This year, I’ve been testing out Katherine Bogner’s new children’s Bible Study book: Through the Year with Jesus. And I have to say, it has just blown me away! Not only that, my kids love this book too and now look forward to our weekly Bible study time.
What I love about it!
First, I love the fact that this is a weekly book. Once a week is so much more doable with a busy family with littles than aiming for a daily reflection and feeling bad about how many days you end up skipping. In Through the Year with Jesus, you can just pick one time weekly to read and reflect with your children, whether it’s Sunday before Mass, as part of a morning basket rotation, or during a special family dinner night.
Also, I love that this book follows the Liturgical year. It begins with Advent, the beginning of the Liturgical year, and provides a reflection for each week of Advent, Ordinary Time, Lent, Easter Season, and the second Ordinary Time. Is this book specific to a particular Gregorian Calendar year, you ask? No. The readings are chosen to be in the spirit of the season of the Liturgical year but are timeless and appropriate for any given Gregorian year.
Lectio Divina …
These Gospel Reflections are written in the time-tested Lectio Divina method of Bible study. Saints through the ages have practiced this simple but effective method of meditation on God’s Word. There are 4 steps to Lectio Divina: Lectio. Meditatio, Oratio, and Contemplatio. Katherine Bogner simplifies and translates the steps to: Read, Meditate, Pray, Listen. In Through the Year with Jesus, you’ll find a Bible story for each week, discussion prompts for meditation, journaling, or discussion, prayer prompts, and suggestions for practical application.
… and Visio Divina
I also love that Through the Year with Jesus uses a lot of Visio Divina. Similar to Lectio Divina, in Visio Divina, you gaze on religious art, meditate on the insights the art gives us into the scene, pray about it, and listen for what God is trying to teach you in this picture. Sound complicated? Really, it’s not, I promise! This is my kids favorite part of this book. We spend about 60 seconds silently looking at the religious painting, then talk about it, often using the prompts from the book. And if you’re wondering, the artwork is high-quality reproductions in full color! You’ll see art from Rubens, Fra Angelico, Barocci, Raphael, Caravaggio, and dozens of other great artists.
You can start at any time!
Since this book follows the Liturgical seasons, you can jump in at any point. It would make a great Easter basket gift, and you could begin the readings with the Easter season section and continue through all the way to the following Lent and beyond. This beautiful and inspiring devotional will be sure to help your family understand- and pray- the Bible like never before!
In children’s literature, there are classics about animal which talk, and classics about animals which don’t talk. To accompany my list of 25 Great Books for Children who love Animals, here are my favorite books about talking animals! If you have an 8-14 year old animal lover, they will love these books!
Black Beauty is a classic, both inspiring and heartbreaking in turns. This story of a gentle horse who just wants friendship and peace is beloved by both children and adults. However, it is very sad at times so use discretion for highly sensitive young readers.
Ben and Me and Mr. Revere and I are two fantastic and funny tales of American Patriots and the founding of America as recounted by their loyal pets, a mouse and horse respectively.
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White is the story of the unlikely friendship that grows between a pig, a spider, and a girl: a friendship that is truly life-saving for one of the three.
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame is one of the best loved classics about talking animals. The happy, simple world of Badger, Mole, and Rat has captured the imagination of more than one generation. This book is a staple in any collection of children’s books.
In Jenny and the Cat Club, the reader meets Jenny, a shy young cat with a red scarf. In this volume of Jenny adventures, Jenny learns to make friends, be brave, and to share. Further adventures of Jenny can be found in The School for Cats and Jenny’s Moonlight Adventure. The Jenny books make great read alouds for younger children too!
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden is notable on several levels. First, it’s a timeless story of friendship between a cat, mouse, cricket, and boy. Second, it’s a great introduction to the variety of cultures in New York City, notably Italian and Chinese. Third, it’s illustrated by Garth Williams, of Little House fame. Worth reading on all three counts.
The Song of the Winns: The Secret of the Ginger Mice by Frances Watts is a fun little known talking animal story about mice triplets. When one of the triplets is kidnapped, his siblings set out to find him. Their journey is filled with mystery, adventure, and surprises.
The Redwall books by Brian Jacques are always favorites with Catholic children, even the most reluctant readers. These books have a wonderfully medieval feel with their high feasts, epic battles, and quests. There are over 22 Redwall Books, all enjoyable, though the first six are generally considered the best.
