memorized and I don’t understand why the author had to mess with perfection.

Other than that, I really liked this book and will be sharing this with my godson. If you have a little one in your life, this would be a great addition to their library this holiday season. After all, Jesus is the reason for the season!

Thanks to Kregel Publications for sending this book for review!

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The Three Trees: A Traditional Folk Tale {Book Review}

Nov 8th, 2011

by jen.

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The Three Trees is a traditional folktale about three trees who have big dreams. One wants to be a treasure box, one a ship that carries a king, and one that wants nothing more than to just grow old on the hill. If you are unfamiliar with the tale, the trees are cut down and become a manger, a boat and a cross. Initially, the trees are disappointed until they realize that Jesus really is the climax of their dreams.

This particular version of The Three Trees is a beautifully illustrated story that my daughter has picked up and looked at on her own daily. It’s a large hardcover book with luxurious pages that are befitting of the quality illustrations. This book is very simply yet powerfully written and has the perfect number of words on the pages to keep a toddler from getting antsy. My younger one doesn’t have the attention span, but my older one could have at about 1-1/2 yrs.

If you are a book lover in need of a gift for a child, The Three Trees is a great one! It would be great for a child age 3-8 and I would probably buy it for a godchild even earlier .

Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for review!

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