Excuse me if I sound a little hurried in this review. My seven-year-old returns from school soon and when she sees this pile, I'm going to lose them all. There's no way my four-year-old will remain oblivious when her older sister shows interest.

And how could they NOT be interested in the beautiful books Pauline has sent to me for review? I'm still debating if I want to share them...

First up, The Saints Pray for Us.

It's a prayer book, but it's unlike anything I've ever seen before. Each of the 30 saints has a full-color, full-page illustration that invites you just to look. They're beautiful. Each saint includes stats: birth year and place, death year and place, feast day.

And then there's the prayer. The pictures are the beauty to behold, and the prayers are the beauty to hear. They are written specifically for the age range (7-12), but wow, the one for Mary's January 1 feast ("Mother of God") seemed to speak right to me. Here's an excerpt:

Watch over me, Mary, and pray for me, that I might be like Jesus. May I be filled with compassion and mercy for others and ready to help those in need around me, even when it's difficult.

This would make a great stocking stuffer, sacramental gift, or it might even be perfect for Mom.

Next, Bible Adventures & Activities. With summer break coming, I may just be tucking this book (and the next one, too) into a bin for those days in August when it's just too hot to leave the house and we're all too sick and tired to do more than fight.

This book is 139 pages of full-color fun, including fill-in-the-blank, scrambled words, puzzles, and tons more. There are 34 different Bible stories, each with its own activity, encouraging kids to pay attention. Oh, and there are solutions in the back!

This reminds me of some of the books I remember from my own non-Catholic childhood. Did I learn Bible stories because we read them all the time? Probably not. I suspect it had as much to do with having fun stuff like this scattered throughout the house.

And last but not least, Fun with the Holy Family. Unlike Bible Adventures, this book is black-and-white, but it's the nice white paper that's ideal for a certain child's favorite markers and crayons. I can already see her connecting the dots on page 23 to find out what it is and then coloring it in. In fact, I can almost hear her whistling "Silent Night" as she colors.

There are mazes and word searches, there are craft activities and matching up things, there are connect-the-dots and draw-your-owns. Of course you can color, and through it all, you are learning about the Holy Family.

Oh wait. I mean your child, of course.

I'm sure this book will be hours of fun the first time we go through it, and then hours MORE fun when another kid finds it and finishes it!

About the Author

Sarah Reinhard

Sarah Reinhard

When she’s not chasing kids, chugging coffee, or juggling work, Sarah Reinhard’s usually trying to stay up read just one … more … chapter. She writes and works in the midst of rural farm life with little ones underfoot. She is part of the team for the award-winning Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion, as well as the author of a number of books. Follow her writing at Snoring Scholar.