Guest Reviewer: Christine Peters
I enjoyed reading Our Lady’s Picture Book by Anthony DeStefano, Illustrated by Juliana Kolesova, to the Kindergarten class I worked with at St. Joseph Catholic School in Vancouver, WA last year. The beautiful illustrations and rhymes kept the children’s attention. When I paused before saying the rhyming words, they were fast at guessing them, and enjoyed it like a game. They enjoyed all the illustrations, but the boys were especially interested in the two-page illustration of the Christian and Turkish battle ships (at the battle of Lepanto) and peppered me with questions.
Artwork © Sophia Press
Besides the gorgeous illustrations, my favorite feature of this book is the last rhyming verse beside each illustration of Our Lady, where the author speaks directly to the reader with the words, “So when…”
I.e. next to Our Lady of Sorrows, he advises,
“So when you’re feeling sad and blue
and gloomy now and then,
ask Our Lady for her help
to make you smile again.”
Hearing that their heavenly mother is always ready to help them is comforting to children. For these reasons, I highly recommend this book as a read-aloud to young children, and a read-to-self book for independent readers. Since we’re all Our Lady’s children, this wonderful book is for the whole family to read and enjoy.
Information:
Author: Anthony DeStefano
Illustrator: Juliana Kolesova
Publisher: Sophia Institute Press
Age Range: 8-12 years
