At the beginning of each month I fill a basket with books featuring the the various saints whose feast days will be celebrated during the month and place it in the living room. Throughout the month I will find the children curled up on the couch reading books they have chosen from the basket, either on their own or to their younger siblings. I also choose books from the basket for some of our afternoon family read-alouds. Our collection started very small and we have continued adding additional books over the years which we have either purchased or have been given as gifts. Some are picture books, some are chapter books, and some are collections of saint stories. This post is a work in progress and I will continue adding links as I sort through our collection.
- Virgin Mary (Saints and Angels) by Claire Llewellyn
- Mary My Mother by Father Lovasik
- Just Like Mary
- Mary, Mother of Jesus by Mary Joslin
- Mary by Demi
- Take it to the Queen: A Tale of Hope by Josephine Nobisso
- An Alphabet of Mary
- Mondays with Mary
- Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue
- The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary (comic style – pictured below)
- Jesus and Mary: The Lives of Jesus and Mary and the Story of Fatima (pictured below – such a beautiful book from Neumann Press and it will be back in print soon!)
- My First Pictures of Mary by Maite Roche
- The Hail Mary (Classic Catholic Board Book)
- Mary’s Prayer
- Mother of God Coloring Book
- Mary Our Mother Catholic Activity Book
- Mother’s Day Coloring Book
- The Rose Queen
Mother’s Day:
May 1st, St. Joseph the Worker (New. Trad.):
- A Story of St. Joseph by Brother Ernest
- Good Saint Joseph by Father Lovasik
- Mary and Joseph: Models of Faith and Love by Barbara Yoffie
- Joseph (Around the Year Once Upon a Time Saints) by Ethel Pochocki
- St. Joseph (Saints and Angels) by Claire Llewellyn
- Joseph (Lives and Legends of Saints) by Carole Armstrong
- St. Joseph (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
- Saint Joseph (Saints for Boys) by Alma Savage (Neumann Press – also available from TAN)
- Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi (study guide in Catholic Mosaic)
- From an Angel in a Dream: The Story of St. Joseph (Glory Stories: Volume III)
- St. Peregrine (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
May 3rd, St. Philip & James the Less (New) (Trad. – May 11th):
- Philip (The Twelve Apostles) by Marianna Meyer
- James the Younger (The Twelve Apostles) by Marianna Meyer
May 4th, St. Monica (Trad.) (New – Aug 27th):
- Saint Monica & Saint Augustine (Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
- The Restless Flame: A Novel about Saint Augustine by Louis de Wohl (for young adults/adults)
- The Power of Prayer (The Story of St. Monica and St. Augustine) Audio CD
May 4th, St. Florian (Hist.):
- St. Florian (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
May 10th, St. Comgall:
- Comgall (Once Upon a Time Saints) by Ethel Pochocki
May 10th, St. Damien Joseph de Veuster of Molokai (New):
- Father Damien and the Bells by Arthur and Elizabeth Sheehan
May 12th, Blessed Imelda Lambertini (Hist.):
- Patron Saint Of First Communicants by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (Also available from TAN)
- Let the Children Come to Me: The Story of Blessed Imelda Lambertini (Glory Stories: Vol. 1)
May 12th, St. Pancratius (Hist.):
- Saint Pancratius by A. Cremonini Ongaro
May 13th, Our Lady of Fatima (New):
- The Children of Fatima by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (Also available from TAN)
- Our Lady Came to Fatima by Ruth Foxe Hume (Vision)
- Secrets from Heaven: The Story of the Children of Fatima (Glory Stories: Volume XIII)
- The Day the Sun Danced DVD
- Our Lady of Fatima Coloring Book
- Most Beautiful Story Coloring Book
- Our Blessed Mother Coloring Book (pictured below)
May 14th, St. Matthias (New) (Trad. – Feb. 24th):
- Judas and Matthias (The Twelve Apostles) by Marianna Meyer
May 15th, St. Isidore the Farmer (New, Hist.):
- St. Isidore (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
- Saint Isidore the Farmer (More Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
May 15th, St. John Baptist de la Salle (Trad) (New – April 7th):
- St. John Baptist de la Salle (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
- Saint John Baptist de La Salle (More Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
