NEW Catholic Saints Prayer Book

The Catholic Saints Prayer Book by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle is scheduled for release in March. Today she has announced a contest to win a free book. You can visit her post about this here.

More on For the Love of Literature

People have been asking Maureen more questions about her new book, For the Love of Literature, and she answers them at her website.

Check out the questions and her answers here.

Interview with Maureen Wittmann

Interview with Maureen Wittmann about her new book, For the Love of Literature:

Maureen, when did you first think of sharing your knowledge of literature with other homeschool parents?

That's a harder question to answer than one may think. I can't think of when this first occurred to me.

I've always loved talking about books with my friends. I think speaking and writing on the topic was just a natural extension of those conversations.

How will this book compare to the booklet you used to sell at your conference talks Literature Isn't Just for Reading: Teaching Core Subjects through Real Books?

The original booklet was written to accompany my conference talk by the same name. From the comments and questions I received after each talk, it was evident that homeschoolers needed more than a one-hour talk with a Power Point presentation. They needed a resource they could hold in their hands and take home.

The original booklet had 80 pages. It was nothing more than a glorified reading list, yet parents came to me over and over again to tell me that it was very helpful to them.

The new book has 300 pages. It's still a glorified reading list, but it's a pretty cool glorified reading list ... in my opinion at least. It does have short chapters on such things as using your library, classical education, unit studies, Charlotte Mason, etc., but the bulk of the book is the reading list (I call them literary guides in the book). There are about 950 books listed, each with a short description, with an age recommendation, and sorted by school subject.

Have you personally read each of the 950 books that you describe in the literary guides?

I wish! However, my children or I have read a great number of the books found in the literary guides. The rest come highly recommended by other Catholic homeschooling parents.

In what ways does your book differ from other books that describe children's literature?

The purpose of this book is to help homeschoolers teach through real books. My goal is to provide a practical tool. It is not a treatise on children's literature but rather a simple book that will help guide parents toward books that teach.

With this book in hand, and a library, what else would parents need in order to give their children a good home education?

Enthusiasm. Okay, that sounds simplistic, but it is a vital ingredient. Emotions are contagious. If a parent is excited about reading and about furthering her own education, so will her children.

And then there are also the necessary ingredients of faith, love, and joy.

Thank you, Margaret Mary, for taking this time with me!

Thank you, Maureen, for sharing this with us! We're looking forward to the book!

Dear readers, you can get a 20% discount on the book – making your price only $9.95 - if you pre-order it from the publisher, Ecce Homo Press, before November 20th. This looks like an exciting and invaluable resource!

The Father Brown Reader

Check out Nancy Brown's new Father Brown book for children! It is now available for pre-orders!

These stories are adaptations of four of G.K. Chesterton's famous Father Brown stories. Specially chosen for children who are approximately 8-12 years old, these particular stories are not murder mysteries, but instead are about stolen items and missing persons. Nancy understands thoroughly both literature and the children who read it.

Give your children something to think about in an enjoyable manner. Just in time for Christmas presents or for snuggling up on those chilly autumn days.

By the way, if you want to order an autographed copy from Nancy Brown, you can do that through her site, once she receives the book. Or you can get the special pre-order price of $7.99 from now until October 25, directly from the publisher, Hillside Education. The pre-ordered books will ship October 26, at which time the regular price will become $9.99.

New Catholic Saints Prayer Book!

Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle has written yet another prayer book! She has previously written Catholic Prayer Book for Mothers, Prayerfully Expecting, and The Heart of Motherhood: Finding Holiness in the Catholic Home, all of which which were encouraged and endorsed by Mother Teresa, and blessed by Pope John Paul II.

She now offers a prayer book with biographies, quotes and prayers for 34 saints!

You can read more about it, and pre-order it if you wish, on this page at her site.

Father Brown Mysteries for the Young

Are you familiar with the superbly written Father Brown mysteries penned by the late, classical author G. K. Chesterton? They are very deep, very thought-provoking, and very entertaining.

Now, Nancy Brown has taken four non-murder mysteries from these stories and simplified them into a chapter book for children ages 8-10. Look for the book, hopefully, in time for Christmas.

You can see the cover here at Mrs. Brown's blog. Makes me wish I still had young kids! Maybe I'll get it anyway.

Mother Teresa Book

Recently I spoke of someone being maligned for writing a book. Around that same time a national magazine article was maligning Mother Teresa of Calcutta because of a book that is coming out about her.

Fr. Benedict Groeschel says, in the First Things blog:
"The unfortunate publicity and distortions to the point of calumny that have surrounded the publication of the book Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light, edited by Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., the postulator of her cause, have caused confusion to many and much pain to the Missionaries of Charity and their close friends."

Fr. Groeschel goes on to explain the "dark night of the soul" that Mother Teresa suffered in the midst of her work as being comparable to that of St. John of the Cross and St. Therese of Lisieux. I would add: Perhaps it is comparable in some way to the feeling of Jesus on the Cross, when he cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Some of the greatest saints wanted nothing better than to suffer to save souls, and to be as much like Christ as possible. And there's a whole theological science to the "dark night" which God allows to some great souls. I felt I understood this some, after reading about the dark night of the soul of St. Therese of Lisieux in her autobiography, The Story of a Soul. I understood with my heart. But I don't understand it well enough with my mind to explain it. It's no wonder that the secular press doesn't understand. I'm wondering, too, if they read the entire Mother Teresa book, or just picked out a few sentences. I have a feeling that if we read the book prayerfully, we would understand a greater depth and generosity to the life of Mother Teresa than we even knew before.

Since I haven't read the book yet, I should probably stop talking now and let you read the book for yourself; and maybe you'd like to see the rest of what Father Groeschel says too. You can read his post by clicking here.



Hat tip to Jean.

Saints for Our Times Essay Contest

Do you have a teenager who enjoys entering contests? This essay contest for youth, ages 13 to 17, is sponsored by Barry Michaels, author of a new book Saints for Our Times: New Novenas and Prayers.

Contest deadline is November 1, All Saints Day. Three winners will receive a signed copy of the book, as well as a cash prize of ten, twenty or thirty dollars. You can read about the contest here.

You can read about the book and author here.



Hat tip to Jean at Catholic Fire.

For the Love of Literature

Maureen Wittmann's latest book For the Love of Literature is on its way!

It's due out on approximately October 15, and the cost has been set at only $11.95. What a "deal" for all that's going to be included in this book.

You can read all of Maureen's recent and past posts about the book by clicking here.

Spanish by Association - Book (P)review

Public Confession: My kids "take" Spanish for high school because it's the language I am closest to knowing...which means, you guessed it, I don't speak, read, or write Spanish. I do know a few words and memorized sentences from having lived in California for so many years, and can "read", even if I don't know what I'm reading. Actually, I can make out a bit of what I read but I haven't been able to put a sentence together to save my life (only an expression, so far).

Well, I always say "you don't have to know it to teach it" (at the high school level). You give them the tools for learning: the ability to read and study, and the right materials; and they pass you up. But in this particular subject, I've been looking for the "right materials" for years (not able to bring myself to buy an expensive program, when money is tight and math and science are so crucial).

Spanish by Association, by Michael M. Gruneberg, is one of my new picks for this year. Over the past few days I've been going through the first section, and actually getting excited. I can make sentences! Wow. If this book turns out as well as I think it's going to, I'm going to be one happy camper! Not only because hopefully my sons will be able to really learn some Spanish, but because maybe I can finally begin to wrap my mind around it. I would be quite willing to give up my statement that I only know one language.