Saint Dominic and the Rosary: A New Picture Book

A new picture book by Shaun McAfee made Alex Resch and her family fall even more in love with the Rosary and the saint who gave it to us.  

Saint Dominic and the Rosary (Saints and Sacramantals series)

By Shaun McAfee; illustrated by Jennifer Beam

Published by TAN Books

A few years ago, I did an Endow Women’s Study on the Rosary and became fascinated with the history of this powerful prayer. The history of the Rosary is so beautiful and mystical! Shaun McAfee’s new picture book, Saint Dominic and the Rosary, is the perfect introduction to the history and prayers of the Rosary for children. The illustrations by Jennifer Beam are colorful and exciting, and the story will capture the hearts of your entire family. 

Saint Dominic’s Early Life  

To me, learning the history of the Rosary will just make you love the Rosary more and inspire you to pray it more. This book goes all the way back to Saint Dominic’s mother praying for her child in the womb. While she was pregnant, she received a vision of a dog with a torch in his mouth. The dog was running around lighting the world on fire! The story goes on to tell about Saint Dominic’s family and how he got his name.   

The History of the Rosary  

Later, we learn that Saint Dominic met a large group of people practicing a heresy known as Albigensianism. The author does a wonderful job of explaining the heresy in a charitable, truthful, and age-appropriate way for children to understand. Then, we learn that through the Blessed Mother’s intercession, God used Saint Dominic to convert many hearts among the people who believed in this heresy.   

Shaun McAfee covers all of the key historical events in Saint Dominic’s life and how the Angelic Psalter led to what we now know as the Rosary. He explains everything clearly, and I bet children and adults will both learn something new from this book!  

The Mysteries of the Rosary  

A very helpful part of the book is when the author briefly describes each Mystery of the Rosary. He includes one two-page spread per Mystery. This part could be used to give you ideas for short meditations when you pray the Rosary with your children!  

For example, it explains the Joyful Mysteries like this:  

In the Annunciation, Mary is chosen to be the mother of Jesus. During the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist recognizes Mary as the mother of Our Lord, and even baby John the Baptist leaps for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. 

The Mysteries of the Rosary are bold in the book, so they are easy to spot. What you can do is this: announce the First Joyful Mystery and just read the sentence that goes with that Mystery. This helps small kids understand what the Mystery is in a simple way.

After praying with one short sentence for your kids to meditate on, they will understand what each Mystery is about, and you can expand upon that knowledge to go deeper when they are ready. I love how this book presents one powerful sentence for each Mystery. There are also always lovely illustrations to go with each set of Mysteries. In addition, there are Scripture verses for each Mystery in the back of the book.   

An Excellent Rosary Resource for Families  

I was amazed at how many important details that Shaun McAfee packed into this children’s book, while still making it engaging and highly enjoyable for adults and children (ages 4 and up). This book would be perfect to pick up this October for the month of the Rosary, or for Saint Dominic’s feast day next August 8th.

Saint Dominic and the Rosary would also be a wonderful book for a family who would like to learn more about the Rosary and how to pray it. There is an entire Rosary guide in the back which includes all of the Rosary prayers in both English and Latin. If you are looking for a new book to share the Rosary with your children, I definitely recommend Saint Dominic and the Rosary. 

Is this a book you'd like to read? Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2025 Alex Resch
Images: (top) detail from cover; (center) interior spread from book, copyright 2025 TAN Books, all rights reserved.