- Saint John Baptist de La Salle (Along the Paths of the Gospel Series)
May 15th, St. Dymphna (Hist.):
- St. Dymphna (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
May 16th, St. Brendan the Navigator (Hist.):
- Saint Brendan (Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
- Saint Brendan and the Whale (Brother Wolf, Sister Sparrow) by Eric A. Kimmel
- St. Brendan: Sailor Saint (The Book of Saints and Heroes) by Andrew Lang
- Brendan the Navigator: A History Mystery about the Discovery of America by Jean Fritz
- Saint Brendan and the Voyage Before Columbus by Mike McGrew
- St. Brendan and the Boy from the North (Golden Legend of Young Saints)
May 19th, St. Dunstan (Hist.):
- Saint Dunstan (Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
- St. Dunstan: Friend of Kings (The Book of Saints and Heroes) by Andrew Lang
May 19th, St Ivo (Yves) (Hist.):
- Y- St. Yves (An Alphabet of Saints) by Robert Hugh Benson (Neumann Press – Also available from TAN)
May 20th, St. Bernardine of Siena (New, Trad.):
- St. Bernardine of Siena (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
- Saint Bernardino of Siena (More Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
May 21st, St. Christopher Magallanes & Comps (Saints of the Cristero Wars) (New):
- Viva Cristo Rey: The Courageous Saints of the Knights of Columbus (Glory Stories: Volume II)
May 22nd, St. Rita of Cascia (New; Trad./some places):
- St. Rita (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
- Saint Rita of Cascia (More Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
May 25th, St. Bede the Venerable (New) (Trad. – May 27th):
- Saint Bede (Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
May 26th, St. Philip Neri (New, Trad.):
- P- St. Philip Neri (An Alphabet of Saints) by Robert Hugh Benson (Neumann Press – Also available from TAN)
- St. Philip of the Joyous Heart (Vision) by Francis X. Connolly
May 27th, St. Melangell:
- Melangell (More Once Upon a Time Saints) by Ethel Pochocki
May 28th, St. Germanus (Hist.):
- St. Germanus (The Book of Saints and Heroes) by Andrew Lang
May 30th, St. Felix I (Trad.):
- Felix (Once Upon a Time Saints) by Ethel Pochocki
May 30th, St. Joan of Arc (Trad./some places):
- Joan of Arc (Lives and Legends of Saints) by Carole Armstrong
- St. Joan of Arc (Saints and Angels) by Claire Llewellyn
- St. Joan of Arc (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
- Saint Joan of Arc (More Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
- A Girl of Lorraine (Golden Legend of Young Saints)
- Joan of Arc by Demi (pictured above)
- Saint Joan, the Girl Soldier by Louis de Wohl (Vision)
- Joan of Arc: The Lily Maid by Margaret Hodges
- Joan of Arc by Diane Stanley
- Saint Joan of Arc, Quest for Peace
- The Story of Joan of Arc by Maurice Boutet de Monvel
- God’s Hero on Horseback: The Story of Saint Joan of Arc (Glory Stories: Volume VI)
A Couple of our Read-Alouds for May:
Words cannot express.my gratitude for the inspiration and encouragement you give through your blog posts and pictures. I check in with your blog regularly, always excited and never disappointed with your beautiful example of a real, Living, beautiful faith, lived out daily with your family/children. I just listened to "how to keep your kids Catholic" from Lighthouse media, and thought of you when they mentioned that most children leave the faith because they never saw it lived out joyfully in their parents' lives, or didn't see it make any difference in their parents. You are truly a beautiful example of how to incorporate the liturgical year and how to bring the excitement and beauty of our Faith into daily living with our children. Our Faith is real, live, active, beautiful, intense, life-changing, and yes! Even fun! Thank you for being so generous to share your creativity with all of us online. You have been a regular reminder and example to me of ways to do this in my own home, always hoping and praying that my joy and love for Christ and His Church will bubble over onto them, and truly make a lasting difference! God bless you!
2014-05-05 02:20:01
WOW! What a great selection of Saint books. Thank You Marion
2018-05-02 20:23:38
Love the books especially The Joan Of Arc ones. Joan
2018-05-02 20:24:30
This basket of books for May is so inspiring. I will be looking into buying some of these books. The coloring books are so nice,too. Thank you for sharing. God Bless. Marilyn
2018-05-02 20:27:19