New Releases for Children from Ancient Faith Publishing: “The Good Samaritan: A Children’s Catechism” by Fr. Michael Shanbour, illustrated by Nicholas Malara; and “Beautiful Days: An Orthodox Coloring Book for Children”, illustrated by Abigail Holt

Ancient Faith Publishing has just released two publications for children. The Good Samaritan: A Children’s Catechism by Fr. Michael Shanbour, illustrated by Nicholas Malara; and Beautiful Days: An Orthodox Coloring Book for Children, illustrated by Abigail Holt. 

Fr. Michael Shanbour previously self-published The Good Samaritan: A Children’s Catechism, and at that time, he generously allowed the Department of Christian Education to review each of its lessons closely. Read an overview of this beautifully concise catechism here https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2019/12/11/gleanings-from-a-book-the-good-samaritan-a-childrens-catechism-by-the-very-reverend-fr-michael-shanbour/ and take a closer look at the lessons, beginning here https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2020/03/11/a-closer-look-at-the-good-samaritan-a-childrens-catechism-by-fr-michael-shanbour-introduction-and-lesson-1/.

Ancient Faith Publishing has slightly reformatted the text and pictures, and has bound it into a beautiful hardcover book. AFP is helping the book to be more widely available to the Orthodox Christian world. Purchase your copies of this very helpful catechism at https://store.ancientfaith.com/the-good-samaritan-a-childrens-catechism/. 

Abigail Holt, whose art may be familiar to many (she has illustrated everything from board books to cards, stickers, prints, tea towels, and even mugs – all available in various Orthodox marketplaces) walks her readers/book colorers through the Church year in her 64-page coloring book Beautiful Days. Feasts, fasts, and family are all themes in this coloring book filled with the beautiful experiences in an Orthodox child’s year. Holt’s clean lines and joyful pictures bring the Church year to life. Purchase your own copy here: https://store.ancientfaith.com/beautiful-days-an-orthodox-coloring-book-for-children/.

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts.

Preparing to Walk Through Holy Week Together

Journeying through Holy Week with children can be a challenge. The altered schedule, additional services, and the overall intensity of the week are a lot for anyone to participate in and to fully embrace, regardless of their age. However, a little pre-planning can focus each person’s attention during the Holy Week journey, allowing for a beautiful and more peaceful experience for grownups and kids alike. We have gathered a handful of resources that may help. We have included ideas of ways that you can prepare ahead of time in order to be ready for the whole week, as well as ways to encourage children to embrace each day’s experiences and service(s). We hope that one or more of these will be helpful to you and the children in your care.

To Prepare for the Week as a Whole:

Here are ideas for learning boxes for young children to explore during Holy Week, offering a hands-on way for little children (or anyone who understands the world better through tactile experiences) to interact with the events of the week as it unfolds.

Find a variety of craft ideas and resources for engaging children in Holy Week.

Check out The Children’s Word, a free printable resource that is offered every Sunday (not just during Lent). It offers insights and activities for children to engage in, every Sunday, to help them better understand what they’re experiencing in the Liturgy.

The Center for Family Care of the GOA offers this guide to Holy Week that is helpful to parents and teachers alike. It includes an entire page of ways to prepare ahead of time, to enhance the experience of the week. It also has useful information about each service of Holy Week that can hone your focus.

Print and assemble a booklet for each child to take with them to the services of Holy Week. Each service’s activities are listed in order, with a pictorial listing included as well, to help the children follow along in the service. These free downloadable booklets are available in a variety of forms and languages.

Lazarus Saturday activities:

This Lazarus game uses pre-wrapped treats, passed around a small group of children, to illustrate a point. *Note: if the children in your care have allergies, please keep those in mind as you prepare the treats, or select small prizes that are non-food gifts.

Find several resources (including a book suggestion, craft idea, and even a recipe) for helping children learn about Lazarus Saturday in this blog post.

Practice folding palm crosses.

