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Brother Wolf, Sister Sparrow
From Saint Francis to Saint Brigid, this book highlights the relationships between "the beasts of the field" and the birds of the sky and twelve holy men and women who cared for them. Through simple faith and compassion, these remarkable people tamed ravenous wolves, rescued deer, and rode whales. Eric A. Kimmel's warmhearted tales and John Winch's splendid illustrations will encourage peace and understanding among all creatures.
- GenresPicture Books
62 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2003
About the author
Eric A. Kimmel
145 books113 followersEric A. Kimmel is an American author of more than 150 children's books. His works include Caldecott Honor Book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman), Sydney Taylor Book Award winners The Chanukkah Guest and Gershon's Monster, and Simon and the Bear: A Hanukkah Tale.
Kimmel was born in Brooklyn, New York and earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Lafayette College in 1967, a master's degree from New York University, and a PhD in Education from the University of Illinois in 1973. He taught at Indiana University at South Bend, and at Portland State University, where he is Professor Emeritus of Education.
Kimmel lives with his wife, Doris, in Portland, Oregon.
Kimmel was born in Brooklyn, New York and earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Lafayette College in 1967, a master's degree from New York University, and a PhD in Education from the University of Illinois in 1973. He taught at Indiana University at South Bend, and at Portland State University, where he is Professor Emeritus of Education.
Kimmel lives with his wife, Doris, in Portland, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 31, 2020
Prolific children's author and folklorist Eric A. Kimmel here presents twelve legends concerning Catholic saints who were celebrated for their special relationship with animals. Opening with Saint Francis of Assisi's "Sermon to the Birds," this lovely collection includes:
Saint Ambrose and the Bees, in which the 4th-century Italian saint is swarmed with bees as an infant, but remains unharmed, eventually growing up to become the Bishop of Milan.
Saint Blaise and the Animals, which follows the story of the 4th-century Armenian saint, who flees to a remote cave in the mountains when he receives word that the Roman governor plans to have him arrested. Here he preaches to the animals, becoming their close friend and healer.
Saint Brendan and the Whale, which relates the legend of the 6th-century Irish saint's voyage to a far-western land, which some today believe was in the Americas. On this voyage, the saint and his companions find shelter on an island that proves to be a floating whale.
Saint Brigid and the Cows, in which the 5th/6th-century Irish saint gives away all of the milk and butter produced by her father's herd of cows, and after being punished for her actions by her earthly parent, receives a miraculous sign from God that she has done right.
Saint Francis and the Wolf, which follows the 12th-century Italian saint as he manages to make peace between a marauding wolf and the townspeople who had become his targets.
Saint Giles and the Doe, in which the 7th/8th-century French saint protects a beautiful white doe from the Emperor Charlemagne, putting his own body between the hunter and his quarry.
Saint Hormisdas and the Camels, which sees the 5th-century Persian saint persecuted for his Christian faith, and forced to work as a stableboy caring for the king's camels. He is eventually put to death, together with Ahriman, the surly camel he had won over through his kindness and good care.
Saint Hubert and the Stag, which follows the story of a 7th/8th-century French nobleman who has an extraordinary vision whilst out hunting a great stag, and thereafter dedicates his life to God.
Saint Hugh and the Swan, in which the 12th-century Bishop of Lincoln, together with his pet swan, help to save the Jews of that city, when they seek shelter in the cathedral.
Saint Kevin and the Otters, which sees the 6th-century Irish saint, who wants only to be a solitary hermit, but instead finds himself the leader of a group of monks, aided by the local river otters, when it comes to feeding his followers.
Saint Martin and the Goose, in which the fourth-century saint attempts to escape his fate, and resists becoming the Bishop of Tours, only to be convinced that it is God's will by an insistent goose.
Saint Notburga and the Pigs, in which the 13th/14th-century Austrian saint, a serving girl in the castle of Count Henry of Rattenberg, gives her master's leftover food away to the poor, rather than feeding it to the pigs.
I enjoyed these stories, some of which were already known to me, and some of which were unfamiliar. I do wish that Kimmel, whose source for the stories was Butler's Lives of the Saints , had provided a little bit more detail about each saint. As someone who wasn't raised Catholic, a number of the figures mentioned here were unknown to me - Saint Hormisdas, for instance, or Saint Hugh - and I would have liked to know more. His brief afterword, explaining what a saint is, also struck me as a bit off, as he never once uses the word Christian or Catholic. As a Christian from a denomination that is not Catholic, I would have found a brief explanation of the role played by saints fascinating. Leaving that aside, the stories here are engaging, and the accompanying artwork from John Winch lovely. Recommended to anyone looking for a more folkloric (as opposed to spiritual or religious) collection of tales about the saints.
