
Kimberly Andrich reviews the most recent release in Catholic Mom contributor Maria Riley’s Adventures with the Saints children’s series.
Saint Joan of Arc: The Soldier Saint
by Maria Riley
Published by Rooted River Press
Our friends in Heaven, the saints, are our big brothers and sisters in Christ. They are our role models in following our Lord. Their examples can help us to understand what it means to do the right thing in the everyday moments of our lives as well as in confusing or difficult times.
Each saint is an individual. No two are exactly the same or are called by God in the same way. God called each to do different things for Him and to follow Him in diverse ways. Each saint lived in a particular time and place in history and faced various circumstances, all of which provided challenges that they faced with God, following Him and remaining faithful to Him. They lived in the world and brought God into the world according to who God created them to be and how they were called.
Learning from the saints
Our children also, like the saints, are called by God, at this time and for a purpose. They can learn from the saints, their big brothers and sisters, to follow God while facing their challenges. For practically every circumstance, there is a saint we can look to and bring to the attention of our children, to ask his or her intercession and learn from his or her example.
That is one of the things I love about Maria Riley’s children’s series, Adventures with the Saints. Siblings Luke, Becca, and Joshua (two of whom are adopted and one who is their parents’ biological child) face challenges in each book and travel back in time to meet a saint who had faced a related challenge. The children talk with and learn from the saint then travel home and put the lesson to use, learning something about themselves and about God in the process.
In the latest book in the series (Maria’s newest release), Saint Joan of Arc: The Soldier Saint, the kids meet Saint Joan of Arc as she is returning to see the coronation of Prince Charles after leading the French in their defeat of the English at the battle of Orleans. Through the children’s dialogue with Saint Joan, the reader gets a real sense of her bravery, faithfulness, and humility, both in defense of France and in the way she lives.
Saint Joan turns out to be exactly the role model the kids need after having faced a group of bullies at a neighborhood playground. I appreciate that Saint Joan takes a very balanced and prayerful approach with the children, teaching them to pray for their enemies and discern in prayer the right thing to do in each situation.
I love also that each book refers to a related Bible passage that we can dig further into with our kids if we choose. Maria integrates the story of David and Goliath into this book both simply and naturally.
Easy chapter books or great read-alouds
Saint Joan of Arc: The Soldier Saint and the other three books in this series are easy chapter books, great for first- through third-grade readers, though older children may enjoy them as well. They also are wonderful for reading aloud with younger children. As a mom who is always on the lookout for books for my young readers, especially books that teach them about the Catholic faith and that they enjoy reading, I very much appreciate this series. And with young girls who are Saint Joan of Arc fans, this latest book was a big hit in our house!
Saint Joan of Arc: The Soldier Saint is available for purchase on Amazon or, for a signed copy, on MariaRileyAuthor.com.
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Copyright 2024 Kimberly Andrich
Images: (top, bottom) Canva; remaining images copyright 2024 Kimberly Andrich, all rights reserved
About the Author

Kimberly Andrich
Kimberly Andrich is a wife and a mother of 5, to two big boys and three little ladies. She enjoys deep conversations over a cup of hot tea and twilight walks with her husband. Kimberly writes from the perspective of having a hidden, chronic illness and experiencing a deep, continuous conversion through being yoked to Jesus in the day-to-day trials and joys of life. Follow her on Instagram @FallingOnHisGrace.
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