In some ways reminiscent of Redwall, the The Green Ember series nevertheless manages to find its own voice. This series follows the adventures, battles, and quests of a rabbit clan. Great themes about growing up, bravery, loyalty, and more.
All of the Narnia books include talking animals, but The Horse and His Boy stands out as having a truly memorable talking animal leading character. Bree, the kidnapped horse who longs to get home to Narnia, goes on a journey of self-knowledge and character growth just as much as his rider, Shasta. This is my very favorite of the Narnia books.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary is the first of the Ralph S. Mouse books. Young Ralph is a mouse who longs for speed and adventure. Life in a hotel is boring at best until a sympathetic boy shows up.
Freddy the Detective by Walter Brooks is one of the classic Freddy the Pig series. These charming older books follow Freddy, a kind-hearted pig, on a series of ventures from starting a detective agency to becoming a lawyer. Other titles in the series include Freddy the Politician,
In The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting, Doctor Dolittle struggles to deal with his stuffy English patients. His parrot, Polynesia, teaches him animal language and he becomes a veterinarian instead.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll has several talking animal characters, such as the unforgettable white hare on his way to have tea with the queen. This is a classic that every child should read at some point in their life.
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling is actually a collection of stories about the jungle. Many feature the classic cast of movie characters such as Baloo, Mowgli, and Shere Khan. These stories are more challenging than many books on this list, but offer great exposure to India.
The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh and the House at Pooh Corner are both included in this beautiful color version of the classic Pooh stories. These hilarious stories are actually better enjoyed by an independent reader than a younger child!
Watership Down by Richard Adams is a talking animal classic about a small band of rabbits’ struggle for survival. Warning for parents of younger and sensitive children that a few lovable main characters do die in this story.
Thornton Burgess is well known for his animal stories about clever Peter Cottontail, sneaky Reddy Fox, and the rest of Mother West Wind’s children. You can start reading about their escapades in Old Mother West Wind, then continue with the whole series. These short books are great for encouraging younger readers to finish a whole book!
Thinking about Easter yet? Or concentrating on participating in Lent to the fullest? Here are some wonderful books to assist all ages in entering into these seasons of penitence and rejoicing. You’ll find Lenten Picture Books, Stations of the Cross for kids Books, Palm Sunday Books, and Easter Books on this List.
Little Rose of Sharon is a poignant story which explores themes about true beauty and self-sacrifice. A vain little rose eventually chooses to give up all her beautiful petals to keep an egg warm, thus imitating the total self-sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
In this folktale retold, three trees dream about their future. Each tree finds its dreams achieved, but in a different way than they ever could have expected.The Tale of Three Trees is a lesson in divine providence and self-sacrifice.
There are many great versions of the Stations of the Cross for Children. Here is wonderful one for ages 5-10 from Word Among Us Press: Walking with Jesus to Calvary: Stations of the Cross for Children. For each station, there is a description that draws the child to imagine what being at the Passion might have been like, then a personal prayer to encourage the child to speak straight to Jesus.
Stations of the Cross for Kids combines Scripture, meditaiton, prayer, and stunning visuals to engage children. This may be my favorite Stations book yet.
New in 2021, Raymond Arroyo’s The Thief Who Stole Heaven retells the story of the famous Good Thief, St. Dismas. Check out my full review here! To buy on Amazon, click The Thief Who Stole Heaven.
Palm Sunday
Little Colts Palm Sunday is the perfect story to read on Palm Sunday. The author fancifully imagines Palm Sunday through the eyes of the colt that carried Jesus into Jerusalem.
Also perfect to begin on Palm Sunday, The Easter Story Egg is a book and nesting egg. Each day between Palm Sunday and Easter, your family opens an egg and reads the accompanying Bible verses and meditation. Difficult to find but a neat tradition.
Easter Picture Books
Looking for the Easter story as recounted in the Gospels? Fiona French’s beautiful book Easter may be the perfect fit. She uses colorful pictures inspired by stained glass windows to bring the Passion and Resurrection to life in a luminous way.
Rechenka’s Eggs is a charming story about giving, friendship, and how eggs are a sign of the miracle of new life. We love the beautiful Russian style illustrations.
