Book Review: My Picture Missal

About a year ago I discovered the secret to keeping young children quietly entertained and well behaved at Mass.  The secret is incredibly simple: Books.  But before you start to think that any book will do, I must back up and clarify that the books should be oriented to the Mass, or God in some way in order to be appropriate.  Brining along a SpongeBob book to Mass simply won't cut it in my book.  After spending more Masses than I care to remember wrangling my young child and doing all that I could to keep her quiet and still, I discovered that St. Joseph Picture Books seemed to be part of the secret to keeping little ones happy and quiet.

My Picture Missal by Fr. Lovasik is a lovely (and inexpensive) book that even very small children can follow and understand during Mass.  I originally brought this book to snuff out the jealousy my younger child had over her big sister's Missal.  While it has seldom been used to follow the Mass by my younger child, she has happily flipped through the book during Mass trying to match the pictures to what she observes during Mass.  Occasionally she will pull this book out in the middle of the week and want to discuss a particular aspect of the Mass, so the book has also been a great conversation starter for teaching my child about the Mass.

If you're looking to use this particular book as a Missal for a young child, I think you will be pleased with it.  The book follows the Novus Ordo Mass and has all the responses included in the Missal.  On the occasions where my older daughter has forgotten her Missal or Magnifikid, this little Missal has nicely filled the void.  I particularly like how this book offers explanations of certain portions of the Mass in kid friendly terms.

Just recently I was talking to a friend who teaches in a Catholic school and she was telling me that this particular Missal is the one she gives to her students.  She's of the opinion that it's the best one out there for young children.

Book Review: Catholic Tales for Boys & Girls

Over the past few weeks my children and I have been enjoying a great little book entitled Catholic Tales for Boys & Girls.  The book is a collection of stories about children that teach children a deeper understanding and appreciation for their Catholic faith through lovely stories.  This book was originally published in 1957 under a different title.  With that being the case, it goes without saying that the stories contained in this collection of tales have a very nostalgic feel.  

I started out reading this book to my youngest daughter who is five.  She loves to hear stories like the ones contained in this book, so this book was well received by her.  Her only complaint about this book was that there weren't enough pictures (Each tale has one black and white illustration.).  When you're five, things like illustrations in a book can make or break the experience for you.  While she certainly would have preferred to see more pictures, she did still enjoy the book.  I suspect she liked the stories in this book because they're very similar to the Catholic Children's Treasure Box series.

My older daughter started expressing an interest in the stories contained in this book when she heard me reading one of the stories to my younger daughter.  She found the tale I had been reading to her sister to be rather interesting and she decided she wanted to take a look at the book.  She found the book to be easy to read (She's entering fourth grade in the Fall.) and she finds the stories to be rather enjoyable. 

Overall, I think this book is a lovely addition to the bookshelf of any Catholic family with young children.  While the book works as a read aloud story book for younger children, I do think it works much better as a book to be read by an older child.  The book appears to be written on a fourth or fifth grade level.  

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from Sophia Institute Press in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: My Path To Heaven

Over the past few weeks I've been having my 8 1/2 year old daughter read My Path To Heaven.  The book is an Ignatian retreat for children.  The back cover of the book suggests that this book is best suited for children between the ages of 9 to 12, but I see no reason why a child as young as seven would have any difficulty grasping and understanding this book provided he or she is a good reader.

While it is not an ARKive book from Sophia Institute Press, this book was originally published in 1936 under a different title.  I think knowing that can be useful information for parents who are looking for books with good sound catechesis.  Most Catholic children are getting a watered down version of their faith in religious education classes and a book like this is a real find in the sea of Catholic books available for children today.  As I read through the book I stopped many times to marvel at how well the book meshes with the Baltimore Catechism.  I've recently begun to teach my daughter from the Baltimore Catechism and I loved how well this book supports it and in some ways makes it easier for her to understand.

My daughter hasn't finished reading this book yet but she has enjoyed the chapters that she has read.  She says it's a very easy book to read.  She likes looking at the black and white picture that is at the beginning of each chapter and she really enjoys looking for the additional pictures hidden within the drawing that are listed in the appendix.

I think this book would be a lovely addition to a homeschooler's religious education materials.  It works as a nice supplemental source of catechesis for children in religious education classes, too.  In fact, I think this would be a wonderful book to give to a child who is preparing for his or her first communion.  It's a lovely book for imparting/reinforcing the basics of the Catholic faith.

Sophia Institute Press provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Three Brothers and Three Sisters Tote Set

I recently had the opportunity to review the Three Brothers and Three Sisters Tote Set for The Catholic Company. This set includes seven books (one for each Sacrament), a Go Fish! card game and a laminated family prayer activity card.

The books are really cute. Each book features either the three brothers or the three sisters and a selected Sacrament. The books explain each Sacrament in a clear, concise way that will allow your little ones to understand the Sacrament and how it is administered. I liked the illustrations in the book. They were all done by the author's wife and children. They're mostly paper, felt and yard cut outs (like a scrap book) of people. Ellie, my four year old, found the illustrations rather amusing. On the whole, I think this set of books is geared towards the pre-school to first grade set. It would make a great gift for a child who is preparing for First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. My eight year old wasn't as interested in the books as her little sister was. She was happy to sit down and read these books to her little sister, but I think they're a little too babyish for her to want to sit down and read them on her own. I have plans to incorporate these books into my lesson plans for the Kindergarten Religious Ed class I'm teaching this year. I suspect the children in the class will probably enjoy the books as much as my four year old does.

The Go Fish! game has been an instant hit with Ellie. She loves the pictures (they're taken from illustrations in the book) and she's learning the names of the Sacraments and members of the clergy while she plays. This kid is getting a kick out of collecting deacons and bishops. My eight year old has enjoyed playing with this card game as well.

The tote bag that comes with this set is cute as well. It's the perfect size for a little one to carry around. It is small enough that you could bring it to Mass to entertain your little one. I like to bring a variety of children's missals to Mass with us each week to keep my little one occupied and quiet, but I think these books would be an appropriate alternative.

For more information on the Three Brothers and Three Sisters Tote Set, visit the Catholic Company.

As a reviewer in The Catholic Company's Book Reviewer Program, I was given the Three Brothers and Three Sisters Tote Set in exchange for my honest review.