Saintly Creatures: 14 Tales of Animals and Their Holy Companions

Karen Estep reviews Saintly Creatures by Alexi Sargeant, a new children's book from Word on Fire Spark.

Saintly Creatures: 14 Tales of Animals and Their Holy Companions is so well done. Out of all the Catholic children’s books I have seen or read, this one is up there as one of my favorites. Squeals of delight came from the Estep household the day this book was delivered. Maybe more of those squeals came from me than my two children, but you get the picture. I had seen this book advertised on every major social media platform, one of my good friends preordered it and shared its beauty, and I knew one thing: I wanted it! As a relatively new Catholic, trying to raise two young children in this faith, I need all the help I can get when learning about the saints and then passing that knowledge on to my children.

Saintly Creatures

The artwork from illustrator Anita Barghigiani is stunning. It is reminiscent of all of Jan Brett’s work. If you are a child of the '80s or '90s, I am sure your teachers read The Mitten to you during the winter. My favorite artwork in the book is from the stories, "The Bees and Saint Rita" and "The Lion and Saint Mary of Egypt."

Alexi Sargeant does an amazing job of making these stories come alive. The words he uses to describe the saints and the creatures are dynamic. He describes each saint and creature with such love for the person and animal. I am sure that this whole project took a lot of research into these saints and these slightly obscure stories. It was well worth it because this book will be a timeless addition to your library. Even adults will enjoy these stories.

As the title says, there are 14 tales in all. Each story is only a few pages long but will have you saying to yourself, probably even your kids will say, “Just one more!” My favorite stories in the book were "The Mice and Saint Martin de Porres," "The Geese and Saint Werburgh," and "The Hyena and Saint Macarius." However, I plan on rereading this again soon and I know I’ll have three new favorites. This will probably happen again and again until each tale is a beloved one for me.

When you order this book from Word on Fire Spark you also receive the cutest little stuffed dog that goes along with a story about Saint John Bosco. In this story you learn that the great gray dog, nicknamed Grigio (Grigio means "gray in Italian), protects Saint John Bosco. However, the whole story of Grigio the dog is very mysterious. I encourage you to snuggle up with your littles and the cute stuffed dog, and enjoy the rest of the story together!

Before I received this book to review, I had planned on getting it for my children for Christmas. It would make the most beautiful Christmas gift for any loved one. I am considering getting one for our adult friend. His Confirmation saint is Saint Francis of Asisi because our friend loves animals and this book has a story about his saint's name. This book would also make the sweetest First Communion book. Saints are examples of how to live our lives on fire for the Lord, and these saints happen to have little animal helpers that only enhance their spiritual journeys. Let us learn to love the Lord and all of the Lord’s amazing creatures, just as the saints did in these stories!

Ask for Saintly Creatures at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from Amazon.com or the publisher, WordOnFire.org.