The Story of Easter is a sweet little board book for the smallest children. It ties together spring, new life, and Jesus rising from the dead neatly. The emphasis is on the fact that Easter is really about Jesus loving us through his death and resurrection.
The Easter Cave tells the Easter story in a simple, rhythmic style inspired by “The House that Jack Built.”
In The Easter Swallows, children see the Passion and Resurrection through the eyes of two kind little swallows. Unfortunately out of print so you have to buy it used.
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Comic Books and Graphic Novels are the reading material of choice for many kids these days, especially boys. Fortunately for Catholic parents, there are some awesome options being published in this genre by Catholic publishers. Check out these great options which teach about Saints, the Bible, the Catechism, and apologetics! Also included are a few clean, enjoyable comic books just for fun!
I recently had the pleasure of reading and reviewing “The Saints Chronicles, Collection 1”, the first in a great new series being published by Sophia Institute Press. For more details, check out my review here.
The Adventures of Loupio chronicle the escapades of Loupio, a young troubador whose life is forever changed when he meets Saint Francis of Assisi.
The Action Bible is one of the most professional looking graphic novels on this list. Little surprise since its illustrator works for Marvels Comics! This Bible isn’t specifically Catholic, but it sticks fairly close to the Bible stories and is a great way to get kids interested in reading God’s word.
The Picture Bible, which inspired The Action Bible, is also a great resource for bringing to the Bible to life for kids! It points out themes and has some discussion questions for the major stories.
The Illustrated Parables of Jesus is published by Ignatius Press, which also publishes an entire New Testament by the same illustrator and author. We love these versions of the Bible with their gentle pictures which even toddlers enjoy pouring over.
I’ve included the Catechism of the Seven Sacraments on other book lists already because I can’t say enough good things about this brilliant idea for a Catechism. The information is simply presented, yet somehow touches on information many adult Catholics don’t know. For example, my six year old understands the Four Cups and how they relate to the Mass after reading this book. He had to explain it to me because I barely knew what he was talking about!
I was extremely impressed by the caliber of apologetics presented in The Truth Is Out There: Brendan & Erc in Exile, Volume 1. This book, and its sequel, The Big Picture: Brendan and Erc in Exile, Volume 2, present arguments for Christian and Catholic doctrines in a format that will be accessible and memorable for tweens and teens. Volume 1 deals with big picture questions about God’s existence, heaven, and happiness. The presupposition is that you are talking to someone who is an atheist or agnostic, which will resonate with teenagers as they begin to interact more with secularists. In Volume 2, The Big Picture, Brendan and Eric begin to learn about God’s plan. Again, there is an outspoken agnostic character who challenges the RCIA teacher about everything from Galileo to the Trinity. All this hard core apologetics is set against an appealing Sci Fi backdrop complete with junky space ships and villains.
The Zita the Spacegirl Trilogy is an award winining series from Catholic graphic novelist Ben Hatke. His books are clean, age-appropriate, fun, and definitely worth buying!
Mighty Jack is the first in another great series by Hatke. With nods to Jack and the Beanstalk, Hatke creates an exciting world inhabited by dragons and biting pumpkins. I love that one of the characters is a (mostly) mute autistic girl. I found the themes about having a sibling with a disability timely in our current day with autism rates skyrocketing.
The Adventures of Tintin by Herge. What can I say? TinTin is a classic boy-sleuth series that every boy (and lots of girls) inhale. These books are clean, fun, and funny. Lots of adventure and quirky characters. Note that there is some drug and alcohol use, not portrayed favorably. Also some rather humorous swearing along the lines of “Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles in a Thundering Typhoon.”
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There are so many wonderful children’s books for 8 to 9 year olds. They can enjoy reading for themselves many books read aloud to them at 6 or 7, but also have the excitement of reading new books for the first time by themselves. I still strongly believe in reading aloud to children at this age, so I will note some books on this list that may be more appropriate to read aloud. Also, children this age will enjoy hearing books on my family read alouds list.
The Ordinary Princess is the perfect princess story to teach ordinary girls that they can still be princesses. Her royal highness Princess Amethyst, or Amy as she prefers to be called, leaps from the pages, brown haired, freckled, and determined to go play in the woods rather than settle down to sewing tapestries. Amy learns about hard work, perseverance, simple pleasures and even finds true love with a prince as unusual as she is. The ordinary princess turns out to be an extraordinary person. Every little girl should read this book!