Saint Ambrose and the Bees, in which the 4th-century Italian saint is swarmed with bees as an infant, but remains unharmed, eventually growing up to become the Bishop of Milan.
Saint Blaise and the Animals, which follows the story of the 4th-century Armenian saint, who flees to a remote cave in the mountains when he receives word that the Roman governor plans to have him arrested. Here he preaches to the animals, becoming their close friend and healer.
Saint Brendan and the Whale, which relates the legend of the 6th-century Irish saint's voyage to a far-western land, which some today believe was in the Americas. On this voyage, the saint and his companions find shelter on an island that proves to be a floating whale.
Saint Brigid and the Cows, in which the 5th/6th-century Irish saint gives away all of the milk and butter produced by her father's herd of cows, and after being punished for her actions by her earthly parent, receives a miraculous sign from God that she has done right.
Saint Francis and the Wolf, which follows the 12th-century Italian saint as he manages to make peace between a marauding wolf and the townspeople who had become his targets.
Saint Giles and the Doe, in which the 7th/8th-century French saint protects a beautiful white doe from the Emperor Charlemagne, putting his own body between the hunter and his quarry.
Saint Hormisdas and the Camels, which sees the 5th-century Persian saint persecuted for his Christian faith, and forced to work as a stableboy caring for the king's camels. He is eventually put to death, together with Ahriman, the surly camel he had won over through his kindness and good care.
Saint Hubert and the Stag, which follows the story of a 7th/8th-century French nobleman who has an extraordinary vision whilst out hunting a great stag, and thereafter dedicates his life to God.
Saint Hugh and the Swan, in which the 12th-century Bishop of Lincoln, together with his pet swan, help to save the Jews of that city, when they seek shelter in the cathedral.
Saint Kevin and the Otters, which sees the 6th-century Irish saint, who wants only to be a solitary hermit, but instead finds himself the leader of a group of monks, aided by the local river otters, when it comes to feeding his followers.
Saint Martin and the Goose, in which the fourth-century saint attempts to escape his fate, and resists becoming the Bishop of Tours, only to be convinced that it is God's will by an insistent goose.
Saint Notburga and the Pigs, in which the 13th/14th-century Austrian saint, a serving girl in the castle of Count Henry of Rattenberg, gives her master's leftover food away to the poor, rather than feeding it to the pigs.
I enjoyed these stories, some of which were already known to me, and some of which were unfamiliar. I do wish that Kimmel, whose source for the stories was Butler's Lives of the Saints , had provided a little bit more detail about each saint. As someone who wasn't raised Catholic, a number of the figures mentioned here were unknown to me - Saint Hormisdas, for instance, or Saint Hugh - and I would have liked to know more. His brief afterword, explaining what a saint is, also struck me as a bit off, as he never once uses the word Christian or Catholic. As a Christian from a denomination that is not Catholic, I would have found a brief explanation of the role played by saints fascinating. Leaving that aside, the stories here are engaging, and the accompanying artwork from John Winch lovely. Recommended to anyone looking for a more folkloric (as opposed to spiritual or religious) collection of tales about the saints.
January 24, 2021
A lovely book about certain Catholic Saints and stories related to animals.
July 16, 2008
Of course the real partnerships among saintly followers of Jesus is us human types, and yet we are sent to live in an environment where God's creatures the animals are among us and are also part of God's work (remember the birds that brought food to Elijah or the colt donkey foal that carried Jesus into Jerusalem). This book tells the stories of some unlikely partners of saints: animals. Eric A. Kimmel (Author), John Winch (Illustrator) tell their tales: from the camel who was martyred alongside the Christian boy who looked after it, to the wolf that repented of it's town raiding at Saint Francis' request, to the swan that helped a bishop to protect a community of Jews from a murderous mob.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2019
I've had this book for years, but reread it and used it with a group of children last week. I absolutely love the illustrations, and the stories are well-written for use as a read aloud with ages 4 thru 12. Lovely little stories about animals and saints, with engaging text.
June 10, 2017
The pictures were nice and the stories pretty well written. There are certainly some amazing stories about the ways some saints have interacted with animals and the created world. However, the tone of this book feels a little un-Catholic. It feels mythical or magical rather than supernatural through the power of God. Nothing I can really place my finger on, but just the feeling I got. It feels like it could lead people astray.
October 5, 2024
Several stories about saints and their relationships with animals. Each story is a couple of pages of text with another page or two with an illustration. Too wordy to read aloud to young children.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2023
This is a good book, with nice illustrations, telling about Catholic saints who cared for animals. They lived from 300-1300 BCE.
January 3, 2015
It was interested to read the simple stories about the saints and I liked how they included the origin country and time period. However, it's quite dry and the anatomy and proportions of the illustrations are just "off" enough as to be rather disturbing. I only really cared for one or two of them.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews