Biographies

God's Little Flower, the Story of St. Therese of Lisieux

Book cover: God's Little Flower, the Story of St. Therese of Lisieux
Author(s): 
Chris Driscoll
Illustrator(s): 
Patrick Kelley

St. Therese of Lisieux is a very popular saint whose life story is easily understood by children. While not full of action and adventure, her life story's simplicity and sweetness are appealing to even the most worldly of children. This lovely picture book, with its carefully chosen vocabulary and sentence structures, is written on a level that will allow a 3rd-grade and up child to read it for himself or herself. The full-page illustrations are attractive, colorful, simple, and modern in style, adding to the story rather than overwhelming it.

J.R.R. Tolkien

Book cover: J.R.R. Tolkien
Author(s): 
Michael Coren

This is a surprisingly good, very readable biography of one of the most popular authors of all time. J.R.R. Tolkien was born in South Africa, the son of an English banker. After her return to England and the death of her husband, Tolkien's mother, Mabel, converted to Catholicism. Shunned by relatives after this, she was assisted by a kind parish priest who took care of her two sons after she died at age 34.

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers

Book cover: The Story of the Trapp Family Singers
Author(s): 
Maria Augusta Trapp

This is the actual book, written in 1949, which inspired the script of the movie the Sound of Music. It is Maria and her family's autobiography, covering some early details of the Captain and Maria's separate lives and the history of the family from Maria's position as teacher to the young Maria all the way through the late 1940s. After reading the World of the Trapp Family (reviewed below), I finally picked up this book which I had started to read years earlier, but never finished.

The World of the Trapp Family

Book cover: 'The World of the Trapp Family'
Author(s): 
William Anderson

Whenever I hear the phrase "based on a true story", I want to know what the true story was. The World of the Trapp Family will provide just that for anyone interested in the real family behind The Sound of Music. The movie is just factual enough that Sound of Music fans will surely enjoy the flesh and blood behind the story. However, the real family is so much more vivid and fascinating than the movie that this book will probably be enjoyed even by those who didn't care for the movie (or grew tired of seeing it too many times.)

Celtic Heritage Saints

Book cover: Celtic Heritage Saints
Author(s): 
Marian Keaney

This book offers short, readable biographies of sixteen of Ireland (and Scotland's) greatest saints (covering the years from St. Patrick through 1142). The writing style and illustrations are reminiscent of Once Upon a Time Saints by Ethel Pochocki (Bethlehem Books). Despite the simplicity of the book (approximately a 4th grade reading level) it covers an important and oft-forgotten part of Catholic history.

Saint Philip of the Joyous Heart

Book cover: Saint Philip of the Joyous Heart
Author(s): 
Francis X. Connolly

The lovely story of the 16th century priest and saint of Rome whose joy brought many away from the evils of the day. He patiently bore a great deal of emotional persecution from some fellow priests, but eventually won his tormentors over to the love of Christ. Many insights into the meaning of a vocation and how to spread the joy of Christ.

Witness to Hope

Book cover: Witness to Hope
Author(s): 
George Weigel

In what is being widely hailed as the definitive biography of Pope John Paul II, faithful Roman Catholic theologian and journalist George Weigel presents a thorough look at Pope John Paul II from the inside. With a rich complement of Polish history and in-depth coverage of the Holy Father's cultural, philosophical and spiritual background, he portrays a vivid and accurate picture of who the Pope really is and what he's trying to accomplish (and has already accomplished) as the Vicar of Christ.

Citadel of God

Book cover: Citadel of God
Author(s): 
Louis de Wohl

Citadel of God is set in Italy of the early 6th century. The Roman Empire is decaying. An Ostrogoth king, Theodoric, is marching in triumph to occupy Italy. A young boy, ward of the respected Roman scholar Boethius, rushes in to stab the barbarian conquerer with a stylus in defense of Old Rome and is rescued from death by a young scholar from Nursia who is called Benedictus.

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