Rescued II: True Stories for Catholic Kids by Kathryn Griffin Swegart

Allison Auth shares her children's favorite episodes from Catholic Mom contributing writer Kathryn Griffin Swegart's new book of true, faith-filled action and adventure stories.

Rescued II: True Stories for Catholic Kids  

By Kathryn Griffin Swegart

If your kids like a good story, they will enjoy the action and adventure in Kathryn Griffin Swegart’s new book, Rescued II: True Stories for Catholic Kids.

Swegart uses descriptive language and good storytelling to make the adventures come alive, from David and Goliath to Mother Cabrini and even a close call on the Titanic. I also appreciated the extra facts for each story at the end of the book.

Living in Colorado, I was excited to learn more about Sister Blandina, and all the kids were captivated by her brush with cowboys and runaway horses. We also live near the Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, Colorado, but we weren’t familiar with her trip over the Andes Mountains. My son is a war history buff, and the inspiring story of Emil Kapaun was very moving.

Other stories include a seminarian who obediently got off the Titanic as well as heroic acts of bravery during 9-11 and during the serum run in Nome, Alaska (which Balto is famous for). I was interested to hear of the early life of Mother Angelica, too, as well as an action-packed retelling of Saint George and the dragon.

Heroism, Virtue, and Faith Are Highlighted

Rescued II is written for ages 7 and up, and each chapter makes for a good bedtime story (or afternoon snack story). The chapters highlight a short adventure from that person’s life, which left us wanting to look up more about many of the figures. While not all saints, there are acts of heroism and virtue highlighted in everyone’s story, and there always is a faith element as well.

I found myself wishing for a few more sentences and verb-tenses to clarify some of the time frames, so I wouldn’t have to go back, re-read, and figure what was meant. In Sister Blandina’s story, was the whole encounter with an outlaw five months ago or days later? Was Rita Rizzo actually in her last moments or not? Parts of the Nome story timeline were harder to follow, although I think most kids will just get caught up in the frozen blizzards and fearless dogs.

The sentences about Emil Kapaun’s grave were vague regarding how his remains were discovered, although Swegart did say it almost felt miraculous. Because it was unclear, it piqued my interest and I went down an internet rabbit hole, learning about POW identification and how Emil Kapaun’s body was eventually found. I see now why she didn’t have time to explain the whole thing in a short-story adventure book!

Maybe you want to know those answers now, too. These action-packed stories will keep you wanting to learn more about these heroic and historic figures from America and around the world. Thank you, Kathryn Griffin Swegart, for doing the research and writing the lesser-known stories of these incredible heroes who followed God’s call and listened to the Holy Spirit.

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