Palm Sunday activities:

Find a simple retelling of the story of Palm Sunday, an activity page, and even a lesson plan from OrthodoxABC.

Read the Palm Sunday story, written in easy-to-understand language.

Here you will find a printable guide to Palm Sunday and Holy Week for kids.

(Also, find Bridegroom Services info for older children and parents/teachers.)

Holy Week activities:

Here is a helpful webinar with ideas of ways to help children participate in Holy Week.

Find brief descriptions of the Holy Week services, written in a way that children can understand.

Find practical, hands-on tips for helping children to better experience Holy Week here: http://orthodoxeducation.blogspot.com/2010/03/holy-week-for-kids.html?m=1 and here: https://www.orthodoxmom.com/blog/2011/04/18/holy-week-activities-for-kids. 

Find a fantastic selection of lesson plans, discussion ideas, and activity suggestions for helping children “Journey to Pascha”. The lessons are leveled by age group, so be sure to check out each lesson for the ages of your children! (There are also many printable pdfs including a “Guide to Holy Week” that children can take with them or read, prior to each service.)

Spend some time looking closely at the icons of Holy Week, and then talk together about these insightful questions related to each one.

Make a mural for the events of Holy Week.

Watch a 5-minute story, animated with Legos, from the Last Supper through the resurrection.

See the 25-minute animated story of Holy Week through the resurrection from The Beginner’s Bible.

Find printable coloring pages for Holy Week.

The Pascha Preparations page on the Sparks 4 Orthodox Kids site has a free Holy Week Coloring Booklet, a coloring page for “Lord Of the Powers” hymn, as well as a few craft ideas.

Holy Thursday activities:

Jesus washed His disciples’ feet word search. 

Find a printable Holy Thursday notebooking page.

Read the Last Supper story written in easy-to-understand language.

Find the Last Supper icon to color from the OCA Department of Christian Education.

Find a printable, colorable icon of Christ washing His disciples’ feet, also from OCA Department of Christian Education. 

Holy Friday activities:

Quiet activities for Holy Friday and Saturday.

Printable coloring pages for Holy Friday.

Read the story of the crucifixion written in easy-to-understand language.

Print the crown of thorns icon to color.

Print a colorable icon of the crucifixion.

Find a printable, colorable icon of the burial of Christ.

Preparing to Begin Great Lent

Great Lent is coming soon! Every year, Great Lent is a joyful time of opening our hearts more fully to Christ, as we prepare to celebrate His resurrection. It offers us a wonderful opportunity to evaluate our Christian life and begin to implement changes that enable us to better love God and our fellow humans. We have gathered a handful of resources that may be helpful to you and the children in your care. Here are some of the resources that we have gathered, beginning with part of a helpful article by Ann Marie Gidus-Mercera, called “Ways to Share Great Lent and Pascha with Your Child,” from Orthodox Family Life, printed in 1997. (Used by permission.)

Take your child to Church!

Whenever a service is scheduled, plan to attend. Services like The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete may be physically tiring with the many prostrations, but don’t think your child can’t be a part of them. In my own parish, which is filled with pre-schoolers, the children do a great job of making prostrations right along with the adults. Many of the children will join in as “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me” is sung. This experience is good for our children! If they see their parents attending services, they get the message that attending Church is important. If we bring our children to Church with us (both young and old), they get the message that their presence in Church is important. The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is especially good for teaching our children that we worship with our entire bodies.

Explain the service that your family will be attending.

Notice that the word “family” is used in the first sentence. Now is a good time to stress that the entire family should be attending services. My husband can’t make it home from work in time for all of us to get to services together, but he always meets us at Church. This tells our children that Church is important enough for Daddy to meet us there. As children get older, homework and after-school activities may tempt them (and us!) to skip Church services. Don’t let it! First of all, if we give in, then what we’re really telling them is that worldly affairs are more important than spiritual affairs. By allowing our children to miss Church, we make it extremely easy for them to fall away as teenagers or young adults.

