When I’m not working on writing, I am a Pastor to Kids at a local church! It’s one of my favorite things I do. One of my roles is to stock our Nursery and Preschool rooms with the best picture books and board books for the leaders to read to the kids!
I recently pulled all the Christmas books in our Nursery and Preschool rooms and made a little video about them all! These are all on my recommends list for sure. Check out what books we stock in our church library below:
Patrick and the Fire: A Legend about Sai by Cornelia Mary Bilinsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In searching for books about the life of Saint Patrick, I spotted the cover art for Patrick and the Fire: A Legend about Saint Patrick and was instantly intrigued. When it comes to picture books, I am always equally looking at the story as well as the art that accompanies it. Here, the art and story combine to be a quick but rather compelling vignette from the life of Saint Patrick.
The story is a short one from the many legends about Saint Patrick, but is told in an engaging way that draws you in from the beginning. However, the illustrations elevate the story beyond the words on the page. At times, the art reminded me of old Disney animation stills from The Black Cauldron era as well as newer art from films like Brave. The characters are well realized and drawn with expression that at the same time evokes mystery as well as a sense of history.
This is definitely a Catholic book, and contains a prayer to Saint Patrick at the beginning. Readers from Protestant or Evangelical households might want to preview this section beforehand. At the end of the book is a brief biographical sketch of Saint Patrick’s life, which dives into more possibly historic details than the fictionalized account in the rest of the book.
However, I will say this book tackles complex theological themes such as salvation and the Trinity, and presents both in a way that young children will be able to grasp. These definitions and explorations of theology transcend both Catholic and Protestant views for a more universal Christian presentation that either Catholic or Protestant readers can enjoy and use to further discussions with their children about the work of God.
If you’re looking for a fun, quick read on the life of Saint Patrick that contains excellent illustrations, Patrick and the Fire is certainly a book to add to your picture book library!
Valentine’s Day by Joyce K. Kessel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Some have said, “Don’t judge a book by the cover,” and I would say, “Valentine’s Day by Joyce Kessel is one of those books.” The cover for this book is pretty dated at this point, and reminded me of old books from the 1980’s I would check out from the library as a kid. However, while the cover doesn’t do much to inspire the imagination, the story and black and white illustrations with red highlights raise this book above others.
This book is perhaps the most robust and yet succinct retellings of the history of Valentine’s Day I have found yet. The story also doesn’t hide the origins of the holiday regarding Pope Gelasius I’s appropriating the Feast of Juno and recreating it as “St. Valentine’s Day” in honor of one or all of the three St. Valentine’s we know of from history. The book tells a few stories about the various Valentines, each one labeled as a “legend.” The book then goes on to explain the traditions of the holiday and how it has translated to modern times.
This book is longer than some other picture books for kids on Valentine’s Day. It also has some potentially not great ideas that young readers might pick up without some conversation from parents. There is discussion later in the book of “penny dreadfuls,” valentine cards sent during the late 1800’s that were meant to be insulting. A parent might want to read that section ahead of time and decide whether they want to talk about that section or not. It would be a good opportunity to have a discussion with your kid about the words we use towards others and how we can encourage others rather than tear them down.
The illustrations range from fun in a 1920’s throwback way to highly dated in a 1980’s children’s book way. Throughout, red is sprinkled into the black and white drawings, which is an interesting detail.
If you find this one at a local library, it’s worth a checkout and a read, especially if you have a child interested in the history across the span of 2,700 years of Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day Is by Gail Gibbons
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Having read a few picture books on Valentine’s Day, I found Gail Gibbons’ Valentine’s Day Is… to be a fun, well-illustrated book that contained information I have not seen in other books on the holiday.
Each page is set up with the phrase: “Valentine’s Day Is…” and is finished with things like “candy,” “love,” or “hearts.” The pages then go on to explain very simply and succinctly various traditions and symbols related to Valentine’s Day, including Saint Valentine and ancient Roman practices of putting names in an urn and drawing them, similar to today’s valentine cards and valentine mailboxes so many kids make.
Those looking for historical information on Saint Valentine will find only a copy of pages on him here, which are very sparse in actual information. At the end of the book there is a great DIY Valentine project that is simple and fun as well.
