Search
-
October 20, 2021This book is very colorful due to the illustrations by Nick Thornborrow who did the illustrations for “Dragon Age: Inquisition,” which is part of the Dragon Age series.
Carey Wallace wrote the stories of the 69 saints and one blessed in this book. The book begins chronologically with Saint Polycarp and ends with Saint Teresa of Calcutta. A map of the Roman Empire and the ancient world around the Mediterranean Sea follows Saint Teresa's story, which is followed by a short bibliography.
There are errors in the stories of the saints. The biography of Fra Angelico says he was canonized by Saint John Paul II. He did not canonize him, but beatified him in 1982 and he has not been canonized yet. Some facts might have been left out of some biographies to make the saint's story more interesting and appealing to young readers. Also, brevity might have been involved too. Most of the biographies are two to three pages long with one or two illustrations involved. A few are a page or so longer. Wallace did succeed in writing adventurous stories of the saints that keep the reader's attention.
The artwork by Nick Thornborrow is very appealing to the eye and the imagination. He combined iconography and modern graphic art to create these intriguing illustrations. The front cover of the book has an image of Saint Francis of Assisi and on the back side is an image of Saint Joan of Arc.
Some of the saints included in this book are Saint Lawrence, Saint Anthony the Great, Saint Pachomius, Saint Basil the Great, Saint Augustine, Saint Benedict, Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Hildegard, Saint Clare, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Martin de Porres, Saint Josephine Bakhita, and Saint Therese.
There are saints from various times, places and ways of life. Several are founders of religious orders or members of religious orders. The book is meant for children ages eight and older. People of all ages will get something out of this book. It might cause them to look for a longer biography of the saint.
The illustrations, again, are intriguing and worth pondering. This book is recommended for people of all ages in spite of some factual errors.
Br. Benet Exton, O.S.B., Saint Gregory's Abbey, Shawnee, is a freelance writer for Sooner Catholic.