Last of all, if we allow our older children to miss Church, we are telling our younger children that Church is not important when they get to be big sister or big brother’s age. Enforcing Church attendance by the entire family is no easy task. In fact, enforcing it may be one of the hardest jobs you encounter. Sticking to your rule will be even tougher. It’s a choice we must make as Orthodox parents. Maybe it makes our task easier if we ask ourselves, “What would God want us to do?” The answer is obvious.

Prepare your child for Lent.

The weeks prior to Lent help us take on the right frame of mind for entering Lent. Let them do the same for your child. Read the stories and let your child color [or draw] the pictures prior to attending the Sunday services. You may want to read the story again on Saturday evening, or let your child take the color sheet to Church. A simple reminder Sunday morning concerning what the service and gospel reading will contain can be enough. Pre-schoolers have the ability to remember even the briefest of comments (even when it’s something we DON’T want them to remember!) Keep your explanation simple and BRIEF in order to hold his/her attention. Don’t try to go into a long and draw-out explanation or s/he will lose interest. If s/he has questions or comments, answer them briefly.

Don’t feel mountains have to be moved the day Lent begins, or even during Lent.

It might be a quiet, even uneventful day. That’s okay! Nothing magical needs to happen. We must only be ready to give our hearts to Christ, and we should gladly hand them over in an effort to be a good example to our children. This is our greatest task as Orthodox Christian parents.

Here are some additional resources that you may find helpful: 

Here is a printable Lenten-focused activity calendar, highlighting important days during Great Lent. This pdf features daily suggestions of activities that families can do together, with the goal of engendering a more Christ-centered life during the Lenten fast. Find the calendar here: https://orthodoxchristianparenting.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/updated_great-lent-and-holy-week-activity-calendar.pdf

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Find lessons and activity ideas that can be helpful for families or Church school teachers during all of Great Lent here: https://orthodoxpebbles.com/orthodox-basics/great-lent/

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With this free printable page, children can create a “Lenten Treasure Chest” that they can fill throughout Great Lent with “coins” of REAL value: https://moam.info/lenten-treasure-chest-annunciation-greek-orthodox-church_59cdc1d31723ddf9655ed9fe.html 

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This blog offers ideas of ways to encourage children to participate throughout Great Lent: http://illumination-learning.com/main/2015/02/14/living-our-faith-its-too-hard-for-my-kids/.

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If you are interested in additional fasting meal suggestions, here are two links that may be helpful:

https://orthodoxfastingrecipes.wordpress.com/

https://www.orthodoxmom.com/orthodox-kitchen/

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Here is another creative way that a family can experience Lent together (including fasting, attending services, and giving to those in need). This easily explains and tracks the lenten journey on the family fridge: http://ww1.antiochian.org/content/family-activities-lenten-journey 

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Here is a printable coloring and activity book for the Sundays of Lent and Holy Week: https://www.scribd.com/doc/49025598/Lent-Workbook-English-2

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Love at Lent offers 50 daily task cards that each reinforce the Lenten values of kindness, forgiveness, prayer, generosity, gratitude, and love. Children or families can select one card each day of Great Lent and Holy Week, and then do the task that will help them to better love God and their neighbors. https://store.ancientfaith.com/love-at-lent/ 

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Find 40 activities (one for each day of Great Lent) here: http://ww1.antiochian.org/40-activities-great-lent

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This offers an overview of each Sunday of Lent, complete with the message of the week and suggested activities: https://www.scribd.com/doc/48101187/Lent-HolyWeek-Chart

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Here is an overview of Lenten Sundays and Holy Week, with suggested steps of action, specifically geared for teens: http://www.antiochian.org/content/lenten-message-all-orthodox-teens

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Need more ideas? Check out this blog post filled with additional Lenten resources for families and Church school teachers: https://www.asceticlifeofmotherhood.com/blog/lentguide 

A Glimpse at “Lives of the Saints for Children: February: Friends of Christ” written by Demetrios and Anna Fotopoulos and illustrated by Paraskevi Hatzithanasi

Newrome Press is publishing a twelve-book series called Friends of Christ. Each volume contains the stories of five saints who are commemorated during a particular month of the year. Here is a closer look at Lives of the Saints for Children: February: Friends of Christ, written by Demetrios and Anna Fotopoulos and illustrated by Paraskevi Hatzithanasi, translated by Nicholas Palis, and printed in 2019.

