Irish Children's Books (Pauline Books and Media)

Two of the most recognized and beloved saints in Catholicism are St. Patrick and St. Brigid. Today, I am reviewing two children's books on these saints, available from Pauline Books and Media. The first one is called Patrick and the Fire. Patrick and the Fire begins with a boy named Bevan herding goats, a task he did not particularly like. While doing his job, a man named Patrick greets him and asks where to find the King. Bevan explains to him that it would not be a good day to meet the king, but Patrick insists. It is the feast day of a god named Balor, and the king must light the first fire. Patrick has an idea to light a fire first in honor of Christ's Resurrection. Doing so infuriates the king until Patrick explains to him who God is. The king is puzzled at first, but seeing Patrick's bravery and the fact that he can't extinguish Patrick's fire causes the king to reconsider. He instead grants Patrick permission to spread the Gospel through all of Ireland. This is a nice little book that gives your children a religious story mixed with history, legend, and a little bit of adventure. I really like how the book opens with the prayer to St. Patrick and closes with a brief biography on who St. Patrick was.

Brigid and the Butter tells the story of a little girl who lives on the farm with her mother. They are not a wealthy family at all and barely have enough to eat themselves, but Brigid is a cheerful girl and a hard worker. She is in charge of milking the cows and churning the butter, and she loved the taste of butter. One day Brigid heard Bishop (future Saint) Patrick preaching about Jesus feeding the hungry all because a little boy sacrificed his food so others could eat. This caused Brigid to think deeply. In the coming days, a starving woman came to her door asking for food. Brigid had no bread, only butter. She was hesitant at first to help the woman, but she remembered the words of Bishop Patrick. She gave the woman the only food she had (the butter) and after Brigid thanked God for the opportunity to help the woman, God blessed her with twice as much butter as she had sacrificed. This is a sweet story that shows children that you should joyfully help others. Like its companion book, Patrick and the Fire, it too includes a prayer to Saint Brigid and a brief biography on this saint.

These books were provided to me for free by Pauline Books and Media in exchange for an honest review.