Biographies

Bernadette, Our Lady's Little Servant

Book cover: 'Bernadette, Our Lady's Little Servant'
Author(s): 
Hertha Pauli
In the consistent style of the Vision Series of non-fiction Catholic stories for young people, the author presents a very engaging account of the important story of Our Lady's appearnces to Bernadette Soubirous - probably the poorest and simplest child in the small town of Lourdes, France. Bernadette's beautiful devotion is inspiring and her stubborn honesty is refreshing. More important, however, is Our Lady's message and her profound effect on those who come to her out of devotion and sometimes only curiosity.

Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal

Book cover: Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal
Author(s): 
Robert T. Reilly

The true story of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, an Irish prince who fought the English Invaders at the time of Queen Elizabeth. This is a fast paced story – quite exciting and with a touch of romance. The hardships endured by Red Hugh, particularly during his imprisonment, are a bit graphic, but probably not too intense for mid-gradeschoolers and up. We are reminded of Red Hugh's faith when he asks the English to let him see a priest. The request is refused and the reader is introduced to the tactics of indoctrination, used to attempt to sway the hero from his Irish and Catholic loyalties.

St Monica: Model of Christian Mothers

Author(s): 
F.A. Forbes
This book tells of the life of St. Monica (332-387 A.D.), mother of St Augustine of Hippo. As a young girl in a Christian family, she heard the stories of the early martyrs and asked God to let her suffer for Him. Her prayer was granted in an unexpected way as she became the wife of a pagan and the mother of a son who, though brilliant and talented, soon fell into sinful ways and in time adopted the heretical beliefs of the Manichees.

George Washington

Book cover: George Washington
Author(s): 
Ingri & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

It is just like the D'Aulaire's to create a story (complete with beautiful full-color illustrations) that would be interesting and appealing to small children and yet teach more about the character and upbringing of "the Father of Our Country" than most textbooks. The story covers our First President's early childhood – growing up in Colonial America – his adventures (and character) as a young officer during the French and Indian War and, of course, his role in the American Revolution and as president.

Saint John Bosco and Saint Dominic Savio

Book cover: 'Saint John Bosco and Saint Dominic Savio'
Author(s): 
Catherine Beebe
This was the book that got our family "hooked" on the Vision Series. I happened to find it at a Used Book store (Ignatius Press books are fairly easy to spot because of the contrasting color around the author's name on the spine of the book). I didn't expect my children to be interested in full-length books at such a young age (my oldest had just turned five). Somehow we got started and they loved it. This is a particularly good Saint story to start with because St. John Bosco is a special patron of children and especially boys.

Francis and Clare

Book cover: 'Francis and Clare: Saints of Assisi'
Author(s): 
Helen Walker Homan
I've been reading a number of the Vision Books aloud to my five year old daughter and she seems to like each one more than the last. The story of Saint Francis is both uplifting and enjoyable, due to the many humorous events captured in the story. The book is also informative enough to be interesting to older children and even adults (I had never read a full-length book about St. Francis).

Abraham Lincoln

Book cover: Abraham Lincoln
Author(s): 
Ingri & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
Rea Berg (Editor)

Our family has almost worn out our copy of this well-loved book. Abraham Lincoln the boy comes alive in the story and illustrations. We see him grow to a young man and take several adventurous trips "down river" and learn that a fortune-teller from New Orleans predicted that he would be president some day. The authors indicate his empathy for the slaves during this trip and show how his honesty and integrity eventually win the respect of many, although they don't make for an easy life.

Richer than a Millionaire

Author(s): 
Paul Waldmann
The brief autobiography of a Jewish man who grew up in the Austria in the 20s and 30s. He witnessed the persecution of the Jews but was able to avoid being sent to a concentration camp by escaping to America where he later converted to Catholicism.

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