This is a lovely book with color photos of the Holy Father with children and quotes from speeches and letters that the Holy Father has addressed to children throughout the world. I was so pleased to find such an appealing Catholic book with color pictures and solid text.

The Pictures: Besides photos of the Pope holding and hugging children, there are: a large first communion class pictured with the Pope, a bishop and a number of nuns (in full habit); children from around the world praying (these are very beautiful and quite reverent - such as a group of girls from South Korea in traditional costume in addition to lace chapel veils singing); a picture of the Pope in a classroom looking at a young boy's schoolwork, children stopping their play by a river to look up and wave at the Pope driving by in the "popemobile", two young children receiving their First Holy Communion from the Holy Father (on the tongue!), a baby being baptized by the Pope, and a vintage picture of the Holy Father at his own First Holy Communion (along with a few paragraphs of his remembrance of the occasion).

The Text: Even better than the pictures is the text. Rather than someone else's interpretation of the Pope, we have the Pope himself, appealing to children to pray for him and for the world, to remember Jesus in the Eucharist even in their play and on vacation, renounce violence and learn to love peace in the way the Lord teaches us. They are very thoughtful and powerful passages to read and reflect upon for children of all ages. The quotes are well-chosen and are so beautiful and revealing and contain so much truth about children that they would also make excellent meditations for newly-married couples and expectant mothers (and really all parents - even the best parents can use a healthy reminder of the great gifts God has given us in our children - particularly when the house is torn apart, the two year old is wreaking havoc and the baby is crying!!).

I always look forward to the new books published by Neumann Press, and this book was worth waiting for! God In Our House is a collection of essays that were originally published on a weekly basis in a Catholic magazine named America. Because this feature of the magazine was so popular, the editors published this book, which Neumann Press has now republished.

Beginning with the First Sunday of Advent and concluding with the Last Sunday After Pentecost, each essay is based on a passage from the gospel reading of the day. All Sundays and many Holy Days are included, with the same format: the passage is cited and followed by an approximately two-page essay or story. The author, a father of five, often uses examples from the daily life of a busy family to explain the passage. His style is so appealing! As you progress through the year, you come to know his family almost as well as the teachings of the gospels.

Our family has a custom of re-reading the Sunday gospels on Sunday evenings, and we try to read from a Catholic book as well. With a wide age-span amongst our children, it has been difficult to find a book suitable and enjoyable for all. This book fits our Sunday evenings perfectly. The reading for the week would also be profitable if it were read before Sunday, perhaps as a part of Friday's religion class or Saturday's preparation for Sunday. It only takes a few minutes, but the lessons learned through these enjoyable stories will remain. Buy this book in the hardcover edition! You will enjoy it THAT much as you read it year after year.

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.

God's Little Flower is not so much a biography but an age-appropriate explanation of St. Therese's spirituality. There are no dates or quotations or geography lessons slipped into the text, yet it manages to convey an even more important lesson–that of quiet, loving service to God through our prayers and sufferings.