Once Upon a Time Saints

Some people love this series, but I was really disappointed with it. If you care about historical accuracy and find anachronisms bothersome, this series is not for you. St. Anne, for instance, is depicted as "making sugar cookies for all the kids in the neighborhood". The depiction of Martha and Mary describes Martha getting annoyed with Mary for "letting the spaghetti boil over". No. First-century Jews did not eat pasta or sugar. They might have had occasional access to wild honey, but they did not have sugar. I understand that the intent of the author was to bring to life stories of saints that are often reduced to dry-as-dust dates, facts, and unfamiliar names, but this series takes far too many creative liberties and invents details and anecdotes out of thin air. I appreciate what the author was trying to do, and the illustrations are lovely, but I really wish I hadn't wasted my money on this series. I bought all three books and ended up reading only bits and pieces of most of the stories to my kids because I didn't feel comfortable with the level of embellishment. There are much better children's books on saints such as the "Along the Paths of the Gospel" series by Pauline Press. They are out of print but you can get them used online. The "Vision" series published by Ignatius Press is also excellent and does an incredible job of bringing the stories to life without embellishing or employing anachronisms. Some of the stories in the "Once Upon a Time Saints" series also contain inappropriate or gruesome anecdotes that I skipped over. The story of St. Nicholas, for example, tells of the time he received knowledge from God that a shopkeeper had kidnapped some little boys, cut up their bodies and put them into a barrel of brine, planning to eat them at a later date. St. Nicholas confronted the shopkeeper, rescued the boys, and raised them back to life. This story is indeed part of the lore of St. Nicholas, but it isn't a story that I feel is appropriate for young children. The stories of St. Christopher and Moses the Black also contained an unnecessary level of detail into their sordid pasts. Save your money...there are way better saint books for children out there than this series!

A truly Catholic book, this is a perfect addition for any Catholic child's library! It's stories are not so long that children lose interest, and they are told in a way that does not make the saints sound like they were old, dusty bits of history. It merely shows the saints as they are--heroes. My son, age 6, and my daughter, age 5, have so far thoroughly enjoyed each story, and I will definitely be buying the book "More Once Upon a Time Saints."

This book (and its sequel) are wonderful stories about actual heroes. I love that the author chose to tell the legendary versions of the stories, rather than aiming for "what actually happened". There are standard fairy-tale embellishments, the occasional anacronism, and some details changes to appeal a bit more to children - all in a very "storyteller" style. The illustrations are simple but clear drawings; there is at least one per story. The stories are a good length. I also love the "real" feeling of these tales. Next to the trite "be friends, share, play nice" stories for children that abound in pop culture, these stories feel deep and inspiring. They also can be "gritty", as many of the saints depicted died for their faith. And yes, I devoured all the stories myself, on my commute home from work. Even adults will appreciate these tales!

I didn't have a chance to review this book before ordering so I was expecting a picture book with glossy pages and colorful illustrations. Even though the pages are not colorful, the stories make up for it. Nice black and white illustrations.

My husband and I have shared the bedtime story routine for many years, but in the past year his work schedule had him giving that opportunity primarily to me. That was, until this book. He has now become the only bedtime story reader! In fact, I would often catch him reading the "next saint" after the children went to bed. The stories are fascinating and inspiring. Often the children (9 & 10yo) request a story repeated again and again. Despite reading many saint story books over the years, I had never heard of most of these saint stories. I also have saint books that have sat on the shelf as they were too dry (born this year, known for this ...) for the children. However, this book is ALIVE and told in an engaging "storytellers" fashion. My children even request we read the stories to their friends when they are visiting. I anticipated the need, as they were getting close to the end of the book, and ordered the sequel book BEFORE they finished this one; my husband and the children were very grateful (actually almost relieved - they didn't want it to end). The only negative is that these books are so wonderful we are spoiled forever; we cannot wait till a third book is published and hope it is very soon!