Brother Wolf, Sister Sparrow: Stories about Saints and Animals

Saint Francis' "Sermon to the Birds" precedes the stories. Though we are not birds, in a way it prepares us, the readers, for the wonder and mystery that is to follow. The stories are quite interesting. Each tale ends with an informative tidbit about the Saint. For example, "Saint Notburga is the patron saint of poor farmers and hired servants. Her feast day is September 14. Her emblem is the sickle." John Winch has made two types of illustrations in this book. Before each tale there is an intriguing representation of an artifact representing the Saint. One looks like a painting on wood, one looks like a small statue, another looks like a coin. These gray illustrations also mention the country and rough dates that the Saint lived. I like these symbolic illustrations even more than the colorful acrylic folk paintings that plainly detail the stories.The verso mentions that "The author's principal source for this book is Butler's Lives of the Saints (New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1956)."The author's note is brief and explains what makes a person a saint and the canonization process. The author concludes, "This process does not make a person a saint. Only God can do that. Through canonization, the church recognizes what God has already done."