Recently republished by New Hope Publications, the lay Dominican community in New Hope KY, Truth Was Their Star by Sr. Mary Jean Dorcy, OP offers a gentle introduction to various Dominican saints. Naturally, since she is a Dominican, she would be interested in sharing the lives of several Dominican saints. While not talking down to the child, the text is written as though speaking to a younger child. Each chapter is really an introduction to a particular saint offering a vignette about his or her life, or encapsulating a series of popular stories about the saint.

It was the day before Christmas in a modern-day Russian village which has lived through the closing of their church, St. Nicholas. When the church was first closed, everything inside the church mysteriously disappeared and the priest was gone. Now, even though the soldiers were gone, there seemed to be no way to celebrate Mass on Christmas day. Young Alexi questions his babushka about this, but all seems hopeless. Still, she explains that "A miracle happens when God enters into your dream. But first you must have the dream."...

Rather than take a morning vitamin, our family reads Saints for Young Readers for Every Day every morning! It is a two volume set, with a saint story for every day (sometimes two). The first volume contains saints for January to June, the second volume covers the rest of the year. This hardcover set is a little expensive, but worth the money. We leave it on the kitchen counter, and do a daily reading with breakfast each day. The stories are well-written, engaging, and always one or two pages in length. There are black and white line drawings that accompany some stories.

This book contains ideas, history, personal anecdotes, traditional prayers, instructions, etc. for incorporating religious traditions into your family's celebration of Advent and Christmas. Using just one or two of the ideas listed in this book will make this season much more meaningful for you and your family.