The February edition of the Friends of Christ series tells its readers stories from the life of St. Nikiphoros the martyr (Feb. 9), St. Haralambos the hieromartyr (Feb. 10), St. Theodora the empress (Feb. 11), Venerable Philothei the Athenian (Feb. 19), and Great Martyr Photini the Samaritan woman (Feb. 26). Readers will learn more about the faithful life of each of these saints, and feel encouraged to grow in their own faith. The saints’ stories are carefully worded so that children of all ages can understand. Each has been translated very smoothly into English by translator Nicholas Palis.

The bulk of the book features the stories of these five saints (and the others whose lives they influenced). The book effectively meets this purpose, but it also offers some extra “bonus” materials that are helpful. In addition to the saints’ stories, it also offers a handful of other important resources. The book begins and ends with helpful prayers (the morning prayer to one’s patron saint, and the evening one); and it also contains “the Friends of Christ Glossary”, where some of the more challenging words in the text are explained. In addition, it comes with a large decal featuring one of the illustrations, that could be added to a timeline if the family or Church school room has one on their wall. The decal also makes a wonderful bookmark to mark the reader’s place in each story.

Paraskevi Hatzithanasi’s sketches add much to the stories in the book. They seem to draw from iconographic representations, enhancing the text while also familiarizing readers with the saint(s) in such a way that they will easily recognize the saint’s icon, when they find it at church or elsewhere. Illustrative details from each major illustration are scattered throughout that saint’s story, and offer a fun little challenge: that of finding where each detail is located in its original illustration.

This well-made hardcover book will last through many February readings, whether in a home or in a Church school. Each saint’s story could be read all at once (perhaps for a family night, or in a Sunday Church school class); or bit by bit, across a series of days, until it is completed. 

Order your own copy of Lives of the Saints for Children: February: Friends of Christ from Newrome Press, here: https://newromepress.com/friends-of-christ-february/

We thank Newrome Press for sharing this book with us, so that we can share it with you. 

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts.

A Glimpse at “God’s Saintly Friends, Vol. 2” by Kathryn Reetzke

Park End Books has once again published a beautiful board book that introduces young Orthodox Christians to new “friends”: the saints of the Church. These new friends are no ordinary friends: because they are saints, they point us to Christ, and demonstrate the beautiful virtues that produce fruit in the life of each person who is truly following God. God’s Saintly Friends V. 2 is the second in this series of board books written by Kathryn Reetzke and illustrated by Abigail Holt. 

In this book, readers will meet eight sets of saintly friends, one for each spread of the book. This edition includes saints who were related to each other: Sts. Ruth and Naomi; St. Emelia and her children; Sts. Cosmos and Damien; Sts. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus; the Theotokos and St. Elizabeth; Sts. Cyril and Methodius; Sts. Benedict and Scholastica; and St. John the Forerunner. Kathryn Reetzke has succinctly written a one-sentence statement about each set of saints. This statement mentions the virtuous way in which a saintly friend points those around them to Christ. Each spread of the book also offers a few sentences introducing these saints who modeled that statement with their life. The spread also includes a drawing of the saints as they display the virtue and interact with these other members of their family.

Abigail Holt’s simple but beautiful illustrations pair beautifully with Reetzke’s words. The saintly friends are sketched in a straightforward style and colorized with a select palette. The illustrations are simple, but will be engaging for children of all ages. 

