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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Saint of the Day edited by Leonard Foley, O.F.M.

Yes, I know it’s not a book that a tween is going to pick up and read cover-to-cover. It IS a book that should be picked up, daily when possible, and shared with tweens.

I had an old book that had a saint-of-the-day that we read each morning at breakfast. I liked its pictures, but I have to say that the writing was duller than a dictionary. Unless someone was getting eaten by a lion, the kids’ eyes were glazing over by the time I hit the end of the first sentence, “Today is the feast day of Saint….”

If I weren’t reading aloud, I might have gone back to sleep, too.

Then... Leonard Foley and Pat McCloskey blessed us with an updated version of Saints of the Day. Thank you. While exciting stories can't be woven in one page, the basics can be covered while keeping the language fresh. And this book accomplishes it. Even better, it shakes up the format by offering a quote of the day and a comment that is right at-level for a tween and parent to bite into. Should you so desire, a little discussion can ensue from this reading; all the necessary material is given to you.

I had to trade in the glossy pictures of the saints that graced my older book. But I got the better half of the deal. I’m after the words, and this one is well-written. My other book also ended with a short prayer. But we have our own daily morning prayer that we like to use. Now, we also add… St. (insert name of saint from book)… pray for us.

I wish my church could gift a copy of this to every Catholic family and that every family would try to read it frequently. There’s no better and accessible way to catechize and inspire a future generation.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on http://www.catholiccompany.com/catholic-books/1002685/Saint-Day-Revised-Sixth-Edition
The Catholic Review Program offers Catholic bloggers a chance to receive books in exchange for their frank opinion of the book being posted in a blog review.

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