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Kate Towne reviews Miraculous! Catholic Mysteries for Kids by CatholicMom contributor Kathryn Griffin Swegart.

My children were already fans of Kathryn Griffin Swegart’s previous book, Heavenly Hosts: Eucharistic Miracles for Kids, before I received a copy of her Miraculous! Catholic Mysteries for Kids to review for CatholicMom. Like with her previous book, they were captivated right away by both the content of Miraculous! (miracle stories are amazing!) and Mrs. Swegart’s way of telling the stories, which really brings them to life.

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Details like conversations, mood, and setting are often imaginatively rendered in a way that makes it easy for kids to picture the people and events as they really were — real people, real events. Included are the stories of the Holy House of Loreto, the Shroud of Turin, St. John Bosco’s angelic dog, and the soon-to-be-beatified Carlo Acutis, and several others — a mix of very old stories and quite recent. 

I really loved reading the final chapter, “What science and history tell us.” While the previous chapters tell the stories as seen through the eyes of faith (one per chapter), this last chapter provides scientific and historical facts of the stories. The images found in the magnification of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s eyes are described; the flesh and blood type of the Holy Eucharist at Lanciano are shared; the eyewitness accounts of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima are quoted. As Mrs. Swegart says at the beginning of the chapter, having difficulty believing miracle stories “is a good attitude. In fact, that is the attitude of the Church with regard to miracles. Let us take a look at history and science to see if [these stories are] worthy of belief.” 

The back of the book says, “Ages 8 and up,” which I’m sure refers to reading ability, but I read it aloud to my boys and my six-year-old was as interested in it as his older brothers (and his mother!). The chapters are only a couple of pages each, and provide an easy opportunity to dazzle children with God’s power and love. This book makes a wonderful addition to any Catholic children’s library.

An easy opportunity to dazzle children with God’s power and love: 'Miraculous' by @kswegart. #catholicmom

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Copyright 2020 Kate Towne
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