Book Review: Panic in the Pews

A little while back I was given the opportunity to review Panic in the Pews: Do You Wreak Holy Havoc?written by Lisa Bergman and illustrated by 16 year old Erin Bartholomew.  The book takes a look at some unruly behavior that one might find exhibited by children at church.  While the premise of the book is to teach children what not to do at Mass, I wonder if it could inadvertently provide inspiration for children to get creative in the ways they disrupt.  Some children might see this book as a challenge.

The book has a nice rhyming prose about it.  Each disagreeable habit has a special character attributed to it.  After my first read through the book I wasn't sure it was a book that I would sit down and read to a young child, so I passed it off to my eleven year old to get her opinion.  She understood the premise of the book but didn't find it amusing.  In fact, she asked me if I thought the book was being judgmental .  That gave me pause.  I suppose, depending on how you approach the book that you might find it's tone to be uncharitable, even though I'm sure that was not the author's intention.  The book in pointing out these unsuitable behaviors is really intending to caution young children not to follow in the examples of these children who "wreak holy havoc."

The illustrations for this book are black and white drawings.  They remind me a lot of the ink drawings from the Le Petit Nicolas reader that I used to read in French class.  Each of the children in the story has their undesirable behavior illustrated quite well in a picture.   In many of the illustrations you can see those parishioners sitting near them who do not look happy about their antics.

Honestly, I'm on the fence about this book.  I think that some parents who struggle with children who don't want to behave at Mass might find this book to be humorous and may feel like they aren't alone when they read this book, but other's might come away from this book feeling even more self-conscious about their children's behavior at Mass.

I was provided with a review copy of Panic in the Pews by the publisher, St. Augustine Academy Press, in exchange for my honest review.  Visit St. Augustine Academy Press for more information on this title or to purchase a copy.

Book Review: The Catholic Girl's Guide

I recently had the opportunity to read Father Lascance's The Catholic Girl's Guide published in an abridged volume by St. Augustine Academy Press.  The Catholic Girl's Guide was originally published over a hundred years ago, and thus it understandably has a very old fashioned feel to it.  The wisdom and advice found in the book, like many other books of it's generation, is timeless.

With a title like The Catholic Girl's Guide you might wonder what age range this book is targeted towards.  The back of the book touts it as a manual for the Catholic young lady from the middle years up to and including married life.  After having read through the book, I'd place the "middle years" at around 13 years and up.  Ideally, I'd say it a book that you'd want in your daughter's hands around the time of her confirmation.  The book will offer young ladies wise advice to help guide them along the path to adulthood.  In fact, the book has quite a lot in it that is useful for married women.

Sometimes when I see that a book has been abridged, it makes me a bit leery of reading it.  In the case of this book, everything that Fr. Lascance had written as the guide portion of the book remains unchanged.  The original book contained a section that contained a Latin Missal and hundreds of pages of prayers, devotions and litanies.  From this section, a selection of prayers have been taken and added to the end of each chapter.

The writing style of the book is a bit dry at times, but so are all of the other books that are similar to it from this time period.  The book can seem a bit preachy at times, but the underlying wisdom that is conveyed makes it worth reading.  Throughout the book Fr. Lascance uses anecdotal stories to further expound on the topic at hand.

If you have daughters who are members of the Little Flowers Girls Club, they will recognize the Maiden's Wreath of Virtues in this book.  The flower badges from this club are based on this book.  This alone makes it a great book to pick up if you are leading a Little Flowers Girls Club or have a daughter who has been a part of it.

I was provided with a review copy of The Catholic Girl's Guide by the publisher, St. Augustine Academy Press, in exchange for my honest review.  You can find more information on this title by visiting St. Augustine Academy Press.