Readers will learn much from the words of the book, and desire to interact with their family members in a similar manner. Children will be especially drawn to the friendly faces and kindness of the saints on every page. The book may be one of those books that is just read over and over again. It could also be used for educational purposes: whether for a family study, or for a Church school class. With a little research and a few other resources, each spread could easily be crafted into a lesson about the saintly friends on that page (and the way in which they interacted with their family members), while also taking a closer look at the virtue that they modeled. Regardless of how the book is used, all who read it will be challenged to become a saintly friend and to seek saintly friends.

This book will be an asset to any family or Church school library. It would also make a beautiful gift, whether for a new baby, a baptism, a young child’s name day, or their birthday. (This reader liked it so much that she gave a copy to the newest little member of her parish on the day of her baptism!)

Find you own copy of this book here: https://parkendbooks.com/shop/gods-saintly-friends-volume-2/

The Antiochian Department of Christian Education thanks Park End Books for providing a copy of this book for review.

A Glimpse at “Maria the Mother of God” by Athena Dasiou-Ioannou and illustrated by Christina Douligeri

Newrome Press offers a beautiful picture book about the Theotokos, Maria the Mother of God, written by Athena Dasiou-Ioannou, and illustrated by Christina Douligeri. This book takes its readers through the earthly life of Mary, the Theotokos. Young children will love it for its beautiful illustrations, and older children will learn much from the text, scriptures, and songs incorporated into its pages. 

Author Athena Dasiou-Ioannou’s experience in and love for teaching children is evident in the way that she weaves scripture and the hymns of the church into the book, seamlessly entwining them with the carefully-explained story. In this way, the familiar songs and scriptures that children hear in Church are tied in perfectly with the story, connecting the story of the Theotokos’ life with their own experiences in the Divine services. Mary’s Greek name, Maria, is used for most of the book, and many of the hymns are provided in both English and in Greek, which is beautiful for children who are learning to speak and read both languages. Some vocabulary words are gently introduced in the story line, and a handful are listed in a glossary at the back of the book.

Illustrator Christina Douligeri’s art for this book does more than merely bringing life and color to the story. The pictures are truly beautiful, and include many carefully-chosen details. Each illustration is filled with soul and emotion, while also including so many similarities to icons that it will help young readers to recognize the saints both in the book and in their icon.  

This book is a great resource for families and church schools alike. It can be read many times throughout the year, as the Church year passes and we celebrate the many feasts of the Mother of God. May she pray for all of us.

Find your copy of Maria the Mother of God, here: https://www.newromepress.com/youth/SQ0255202.html 

Thanks to Newrome Press for supplying us with a copy of this book so that we could write this review. 

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts.

A Glimpse at “Lives of the Saints for Children: November: Friends of Christ” written by Demetrios and Anna Fotopoulos

Newrome Press has begun publishing a twelve-book series called Friends of Christ. Each book is filled with the stories of five saints who are commemorated during a particular month of the year. Here is a closer look at Lives of the Saints for Children: November: Friends of Christ, written by Demetrios and Anna Fotopoulos and illustrated by Paraskevi Hatzithanasi, translated by Nicholas Palis, and printed in 2021.

Authors Demetrios and Anna Fotopoulos have beautifully told the stories of five saints in this November edition of the Friends of Christ series. Readers will learn much about the lives of Venerable David of Evia ( commemorated on Nov. 1), St. Porphyrios the Mime (Nov. 4), Sts. Galaktion and Episteme (Nov. 5), St. John Chrysostom (Nov. 13), and the Holy Great Martyr Katherine (Nov. 25). Each saint’s story is told in such a way that children of various ages can understand. Readers (even adults) will be challenged to grow to be more like that saint. (This reader learned a great deal from this book, even about the two saints whose stories she thought she already knew!) The text is interesting, thorough, and understandable. And the stories were clearly written with young listeners in mind: even the hardships that the saints face (for example, St. Katherine’s martyrdom) are worded in a child-friendly manner. Translator Nicholas Palis has done a good job of expressing the stories in English.