A Life of Our Lord for Children is a wonderful book by Marigold Hunt which will invite your child to meditate on the life of Christ. This book offers explanations of confusing parts of the Gospels, and is written in a friendly, conversational style.
Catechism of the Seven Sacraments is a great option for boys who are a bit resistant to sitting down and reading heavy theology! My son loves this comic book style version of the Catechism. This book is jam-packed full of gems of theology such as the Four Cups, Divine Mercy, and so much more!
Sixty Saints for Girls> is the Catholic saint version of princess tales for little girls. Joan Windham does not strive for historical accuracy, but rather to share legends and the essence of sainthood, which is serving God through heroic virtue. Girls will be inspired by these stories of female saints throughout the ages.
Sixty Saints for Boys is the boy equivalent of Windham’s book for girls. Again, talk to your children about how these stories are not meant to be taken as historically accurate in every detail, but rather as inspiring legends based on the facts of the saints holy lives.
Prince Martin Wins His Sword is the first in an exciting adventure series that follows Prince Martin as he learns virtues, slays dragons, and protects the innocent. Read my full review here!
An Extraordinary Friend: The Adventures of Jamie and Bella is the first in a series of exciting adventure stories written by a Catholic priest. They are fun to read, yet offer a Catholic perspective on every day events. Each book has thought-provoking questions at the end for your child to think about or discuss with a parent.
Freddy the Detective is a funny mystery featuring Freddy the Pig, the hero of a whole series of once popular and sadly forgotten children books. Freddy is inspired by Sherlock Holmes to attempt solving crimes, but finds the justice process more complex than he anticipated. This book introduces children to the concepts of justice, trials, and even jurisprudence. A wonderful read aloud, it is also possible for an 8 to 10 year old to read on their own. If you love Freddy, the literate pig, read more about him inFreddy Plays Football.
The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, by the wonderful Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, is the story of funny, spunky, unnaturally. strong Pippi and her very normal friends Tommy and Anneka. Pippi is an orphan who lives alone and does just as she pleases, which is an interesting idea to a child, but behind the fun and adventures, Lindgren is careful to show how Pippi misses her parents and struggles to live a normal life without them. Their are also great themes of friendship, loyalty, generosity, cheerfulness, and kindness in these books.
A lesser known but in my opinion even more enjoyable series by Lindgren is The Children of Noisy Village. Nine year old Lisa will captivate your child with her stories of life in her tiny Swedish village. A great introduction to the country of Sweden and exposure to Swedish customs, and overall just a fun read. There are two further books about Noisy Village: Happy Times in Noisy Village and Christmas in Noisy Village .
Sid Fleischman’s The Whipping Boy was clearly inspired by Mark Twain’s The Prince and Pauper. It is a hilarious story of traded identities, unlikely friendship, and loyalty.
McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre Farm: Three Tall Tales offers more hilarity from Sid Fleischman. McBroom and his large family find happiness in farm life on one miraculously fertile acre. Fanciful and fun, the cheerfulness and teamwork make these tall tales worthwhile reading.
Saint Brendan And The Voyage Before Columbus is a short book with the interesting tale of Saint Brendan, who legend says voyaged to America before Columbus. The moral is that all adventures can bring us closer to God.
Did you know that Ian Fleming of James Bond fame wrote one children’s book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car? This fanciful adventure story about a car that can talk, fly, and sail and its mission to stop a gang of robbers is quite different than the storyline of the popular old movie with the same title, but I enjoyed the book more! This is a classic adventure of good versus evil, justice being achieved, and friendship.
The Betsy-Tacy Treasury: The First Four Betsy-Tacy Books are charming stories about the friendship and adventures of three little girls. These books follow Betsy, Tacy, and Tib from age 5 up through adulthood, so I would only recommend these first four books for 8 to 9 year olds.
A Lion to Guard Us is War for Independence (Revolutionary War) era historical fiction about three children venturing across the Atlantic Ocean in search of their father. Many good themes about perseverance, courage, and responsibility can be gleaned.
The Secret Valley is not just an interesting historical fiction story about the California gold rush. More importantly, it is a story about greed versus need, and wishes coming true in unexpected ways.