The illustrations are bright, vibrant, and have a bit of a 1900’s throwback vibe in some places that made them especially charming. Kids will love searching the pictures for all the hearts throughout the book and hidden away in each picture in fun ways.
If you’re looking for a fun read on Valentine’s Day, this is a book that would be a great library checkout, but perhaps not one to purchase.
Valentine’s Day by Ann Heinrichs
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Ann Heinrichs’ Valentine’s Day picture book is an overview of the holiday for young readers. This book covers more of the traditions and symbols behind the holiday rather than any specific history of how the day came to be. There is a short “chapter” here on Saint Valentine as well as the Roman festival Lupercalia on February 15th, but both comprise about five pages total with a quick brush through history.
One particular feature of this picture book is the numerous poems and quotes from literature throughout the ages. From anonymous poems to Shakespeare to Plato, there are plenty of fascinating snippets from poems that will give kids an introduction to literature talking about Valentine’s Day as well as love in general.
The illustrations here are fine, but they aren’t exactly thrilling, interesting, or exciting. Many of the illustrations seem rather typical for this kind of non-fiction children’s book and none of the pictures really stand out.
There are also some activities for kids in the back of the book, including recipes, DIY crafts, and some suggestions for ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
If you’re looking for an overview book of the holiday, this book is fine, but there are certainly more fascinating books out there on Valentine’s Day. If you’re looking for more information on Saint Valentine, this is not the book to go to.
Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, I wanted to take a look at the various books about the holiday as well as the Saint it’s named for. Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda was one of the first books I found on the Saint specifically, and didn’t expect the emotional impact this beautifully illustrated picture book would have on me.
Written as a sort of historical fiction of a snippet from the life of Saint Valentine, the book shares about the work Valentine did as a healer and a chance encounter one day with a jailer and her daughter who cannot see. While Valentine is sorry that he cannot do more for the jailer’s daughter, he starts to pray for her. I won’t spoil the ending here, but it definitely had the emotional punch that good storytelling will deliver.
The story is light on Valentine’s religious beliefs, and has a brief more historically accurate explanatory note at the end. The story implies the death of Valentine, but does not mention it specifically.
The illustrations however are amazing. Sabuda takes a mosaic approach to each page, which create intricate details that weave together to form mesmerizing pictures that instantly draw your gaze. Kids will definitely enjoy searching the pictures for some time to see all the details and then to zoom out and see the larger illustration as a whole.
While this isn’t the most comprehensive book on Saint Valentine, it certainly tells a poignant story that illustrates the life of the saint.
The Silent Noisy Night by Jill Roman Lord
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
As a Children’s Pastor, I am always on the search for good books to add to our Preschool and Nursery areas at church, and so what did I do? I stood at the Walmart Christmas books display reading about twenty Christmas board and picture books in order to find a couple to add to our library. When I first read The Silent Noisy Night by Jill Roman Lord and illustrated by Kelly Breemer, I almost cried. This book is an incredibly beautiful, well-illustrated, amazing story that will not only teach young kids various sounds, but will also point to a foundational theological point: the God of Scripture is a God who celebrates.
This is a board book with amazing illustrations, and simple sentences on each page that allow the story to be read quickly, but also allow kids time to look at the pictures and will allow parents and teachers to point out various corners of the pages to see all the animals. Words that are sounds are all highlighted and in bold to allow for kids learning sight words to begin seeing them and correlating each word to the pronunciation and the sound it makes.
I really appreciate here the attention to depict the people in the story as they would have been, not as European, blond-haired, blue-eyed proxies. This allows kids to see the real kinds of people who may have been there at the birth of Jesus, even if some of the animals here such as raccoons may not be animals in the Middle East.
The ending to the book also has a wonderful message for kids surrounding the ways we celebrate the birth of Jesus. This idea of celebration is so important, as we see celebration on the part of God and God’s people throughout Scripture, but often find ourselves in the United States of America leaning away from celebration in favor of a more stoic and serious God. We see clearly from stories Jesus told such as the stories of lost things in Luke 15 that all heaven rejoices when someone decides to follow Jesus. The most important aspect of this celebration is that it does not end. In the story of the Prodigal Son, the father tells them to start the party for the son who has come home, but he never tells them to end it. The party continues.
In The Silent Noisy Night, kids will discover an incredible world of celebration and how each one of us can use our voices, actions, and songs to celebrate the birth of the Savior.
