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This is a very cute and sturdy volume for children who are ready to begin enjoying the stories from the bible but not quite ready for the real thing yet. The paraphrasing is cross-referenced with the corresponding biblical passages and the language is warm and simple yet not overly toned down. Some important passages are kept in the traditional language, such as Psalm 23, the Beatitudes and the Our Father.

Here is an example of the language from the chapter Daniel in the Lions' Den:

The king quickly let Daniel out of the lions' cage, and the jealous men were put in his place. The lions quickly ate them up.

Author Ann Ball is well known to homeschool families: her book Catholic Traditions in the Home and Classroom seems to be in every Catholic homeschool. This friendly child-friendly volume will also serve Catholic families well in the homeschool, offering a curriculum option for Bible stories in the earlier grades.

As the back covers states, this book of Bible stories is "fully Catholic". Indeed, this is the case! It is so lovely to be able to give to our children a book of bible stories that corroborate the faith we teach them at home. Peter is referred to as the first pope, and Mary's Immaculate conception is discussed, along with her Assumption. One of the final chapters is entitled "The Bible and Sacred Tradition" and explains in simple terms the Church's teaching on Sacred, or Apostolic tradition. The illustrations are also very friendly-- although done in simple watercolors, they are attractive and professional. A cute "talking" goldfish named Icthus is introduced in the very beginning and pops up often throughout the book with the important lesson of the story.

The Catholic Bookmark Kit includes 15 ready-to-color 3” by 8” durable card stock bookmarks with 5 different designs, including a Psalm verse, several clever sayings, such as Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (BIBLE), or a Catholic quote (“The worst prison is a closed heart” by Pope John Paul II), all reminding children of the spiritual values of their faith. The artwork is bold, dramatic, fun, and professional looking. To make them last even longer, you may want to laminate them.

My children have always loved picture cards for learning about subjects - animals, art, flags, etc. I love it when the cards are fastened together in some way so that they don't get lost and thus rendered useless. Catholic Cardlinks: Patron Saints is just the sort of resource that makes everyone happy!

Children will love (I speak from experience with my own brood) to befriend the saints with this charming resource that they can so easily hold in their little hands. Each elongated cardstock sheet has a colorful sketch of a saint (48 saints in all) with a short biography. The pages fan out so that you can see all of the faces at once. Or open to one at a time and spend a little time reading about your favorites. When I leave this sort of book laying in reach of my little ones (especially the pre-readers), they will become acquainted with the pictures over time and find their favorites that they ask me to read about over and over. What a nice way to help young children develop a devotion to a favorite saint!

I'm also delighted to see such colorful and creative resources being published for young children.

Treasure Box Books: 20 volume set

This set of colorful books for ages 3-8 are reprints of a Catholic magazine from the 1950s. They are filled with stories, games, picture puzzles, poems, crafts, etc. The pictures are beautiful and I like the very simple moral lessons many of the stories teach. (For example, when my daughter was three, she was very impressed by a story called "Peter the Picky Eater". Her eating habits changed and she honestly admitted that she wished I hadn't read it to her.) There are currently 20 volumes in print out of more than 60 that were originally published (unfortunately it may take quite awhile to find out what happens to Wupsy in the end!).

We have especially enjoyed the St. Therese stories from the first few volumes. These have been a favorite mostly among the preschool set in our family. While many Catholic homeschool parents treasure these books, there are two complaints that I've heard from a number of parents. First, some parents have bought the set thinking they would be nice for early grade school and found them to be more appropriate for preschool (as read-alouds). Second, the pedagogy at times doesn't hold up to serious scrutiny. Complaints include the sappy way in which the devil is presented in the Wupsy stories and the "self-righteous" expressions on some of the faces in the illustrations.