Aside from the stories of the saints, this book offers a handful of other important resources. The book opens and closes with prayers. It opens with the morning prayer to one’s patron saint, and closes with the evening one. That seems a beautiful way to begin (or end) each reading, depending on the time of day, as the reader’s saint can certainly pray that God will work in the heart of the reader through reading the example of the saint in the book! The back of the book features several pages called “the Friends of Christ Glossary”: a thorough child-friendly explanation of difficult terms and unfamiliar places mentioned in the book.

Young children will be drawn to the illustrations on every page. Paraskevi Hazithanasi’s colorful sketches seem to draw heavily on iconographic representations, while also perfectly illustrating the portion of the saint’s story that is being told on that page. Her art helps each reader to better understand the text while also being able to easily identify the saint, should the reader later encounter the saint’s icon.

This sturdy hardcover book will last through many November readings. This is good, because it is likely that its readers will benefit from reading it year after year. One saint’s story could be read in one sitting, once a week (for a family night, or in a Sunday Church school class, for example), or bit by bit, across a series of days, until it is completed. The book comes with a large decal featuring one of the illustrations. This decal would be a fantastic addition to a timeline if the family or Church school room has one on their wall; but it also makes a wonderful bookmark to mark the reader’s place in each story.

You can order your own copy of Lives of the Saints for Children: November: Friends of Christ from Newrome Press, here: https://www.newromepress.com/youth/SQ0261011.html 

We thank Newrome Press for sharing this book with us, so that we can share it with you. 

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts

A Glimpse at “Philo, Liv, Loulou, and the Peace SuperHoly” by Mireille Mishriky

Mireille Mishriky offers another gift to Orthodox children in the form of her new book Philo, Liv, Loulou, and the Peace SuperHoly. As in the other Philo books, S. Violette Palumbo’s engaging illustrations add to the story, bringing the children and their circumstances to life. Once again Mishriky’s words and Palumbo’s illustrations collaborate successfully in the book.

In this book, Philo and his cousins Liv and Loulou enjoy a fun time with their grandparents, followed by an adventurous campout in the attic of the girls’ home. Readers of previous books in the “Philo” series will not be surprised when Philo is reminded to activate the SuperHolies, who are available to help him live his Orthodox Christian life to the best of his ability. First-time “Philo” readers will learn that the SuperHolies are virtues, always ready to help Christians do the right thing; and that they are activated by making the sign of the Cross.

In Philo, Liv, Loulou, and the Peace SuperHoly, the three children realize that they need the Peace SuperHoly’s help to face a stressful event. The Peace SuperHoly immediately whispers suggestions into their hearts. As the children act on those peace-giving suggestions, they are able to successfully work together on a big project, unhindered by the unnerving event.

Parents and children alike who read this story will find those practical suggestions for experiencing peace to be helpful in a variety of anxiety-laden situations. This small but mighty book also emphasizes working together, valuing family, and trusting God in all situations. All of this comes neatly wrapped inside a story that even young children will understand.

You can purchase this book here: https://www.amazon.com/Philo-Loulou-Peace-SuperHoly-SuperHolies/dp/1989379184

Kristina Wenger thanks Mireille Mishriky for the complementary ebook copy of this book, given so that this review could be written. Kristina is an educator, podcaster, and co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts.

To read Kristina’s reviews of the earlier books in the Philo and the SuperHolies series and to learn about classroom resources that pair well with the stories (including a Vacation Church School program), visit these posts from Orthodox Christian Sunday Church School Teachers:

A Handful of Resources – Summer 2018

Gleanings from a Book: “Philo and the Faithfulness SuperHoly” by Mireille Mishriky, Illustrated by S. Violette Palumbo

A Handful of New Resources

I Spy! Activity Page for “Beautiful Pascha: an Orthodox Coloring Book for Children”, Illustrated by Megan E. Gilbert

Ancient Faith Publishing recently released a beautiful coloring and activity book called Beautiful Pascha: an Orthodox Coloring Book for Children. The pages are full of delightful illustrations, drawn by Megan E. Gilbert, related to the themes of Great Lent, Holy Week, and Pascha. Some pages are intended for coloring, while others are activity pages. Every page helps to point the reader/colorer towards the joy of the resurrection of Christ.

