After the glowing reviews last year’s picture book extravaganza received, here is the list of NEW and popular picture books that families are loving right now!
Use this picture book list to check off some of your remaining Christmas gifts:
Christmas in Heaven
“What will Christmas be like for Grandma in Heaven?”
This is a question many children ask, and parents struggle to answer after the loss of a grandparent (or even a parent).
Here is the picture book I am using with my 4-year-old to talk about Christmas without her Papa:
This beautiful picture book opens with a boy asking his grandfather what Christmas will be like for his grandma. Will she miss all the family traditions now that she won’t be there?
As a grandfather relays how Christmas will be celebrated in Heaven, the family finds comfort in the theological virtue of hope — praying that grandma will be celebrating Jesus’ Birthday in Heaven with the Saints and angels.
Here is what one Catholic grandmother told us: “This is Grandpa’s 1st Christmas in Heaven. I will be traveling to be with my Grandchildren this Christmas. The Grandchildren need to hear about the Great love of Our Father who ‘sets a banquet for us.’ This year i will be reading this to them! Thank you!”
This stunningly illustrated book gives children an unforgettable vision of Heaven while introducing them to how each saint will assist in the celebrations! It also includes a helpful two-page glossary with short descriptions of each saint depicted.
Sarah and Simon Seek and Find: The Childhood of Jesus (Volume 5)
In this fifth volume of the Seek and Find series, children will see Jesus grow from a baby to a boy filled with wisdom (a perfect companion to the FIRST volume: The Life of Jesus)!
Along the way, they will look for Sara and Simon, a girl and a boy like them; Felix and Estella, a teacher and his daughter; Lavan and Hoom, the two cats; Gil the goat, and Shiloh, the three-legged dog.
Find Book 4 in the series HERE
Saint Carlo Acutis: The Amazing Discovery of a Teenager in Heaven
Okay, we are cheating a little since this is not a picture book. BUT it is filled with photos!
This expanded 3rd edition includes 30% more content–including the canonization process (investigation, official decree, and the Mass!). BONUS: Find a beautiful Novena to Saint Carlo Acutis at the end of the book!
If your child has ever wondered, “How does someone become a Saint?” then this is the book for them!
Follow along, step-by-step, as we examine the methodical and meticulous process that the Catholic Church follows to determine who is in Heaven, and learn about the miracles that revealed that Carlo is there!
One mom told us, “My middle school students are obsessed with Carlo Acutis- and with good reason! More than just a biography, the book also includes practical explanations of the canonization process, growing in holiness, and more.”
This is a perfect gift for godchildren or any child who is preparing for Confirmation (this book will help them understand HOW someone becomes a Saint)!
Holy Mysteries! 12 Investigations into Extraordinary Cases
This intriguing and fun book investigates 12 mysterious, inexplicable cases that have happened in the history of the Catholic faith, some of which still continue to happen or remain today. These cases consider such questions as:
- Did the sun really dance at Fatima before 70,000 people?
- Did a Host from a Mass actually turn into human flesh?
- Whose face appears on the Shroud of Turin, and how did it get on it?
- What happens with the Holy Fire at the Holy Sepulcher every Holy Saturday evening?
- Why does the bell of Rocamadour sometimes ring for no reason?
- Who was the mysterious carpenter that built a spiral staircase without nails that stands by itself?
- How did the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe get painted on the tilma of Juan Diego?
- How do the bodies of some saints remain intact and never corrupt?
Very Young Catholics in Mexico
Very Young Catholics in Mexico is a companion to Very Young Catholics in Austria, as it recounts contrasting traditions for the Christmas season, while revealing the same underlying Catholic faith and joy!
The high-spirited young girl of this story enjoys all the ancient and beloved traditions of Advent and Christmas seasons in Mexico as she makes piñatas with her mother, takes part in the posada procession, attends midnight Mass, and enjoys ring cake on the Feast of the Magi! She dances with a group that leads several of the Guadalupe processions, as Mexico’s celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!
Listen to a sample read aloud of a chapter from this 100+ volume:
A Little Catholic’s First Rosary Books (4 book series)
The ultimate picture book series for the Rosary!
All the mysteries–all the beads–every bead a picture = WOW! That’s a lot of pictures!!
One mom told us: “I’ve never seen anything like this, but it makes so much sense. A genius idea!”
Even before they can read words, they can read pictures–and that’s the wonder of this picture prayer book:
- Every prayer in the rosary has its own page, its own picture. Children recognize which prayer to say from the picture!
- Each decade of rosary is a story that is brought to life by 10 colorful illustrations–one for each Hail, Mary!
- It’s an easy way to teach using rosary beads, too, because along the top of each page you can see what bead you’re on.
- Creates the foundation of contemplation in the heart and mind of a child for this wonderful devotion
Our Lady’s Wardrobe
This delightful rhyming book introduces Catholic children to the Blessed Virgin Mary in a fun and simple way—through her apparitions and the clothes she wore!
When Our Lady lived in Nazareth, she was very poor and would have dressed very simply.
But now in Heaven, she has a great variety of dresses, veils, sashes, robes, and crowns!
Our Lady’s Wardrobe tells the story of some of her most famous apparitions, highlighting the clothes she wore and the things she did.
By reading this book, children will not only learn about the Mother of God, but will also learn the main purpose of her life—to love and serve her son, Jesus Christ, and to lead others to do the same.
One last thing for the MOMS:
St. Hildegard’s Garden: Recipes and Remedies for Healing Body and Soul
As a pioneer of European phytotherapy, St. Hildegard described and cataloged hundreds of ingredients from plant, mineral, and animal origins. Her recipes, remedies, nutritional advice, and holistic view of the human being are as valued and appreciated today as when she developed them nearly a thousand years ago.
Through over 200 pages, this book faithfully applies Hildegard’s pioneering thought to everyday living in our time. In these potent pages, you will find the medicinal properties of essential herbs as well as how to identify, utilize, and cultivate them. You will also learn:
- “Hildegard’s elixir” for curing common ailments
- Ways to include delicious herbs in your dinner and dessert recipes to fortify your health
- The herbs that will help you relieve forgetfulness and ease muscle tension
- Effective treatments for nervous, digestive, circulatory, respiratory, and hormonal illnesses
- Recipes for preparing everything from breakfast dishes and soups to medicinal wines, teas, poultices, ointments, oils, plasters, and eye drops
- Which “herb of the angels” is used to treat anxiety, fatigue, and much more
