Great Catholic Books for Kids

I don’t know about you but my husband and I are always looking for great new books to share with our kids to help foster their faith. There are many books out there but we’re always looking for the gem or the hidden treasure that will help them blossom – and that we’ll enjoy reading to them over and over.

So I thought I’d share some of the Jewels we have been blessed to find and that we continue to find along the way. Below is a list of books we think every child should read or have on their book shelf. I have also generated a list of other great books that I’d highly recommend!

Books Every Child Should Read or Have on their book Shelf

Book of Saints – Loyola Kids by Amy Welborn

Sometimes a book comes along and you read it and want to share it with all your friends. I was babysitting for a friend when I found just such a book. Loyola Kids Book of Saints from the very first page I was gripped. I wanted to read more – I couldn’t wait to get a copy of this book to share with my own children, copies to share with my godsons and friends.

The author’s simple and easy to understand language and explanations were refreshing and rejuvenating.  Ever wanted to explain what a saint was to your child or a fellow friend whom just didn’t understand – Amy’s introduction is so beautiful and easy to read and follow it is ageless – not only will your child understand right away the church’s teachings on whom the saints are but they’ll be excited to learn more about the saints and want to strive to be like heavens hero’s!

The short explanations of the saint’s lives are lovely, fun, factual and exciting. Many saint books just don’t keep a child’s attention or use their imagination. This book will have your kids asking for more! It also gives practical ways your child can live out the different virtues the saint exhibited!

A must have for every Catholic Book shelf!

The Weight of a Mass by Josephine Nobisso

This incredibly beautifully illustrated and written book – will leave you lingering on its message for a long time afterwards. Do you really know how much a mass is worth or do you just take it for granted? After reading this book you will be left meditating on the true value you place on a mass. The pictures, symbolism and story are a great tool for you to talk with your child about the mass, Jesus and the Eucharist.  Once you read it you’ll never forget this story that is sure to become a classic – The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith!

This is a wonderful book to give any child whom is preparing for their 1^st communion or even as a 1^st communion gift.

Take it to the Queen: A Tale of Hope by Josephine Nobisso

We know that as a catholic we try to foster a deep love of our heavenly mother in our children; but sometimes we might struggle to be able to fully explain our ladies role. This stunningly illustrated and wonderfully written book – is a beautiful parallel or retelling of Mary’s role in salvation, of the gift or redemption and a great story of love. This is sure to become a favourite amongst your child! It is a pleasure to read over and over –Take It to the Queen: A Tale of Hope .

The Jesus Storybook Bible

Nothing brings a parent joy like seeing their child’s face beam when they are excited about something that is good for them. Imagine you could get your child to beg for more broccoli or spinach – Well if you struggle with getting your child to ask you to read them the bible – I have a secret to share with you it’s called The Jesus Storybook Bible.

We gave this book to our daughter for her birthday after my sister-in-law had been raving how the whole family was enjoying it. Well we can’t read it enough for our daughter – after each story she begs for more.

* It is important to point out that this is not a Catholic Bible. So although it contains many beautiful bible stories for children, it can be used a starting point to continue the fuller teaching we as the faith believe after reading the stories. I believe that instilling a love of the word and bible stories is very important for our children. If you hide the word in their hearts then it will guide them in their lives. This bible brings the stories to life and shows Gods unending love.

This is the bible told in a way you have never heard it before – it is a love letter to you from God, a retelling of the stories in a whole new way, with important historical and interesting facts along the way. It shows the foreshadowing of God’s plan of salvation and shows how the Old Testament is just that.

Not only will this help to develop a great love of the bible in your child, but it will help them to understand the link between the Old and New Testament – the revealing of God’s plan – Jesus! It will help them understand God’s great love for them and all humanity.

To be honest we all love this book my husband and I find each other retelling the stories that we might have missed when reading it to the children.This is a permanent bedtime book for our kids – my daughter always asks “do you have the book? “And we know she means The Jesus Storybook Bible.

They also sell this book as a deluxe set with the stories on CD- we own this and it is wonderfully read –great for car trips or quiet time at home. It sure beats many of the books on CD we get from the library.

The best price I found for this book was at Christianbook.com

The Story of Christmas

The cover of this book never really drew me to it – but as they say you can’t judge a book by its cover – and this book proved that to me! This wonderful book The Story of Christmas retells the story of Christmas with scripture – it is craft-fully done. It is a wonderful retelling of the birth of our Lord in a simple, straight forward way that you’ll enjoying reading to your child all Advent long! Your child will be able to retell you the true story of Christmas in no time at all!

For younger children: A great way to start Christmas morning is by reading this story followed by singing Happy Birthday to Jesus. This book makes a great gift, stocking stuffer or thank you gift to your nativity patient participants at only $1.49 a copy at Christianbooks.com it’s hard not to give this to all the kids on your list at Christmas!

Treasure Box Set

This wonderful set contains 20 books – which you can purchase individually or as two separate 10 book sets. It was originally written as a sort of Catholic Children’s magazine and has become a timeless classic. Each book has a story of a saint, Mary or Jesus as well as a story about an angel which is continued in other books. It is full of other short stories, poems, game/craft ideas and a lesson or prayer on the back. I’m not sure what draws people to magazines – but you whatever it is they have mastered it and replicated it here for your kids but without the advertising and it is only packed with goodness, values and fun. Kids just can’t get enough of these wonderful books. They are packed with faith filled learning for your kids. My husband and siblings had these as children and carry many fond memories from the stories, games and crafts they learnt through them.

You can get these for a great deal as a set from Seton Books or you can buy them individually or in various set at Holy Heros (Tip: join their Advent or Lenten Adventures or summer camps to receive a coupon for 20% off)

Princess & the Kiss: A Story of God’s Gift of Purity and The Squire and the Scroll by Jennie Bishop

Ever wanted to start teaching your child the special gift of purity at a young age – well here is the answer. These artfully written books were written by the author with just that in mind. She has written a book for young girls Princess & the Kiss: A Story of God’s Gift of Purity and one for young boys The Squire and the Scroll to help teach them about the special gift that they are and that they posses and how it is too precious to be given to just anyone. It is a slightly longer story so I recommend it for children with longer attention spans or from about age 5. These are a beautiful way to teach your princess or knight how to live virtuously from a young age. They are beautifully illustrated too!