Stories of the Saints: Bold and Inspiring Tales of Adventure, Grace, and Courage

by Carey Wallace, Nick Thornborrow (Illustrator)

Overview

A great gift for Communion, Confirmation, Easter baskets, and religious holidays year-round!

Performing Miracles. Facing Wild Lions. Confronting Demons. Transforming the World.

From Augustine to Mother Teresa (officially canonized as St. Teresa of Calcutta), discover seventy of the best-known and best-loved saints and read their riveting stories filled with history, adventure, and inspiration.

Written with an emphasis on the adventurous life and strong character of each saint, these stories are as exciting as any Greek myth and as inspiring as any tale about knights or superheroes. Meet Joan of Arc, whose transcendent faith compelled her to lead an army when the king’s courage failed. Francis of Assisi, whose gentleness tamed a man-eating wolf. Valentine, a bishop in the time of ancient Rome, who spoke so often of Christ’s love that his saint’s day, February 12, has been associated with courtly love since the Middle Ages. St. Thomas Aquinas, the great teacher. Peter Claver, who cared for hundreds of thousands of people on slave ships after their voyage as captives. And Bernadette, whose vision of Mary instructed her to dig the spring that became the healing waters of Lourdes.

Each saint is illustrated in a dramatic and stylized full-color portrait, and included in every entry are the saint’s dates, location, emblems, feast days, and patronage. Taken together, these stories create a rich, inspiring, and entertaining history of faith and courage. For kids age 10 and up.

Imprimatur granted by the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761193272
Publisher:	Workman Kids
Publication date:	03/31/2020
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 12.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Carey Wallace was raised in a small town in Michigan. She is the author of The Blind Contessa's New Machine, The Ghost in the Glass House, and Choose. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Illustrator Nick Thornborrow is a concept and storyboard artist for BioWare, a developer of video games for PC, console, and online role-playing. He lives and works in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Editorial Reviews

"Unlike other children’s books about the saints that can be heavy-handed in imparting spiritual lessons, Wallace’s work relies on the stories themselves to leave their own impressions. They incorporate both legend and historical facts."
—Catholic Review

"The saints included span centuries and cultures, including well-known figures… more obscure ones like Mary of Egypt and John Nepomucene, and those from non-Western cultures... Wallace presents them all with quiet confidence that the stories matter, and she convinces us that they do. Thornborrow's illustrations combine traditional iconography with modern graphic art, effectively dramatizing each tale. Unusual, well-done."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Wallace’s prose is evocative and reverent. She opens with 2nd-century CE Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, and weaves chronologically to end with Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa). Each biographical sketch begins with the date, location where the saint lived or is known, emblem, patronage, and feast day, culminating in legends about the saints amplified by Thornborrow’s luminous ink illustrations... Wallace’s accounts of the lives of saints will appeal any Christian, particularly those who read graphic novels."
—Publishers Weekly

"An accessible and dynamic compendium... the emphasis here is on humanity and faithful deeds, not grisly martyrdom."
—The Wall Street Journal

Named by Quill  Quire as one of the best book covers of 2020.

From the Publisher

2019-12-22
A modern book of the saints.

Wallace presents the stories, actual or apocryphal, of 80 men and women who served God so well that they were elevated to sainthood after their deaths, arranged chronologically from Polycarp (69-156 C.E.) to Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997). Each two- to three-page account includes where the saint lived, who they are considered patron of, and their emblem and feast day. The saints included span centuries and cultures, including well-known figures such as Joan of Arc and Thomas Aquinas, more obscure ones like Mary of Egypt and John Nepomucene, and those from non-Western cultures such as Josephine Bakhita, who originally came from Sudan, and Martin de Porres, a mixed-race Peruvian of African and European descent. Wallace points out in her introduction that while some saints' stories are historically documented, others, particularly the very early ones, are more along the lines of folktakes. "Just because we can't be sure a story really happened doesn't mean it isn't true in another way." That's good, since some of them are frankly gruesome—Lucy with her eyes plucked out and handed to her on a dish, calmly reinserts them and can still see—as well as perplexing. Wallace presents them all with quiet confidence that the stories matter, and she convinces us that they do. Thornborrow's illustrations combine traditional iconography with modern graphic art, effectively dramatizing each tale.

Unusual, well done, and useful in many settings. (Religion. 8-adult)

Kirkus Reviews