19th century

St. Therese of Lisieux from Lives of the Saints by Rev. Alban Butler (copyright 1894)

"Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin, known as "The Little Flower of Jesus," was born at Alencon, France, on January 2nd, 1873. Reared in a home of comfort and surrounded by refinements that would have spoiled an ordinary child, Teresa's intelligence had an early dawning which enabled her to comprehend the Divine Goodness far in advance of her tender years. Our Lord visited upon the child a severe trial--a strange malady from which there seemed no recovery. Her implicit confidence in God, however, overcame her infirmity and she progressed rapidly toward sanctity.Teresa adopted flowers as the symbol of her love for her Divine Saviour and offered her practices in virtue, sacrifice, and mortification as flowers at the feet of Jesus. At fifteen she entered the Carmelite Convent at Lisieux, France, where she distinguished herself by punctual observance of the rule, burning love for God and wonderful trust in Him. Before she died, this "lily of delicious perfume"--as Pope Pius X. called her--revealed to the superiors her life story in pages of rarest beauty.She died in the odor of sanctity on September 30th, 1897, at the age of 24. Since her death countless graces have been attributed to her intercession. Pope Benedict XV, in 1921 opened the way for the process of her beatification and she was declared Blessed by Pope Pius XI. on April 29, 1923, and was canonized on May 17, 1925."
St. Therese was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II in 1997.

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.

St. Therese and the Roses

Book cover: 'St. Therese and the Roses'
Author(s): 
Helen Walker Homan

Therese Martin (1873 - 1897) was the youngest of five girls growing up in a devout Catholic family in France in the late nineteenth century. We all know how, in just over one hundred years she has become one of the most beloved Saints in the Church and has recently been named "Doctor of the Church" by Pope John Paul II. This is the delightful and moving story of a little girl who became a great saint; of five sisters who were all called to religious vocations.

Little Therese

Book cover: 'Little Therese'
Author(s): 
Adapted from Pere J. Carbonel, S.J.

This biography of St. Therese of Lisieux for children emphasizes the story of her childhood, her simple spirituality as taught to her by her family with an emphasis on the little acts of sacrifice she made and how that helped her to develop control of her will. The story includes many details of Therese's childhood and family life that Catholic homeschool families will relate to. It is told in a way that encourages young children to offer little sacrifices to God in imitation of this saint. I was particularly amused to hear that St.

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.

Catholic Children's Treasure Box Books 1-6, story of St. Therese

A multi-part story of St. Therese's life is told in these six books with lovely colorful illustrations. This version would be especially appealing to three to six year old children. The story includes quite a few interesting details focusing on Therese's acts of sacrifices and offerings to God of everything she did - both those things that were hard for her to do (such as giving some flowers that she had just picked to her grandmother to use at the altar) to those things that she enjoyed doing. Also included are instructions for making the St.

The Orphans Find a Home

Book cover: 'The Orphans Find a Home: A St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Story'
Author(s): 
Joan Stromberg

This is the story of three orphan immigrants - Maria, an Italian in her early teens, Molly, a little Irish girl with a way of getting into trouble, and Ming, a very shy Chinese girl. Maria, Molly and Ming, survive for a time by sticking together and living in a dark boiler room until their lives are changed by meeting Mother Cabrini. The author, who is a Catholic homeschooling mother, has included questions and other study helps in the areas of history, geography, vocabulary and religion.

Noble Heroine of Charity

This is the story of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, the little Italian nun who came as a missionary to help the Italian immigrants, orphans and many others in America. She was the first American citizen to be canonized. This audio drama is very nicely performed with a full cast and narrator, music and sound effects. My daughter especially enjoyed this story since we had recently read Joan Stromberg's, The Orphans Find a Home: A St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Story.