All artwork ©2018 Meghan Bausch
I love a good children’s book about the saints. As I was working on my own saint book for Our Sunday Visitor, I was happy to receive a copy of Saintly Rhymes for Modern Times by Meghan Bausch that OSV had recently published. It was sent to me so that I could see the size and format that my own book would be (a glossy hardcover), and I was excited to add another Catholic children’s book to my collection!
Meghan both wrote and illustrated this book, and I could tell that great care was taken with the lovely little rhymes that accompany each saint, blessed or venerable person. She was able to capture the essence of their earthly lives in two short, rhyming paragraphs per saint - an impressive feat! It all works out as a perfect way to introduce your younger kiddos, who might have short attention spans, to lives that are holy and worth emulating. Saintly Rhymes for Modern Times features the profiles of 19 post-industrial figures. The book is a good length for those wee ones as well. Meghan does mention the martyrdoms of a couple of the saints, but they are naturally woven into the little bio’s and are not jarring. Some very popular saints are featured, such as St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and Pope St. John Paul II. Two of my favorite up-and-coming saints, venerable Fulton Sheen and blessed Chiara Badano also have profiles in this book.
Now for the art part! Meghan was quite innovative in combining real photo backgrounds, digital drawing, and real textiles together to create bright and colorful illustrations. The effect makes for a fun type of collage. I think that the textiles found in the composite clothing and furniture on and around the figures may be my favorite part. And some of the illustrated borders are real picture frames!
The faces of the saints and blesseds are simply drawn, yet quite expressive. Most of them have serene smiles with lively eyes. I particularity like St. Bakhita’s and Mother Theresa’s faces.
If you have a young kid or two that you would like to start teaching about the lives of the saints, then you can’t go wrong with Saintly Rhymes for Modern Times!
Information:
Saintly Rhymes for Modern Times
Author/Illustrator: Meghan Bausch
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
My Suggested Age Range: 3-7