There are many details tucked into the book’s 64 pages. In order to maximize those details, and to add a fun challenge, there is now an I Spy! activity page of 33 things to search for as you read/complete the book. Some listed items are only found at one place in the book, while others are scattered on multiple pages. How many of each can you find? Happy hunting, blessed Lent, and a joyful resurrection to you and your family!

I Spy! activity page for Beautiful Pascha: an Orthodox Coloring Book for Children

Find the book Beautiful Pascha: an Orthodox Coloring Book for Children (including free pages that you can download and use while you wait for it to arrive) here: https://store.ancientfaith.com/beautiful-pascha-an-orthodox-coloring-book-for-children/

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts

A Glimpse at the book “101 Orthodox Saints” by Sarah Wright and Alexandra Schmalzbach, Illustrated by Nicholas Malara

Ancient Faith Publishing has just released a gift to the English-speaking Orthodox Christian world. Wrapped in a sturdy hardcover and crammed with art, stories, and facts, this gift is the beautiful book 101 Orthodox Saints, written by Sarah Wright and Alexandra Schmalzbach, and illustrated by Nicholas Malara. This book is a breath of fresh air, bright with color, alive with stories and facts, and filled to the brim with intrigue.

From its introductory pages, the photos and illustrations draw the reader in, and they become curious to learn more. What are saints? How does someone become one? What does it mean to venerate a saint? Who is called to be a saint? How can this book be used? All of these questions (and more) are answered in an engaging manner in the few pages at the beginning of the book.

The bulk of the book is a page-by-page alphabetical sharing of information about 101 carefully-selected saints from all regions of the world and from all generations, who cross both continents and time to breathe the life of Christ into the reader’s soul. An abridged version of each saint’s story is told on their page. The page also includes important details about the saint’s life (including a map of where they are from, several fun facts, and the dates of their birth and repose, as well as their feast day), their icon, and related photos. Artist Nicholas Malara’s rendition of each saint beautifully reflects their love for God and gives the reader a realistic glimpse into a moment of their life. 

The authors have sorted the particular vocations of each saint, marking their page with simple sketches explained in a legend at the beginning of the book. (For example, St. Columba of Iona was a priest, a missionary, and a monastic so there are three sketches right under his icon that identify him as such.) This marking system allows readers to quickly flip through, find, and read about all of the saints that were royalty (or fools for Christ, hymnographers, wonderworkers, etc.). The book includes a beautiful timeline that places Malara’s illustrations in the order of when in time each saint lived. The authors have also included a glossary that is both thorough and accessible, along with an extensive index. 

Young children will be mesmerized by the beautiful new friends they will see in this book. Some older children will flip through and read all of the fun facts, making connections between the saints in the book and the places and history they are learning about at school. Some will read the book from cover to cover. Even adult readers will “meet” new (for them) saints and be challenged to live in the same godly manner. 

This book offers 101 refreshing glimpses into what a life truly lived for Christ can look like. Each of the 101 saints’ lives are unique, and they differ in many ways. But all of them share one thing in common: their complete dedication to and love for Christ.

It is a good thing that this book is so sturdily bound. Whether it belongs to a child, a family, a Church school class, a Church library, or a classroom, it will be poured over again and again. And, each time the reader inhales a bit more about the saints whose stories are told in its pages, they will grow closer to God and to His holy Church. What a gift.

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts

Purchase your own copy of the book here: https://store.ancientfaith.com/101-orthodox-saints/

For additional teaching resources and programs about the Saints, including ideas on hosting a Saints Festival, visit these previous posts from the Orthodox Christian Sunday Church School Teachers blog:

Saints of Recent Decades: Ideas for Biographical Storytelling

Ideas for Classroom Decorations, Part 3: Bulletin Boards Based on the Saints

Hosting a Saints Festival