Lion in the Box by the wonderful Marguerite De Angeli, is a Christmas story about a poor family struggling to make ends meet. A good reminder for children that some people live in poverty, but still a happy ending thanks to an unexpected gift.
Another thought provoking book by Marguerite de Angeli, The Door in the Wall tells the story of Robin, a boy in the fourteenth century who loses the use of his legs. A monk rescues the boy and teaches him that life can still be meaningful for a cripple. This gem has so many good lessons about patience, courage, compassion, and hard work.
Almost everything by Marguerite de Angeli is worth reading, but I will limit my list to one more of her works. Skippack School tells about the life of a German immigrant boy starting school in America. As always with de Angeli, you get lovely illustrations and many good themes about hard work, patience, perseverance, and kindness.
The Family from One End Street is a collection of stories about the seven children of a large family living in small town America in the 1930’s. The family is very poor, but the lesson that money does not determine happiness shines forth in these funny, touching stories of large family life.
Lost in Peter’s Tomb is the first in a series of books by Catholic author Dianne Ahern that feature Sister Philomena, both nun and special investigator for the pope. Although I don’t love Ahern’s use of the present tense in her books, she does offer a wealth of information about Rome, the pope, Assisi, Siena, and many other Catholic tidbits that your child will not learn or retain as easily elsewhere. So, I consider these fun little mysteries worthwhile reading.
Beverly Cleary’s books have delighted children for a few generations now. There are a lot of titles, but Henry and Ribsy is one of my favorites because it is told from the dog’s perspective. Any animal lover is sure to love reading the touching story of Ribsy’s scrapes and delights. I do not recommend investing in all of Cleary’s books since I find her characters do not consistently show growth in virtue, but this book is worth reading.
“B” Is for Betsy is the first in a series of books written by Carolyn Haywood in the 1940’s but still relatable and enjoyable today. Children will connect with Betsy’s struggles and victories in starting school, making friends, and growing up. The children in these books show kindness, compassion, and friendship.
Carolyn Haywood also wrote a series featuring a boy, Penny, so nicknamed because his hair is red as a penny. Here’s a Penny is the first in this series about the adventures and struggles of this adopted boy. Again, you get children who show kindness and true friendship in these sweet stories.
Alice Dagleish wrote two wonderful books about the nature of courage, one featuring a boy and one a girl. The Courage of Sarah Noble is the story of little Sarah’s journey through the forest with her father to find a new home, and her gradual discovery that courage is not a lack of fear, but rather bravery in the midst of fear.
Boys will particularly identify with Jonathan in Dagleish’s The Bears on Hemlock Mountain as he sets out alone across the mountain to fetch a pot from his aunts house. He shows courage and perseverance on his trek and proves that there are indeed bears on hemlock mountain.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle understands children because she likes them! She is the grandma-figure extraordinaire whose house is children’s heaven, and always has sage advice for overwhelmed parents. Tucked in these humorous tales are morals children will glean: don’t be a picky eater, listen to your parents, clean up your room, and so on.
The Happy Hollisters is the first in a long series of mysteries featuring the Hollister family. Each book features the large Hollister family who exemplify cheerfulness and teamwork as they help others by solving mysteries. I strongly believe mysteries are important for children to read because they instill a strong thirst for justice and interest in problem solving. Check out my full review of this series here!
The Boxcar Children Books 1-4 are fun, easy to read mysteries about four siblings, Henry, Jessie, Violet and Bennie. The later books in the series fall off greatly in quality, but the original books by Gertrude Warner from the 1940s are enjoyable classic children’s stories of a simpler life in the first half of the twentieth century before computers and cell phones. There are good lessons about responsibility, perseverance, resourcefulness, and kindness. Prepare to be amazed at the ingenuity of four children making a home in an old boxcar. Journey with the Aldens to Surprise Island for a unique tropical vacation and find a castaway. These were my very favorite books at this age!
Mr. Popper’s Penguins is an American classic about Mr. Popper, a housepainter, and the escepades of his penguins. Funny and touching both, this is a book about dreams coming true, showing both the good and bad consequences.
The Bobbsey Twins In and Out and its sequels are fun mystery stories featuring two sets of twins. They provide a picture of middle class life in the first half of the twentieth century, complete with African American servants, so a gentle discussion about that subject would be appropriate before handing this over for your children to enjoy.