This audio cassette tells the stories of three different animals who played roles in the lives of the Saints. They are told from the animals' point of view and are appropriate for small children. Similar to other Regina Martyrum audio dramas, they are performed with a full cast of voices and appropriate music and sound effects. I especially like the first story which helps to explain the Catholic belief about the Eucharist and the story of a miracle and a conversion involving St. Anthony of Padua and a donkey named Joshua.

Vol. 3: Amazing Angels and Super Saints It's time to have a party! A saints and angels party. In this volume, the family - Papa, Josh, and Hannah - hosts an All Saints' Party for the kids and their friends. The format is the same as the other two volumes. Moses, the family cat, introduces the audio show with commentary in the middle and at the end, the family has discussions about the faith to lead the children to a greater understanding of the Catholic truths of the faith, the dialogue is interspersed with lively, contemporary songs, and the evening's entertainment closes with a prayer. To spice up the program with a little variety, a new character, Rocko - "the coolest dog in town" (who likes to banter with Moses) - joins the cast.

Just as in a real Saints' Day party, the children take turns on stage, dressed in costume, giving presentations of various saints and angels, including St. Michael, St. Therese, a Guardian angel, St. Dominic Savio, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Dressed as St. Joseph, Papa also gives a presentation. With all new foot-tapping songs your children will love to sing, sound effects with pizzazz, and interesting stories to encourage them to live more like Jesus, this CD is sure to be a hit.

These charming readers, which are appropriate for a second grade reading level, contain "stories written and compiled in days long past by Catholic nuns in America and dedicated to Mary the Mother of God our dear Lady of the Miraculous Medal." My second grader (who is somewhat advanced in reading level) enjoyed these very much and polished off all four volumes in the first week of school - including one book which she read straight through without putting it down (she requested that I include that detail in the review). She really loves the small size and the beauty of the books themselves and has read them over and over.

I thought it was nice how the stories were so often inter-related as many of them were about the Sisters of Charity and some of their pupils, the founder St. Vincent de Paul, and other related saints, including St. Catherine Laboure and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. The books introduced my daughter to these saints and others (including St. Isaac Jogues and St. Edmund Campion) and she is now planning on working her way through the Vision Books and Mary Fabyan Windeatt titles about these saints.

The books would offer some good reading practice, a little more appealing than the older Catholic reading texts, while promoting Catholic virtues and tidbits from history. The numerous illustrations are black and white silhouette-like drawings.

What a lovely book! Legends of Saints and Beasts retells the stories of four saints and their associations with animals. Included in this beautiful hardbound collection are the stories of Saint Jerome and the lion, Saint Roch and his dog, Saint Francis and the Wolf, and Saint Macarius and the hyena. The text is written in a decorative style in which capital letters are colored in a pattern reminiscent of medieval texts, and the colorful line-drawn illustrations are charming. The choice of vocabulary also has an old-world feeling to it that adds a great deal to the stories' style but puts the independent reading level probably from fourth grade and up. The final three pages of the book contain more detailed background information about the lives of these saints, making this an even more special book. Highly recommended!