In God's Garden

by Amy Steedman

Engaging stories for children of Saints Ursula, Benedict, Christopher, Catherine of Siena, Augustine of Hippo, Augustine of Canterbury, Cecilia, Giles, Nicholas, Faith, Cosmo and Damian, Martin, George, and Francis of Assisi. Attractively illustrated.

Genres: Biography, Religion, Childrens

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1905

Reviews

[Janelle]

Although this book is intended for children, I would not give it to children to listen to. I would look to other books instead of this one to learn about the saints of old. I question the veracity of some accounts, which seem more legends than truth. This isn't because I don't believe in miracles, but because some of the incidents really don't ring true, and don't have a historical foundation. Another issue I took with this book was the way many of the saints expressed their faith. There is a huge gap between the Christianity of the Dark Ages and that of today. Denial of the flesh and isolationism were common. Personally I don't see anything spiritual in causing oneself pain, and if I wanted to teach my children about the faith of the past, I'd want to use a resource that put this type of behaviour into context, rather than approving it. Lastly, while the storytelling language of the author is very accessible, when quoting the saints she uses old fashioned vocabulary such as methinks, and thou. Perhaps she thought it was a more spiritual way for them to speak. Many thanks to the Librivox narrator for her excellent reading. Sorry I couldn't finish it.

[Kim Coleman]

Lovely book for children

These are beautifully told, living stories of some of the most well known saints of the kingdom. Highly recommend this for Christian studies in any home or home school.