In addition to your children reading about this story, they can also read about the original tradition, which I stated above. At the end a glossary is included, which lists a few key terms and tells a brief history of Constantinople and a short biography about the Emperor Theodosius II. The watercolor illustrations will captivate children of all ages, and the story is masterfully told. It's also hardcover, so it will stand up to some abuse that younger kids might put on it. Five stars!
Sweet Song tell the story of a lesser known saint in the West, Saint Romanos the Melodist. For those of you unfamiliar with this saint, he was a young, humble boy who dearly loved the Lord and worshiping the Lord. Unfortunately, he was a terrible singer. (I can relate, as I'm sure many can.) He tried his hardest every time he was called upon to sing in Church, but he was never any good, and the other singers made fun of him. One Christmas Eve, a miracle occurred, and he was able to sing gloriously at the Christmas Vigil. What happened? Buy the book and find out!
The illustrations in this book are darker than one would expect from a children's book. However, that darkness helps create a nice contrast when young Romanos finally is able to sing like he always dreamed. At the end of this book, a whole page is dedicated to more information about St. Romanos including his feast day, October 1st, and interesting facts. For example, some sources say he composed over one thousand hymns. Unfortunately, only 80 are still in existence. If your child loves music, this is the book for them. It's a beautiful story of our faith, so they will learn while reading and not even know it. Pair it with And then Nicholas Sang and build up their library of faith! Five stars.
These books were provided to me for free by Ancient Faith Publishing. If you found these review helpful, click here and here and hit Yes!
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