Reading – This Catholic Family: Catholic Womanhood, Family, and Conversion

What’s Out There

As an author, mom, and former classroom teacher, I love a good thematic book collection! Believe me, I’ve looked at many of the most popular Advent and Christmas book lists for Catholic families, and purchased multiple titles to share with our kids.

One thing I noticed, however, is that many of the book lists for Catholic families often feature classic stories that are many years old. There is certainly something to be said for a timeless tale, and the books on these lists absolutely deserve a place on the shelf, but there are also many more recent titles that are worthy of designation. The booklist below contains beautiful stories for Advent and Christmas that have come out within the past three years.

What’s New

The Jesse Tree For Families: This book is actually brand new, as of 2023. I received a copy to review for Catholic Mom, and I’m very excited on the approach this book takes to the Jesse Tree. We’ve tried different Jesse Tree books and activities in the past, but nothing has quite stuck. We have an eight year age gap between our oldest and our youngest kids, and I found some of the other resources out there didn’t stretch far enough in one direction or the other. This book has short picture book style stories, as well as a section for parents to learn more about each person or name of Jesus featured. There are also thoughtful questions for each day to encourage family discussion and immersion into scripture.

Season of Light by Jess Redman. This book is a simple, beautiful, and poetic representation of the traditions and people and beliefs that make this holiday season so very special. This is the kind of story I want to read to my children by the fire, Christmas lights aglow, as we wait for the birth of our Savior. It talks about counting down the days to Christmas, the anticipation, the joy, the giving, the singing, and more, all leading up to going to church on a star-filled snowy night.

One Great Love: An Advent and Christmas Treasury of Readings, Poems, and Prayers. This is a lovely combination of the classic mixed with the new. Released in 2022, One Great Love is a beautifully curated collection of classic pieces of writing from years past combined in a new way, an elegant keepsake volume of stories, poems, prayers, and art from beloved writers through the centuries. Perfect for reading aloud as a family, giving to a neighbor, friend, or fellow literature-lover, or simply reading on your own with coffee in hand, this book is an invitation to a slower, more meaningful approach to the season of hope.

The Light of Christmas Morning. I have not only purchased this gift for our children, but I also have gifted it to several others! This book follows a Catholic family as they celebrate Christmas Eve leading into Christmas Day. Families will recognize things like an Advent wreath and a statue of Mary in the home within the story, and it is always a joy for me as a mother to see our faith represented so beautifully and explicitly in a picture book.

The Mass and The Manger: My Interactive Christmas Story. I have been a fan of Jennifer Sharpe since she first wrote My First Interactive Mass Book. We had a copy of that even before Ascension picked it up! The Mass and The Manger contains full page flaps that open up to reveal beautiful illustrations. As children interact with the flaps, they will discover that each scene from the nativity has a parallel in the Mass, leading them deeper into the true meaning of Christmas.

And there you have it, some modern, beautiful picture books for both Advent and Christmas!

Do you have a favorite Advent or Christmas story? Let me know in the comments!

-Lorelei

Hello friends of This Catholic Family!

I hope that this blog post finds you all well. Navigating the waters of 2020 hasn’t been easy. We are so happy to share that Felicity was able to receive her First Communion in a private family Mass in May, and our church has been open and we’ve been able to attend again on a regular basis. It was very challenging to be away from in-person Mass for so long, and we’re thankful to be back.

The News

Which brings us to the next major event of the Savaryn year, which is… that I have a book coming out in just over a week! On one hand, it feels like it’s been a long time coming. On the other hand, it feels like it’s sneaking up on me super fast.

I received a 2 book deal from Penguin Random House, and my first book is called THE CIRCUS OF STOLEN DREAMS releases on September 1. It’s for middle grade readers aged 10+, and anyone who loves a good magical, hopeful tale.

I’ve worked really, really hard on this story for such a long time, and I’d love to give a brief synopsis and share how my Catholic faith informs my writing for the mainstream market.

The Story

A dream world turns haunting nightmare in this spellbinding debut novel, perfect for fans of Circus Mirandus and The Night Gardener.

After Andrea’s brother, Francis, disappeared, everything changed. Her world turned upside down, and there was nothing she could do to right it. So when she discovers a magical dream world called Reverie in the woods near her home, Andrea jumps at the chance to escape her pain and go inside. But the cost of admission is high: Andrea must give up a memory in order to enter. And she knows exactly which memory she’d like to give up.

Once inside, Andrea discovers tent after tent of dreams come alive; she can fly on a gust of wind, brave swashbuckling pirates and search for buried treasure, reach for–and wish on–a tangible star, and much, much more. But Andrea soon realizes that not all of Reverie’s dreams are meant to delight, and the Sandman behind the circus tents seems to have plans of his own. When Andrea finds a tent in which her brother’s darkest nightmare has been brought to life, she realizes the dark truth: Reverie is not an escape; it’s a trap.

Will Andrea and her new friend Penny have what it takes to find Francis, figure out what’s really going on in Reverie, and break free from this nightmarish dream world?

A wonderfully inventive, deliciously creepy debut novel that is sure to linger in readers’ minds long after the last thrilling page has been turned.

Praise for The Circus of Stolen Dreams:

* “Savaryn’s unconventional story makes for a bewitching debut, filled with dazzling descriptions and real surprises.” —Booklist, *STARRED REVIEW*

How My Faith Impacts My Writing

I write stories for kids for the mainstream market, but as a Catholic, my faith is part of who I am, and it plays a role in my life as an author in so many ways.

Above my mantel, I have a large piece of wall art with a quote by well-known Catholic GK Chesterton that reads: “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

When I think about the kinds of stories I want to write for kids, it always comes back to that underlying pulse of hope.

I want to write stories that show that good, and beauty, and truth can win the day, even when things feel very, very hard, or even scary. My book is a bit scary at times, but life is sometimes scary, even for children, and I think its important for kids to see themselves in books, from the safety of a story, where characters wrestle with and then overcome really difficult things.

I want my stories to show how beautiful and good things can come out of suffering. That you can learn to be brave. That love is stronger than anything that comes against it. All of that and so much more stems from my Catholic faith.

There are so many wonderful Catholic authors that have come before me, and who have written books outside the official genre of Catholic literature, but who have contributed wonderful, timeless stories to the world. Tolkein is the first and, perhaps, loudest that comes to mind. Flannery O’Connor, Victor Hugo, Mary Higgins Clark continue the long list. I’m in super good company, and I can only hope to tell stories that end up beloved and on shelves for a long time to come.

I feel thankful every day for the ability to tell stories for my work. It would be an absolute honor if you would consider buying a copy for your family.

Signed copies are available through The Book Stall here (just request on order notes that you’d like it signed and who it should be made out to)

General order link through Penguin is here.

My book is also being released as a Kindle edition and as an audiobook, available through the above link as well.

And I’d be delighted if you’d join us for my virtual launch party at 6:30pm CST on Sept 1, hosted by The Book Stall. Registration is free, but you do need to reserve a spot to attend. Register here.

-Lorelei