Our family is thirsty for good, quality reading. Good, quality, Catholic reading.

As a mama who devours book after book with her kids, I want our library to be full of selections that not only they  like, but ones that I look forward to reading as well. My kids might be over the moon for The Monster at the End of This Book, but Grover kinda gets under my skin so I don’t read it to them nearly as often as they want. I know – Purgatory years – but MAN.

Ignatius Press sent three more gems for us to thumb through and we’ve done more than our fair share of thumbing of these three. Y’all. Can I tell you what a relief it is? These aren’t cheesy, flowery reads. The content is solid and the illustrations, sizes, and even feels of each book are enough to keep little noses in them.

Let’s Pray the Rosary – Mary fascinated me as a kid. I loved images of her, learning about Marian apparitions, and especially approaching her as my Mother. I recently told a friend how much I loved reading up on Catholic miracles and how they anchored me to the Catholic Church; as an adult, they served to keep me faithful when I felt lost. Let’s Pray the Rosary is full of miraculous stories as well as the history and prayers of the Rosary itself. Ignatius Press suggests this book for ages 6 and up, but even my smaller ones are drawn to the illustrations.

Catholic Saints for Children – Oh this book. This is hands-down my favorite book that we own. Period. It’s a soft-cover trove of heroic virtue. Kids are quick to regard someone, anyone as a hero. While a select few in their lives should be looked up to – parents, grandparents, mature peers – too many look to Diego or Caillou (don’t get me started) to emulate. Superheroes might save the day, and they have redeeming qualities of their own, but the saints. When I was little, it was through stories of martyrdom, sacrifices, and eye-widening love of God that I learned that Jesus is someone worth living for. The saints are now blessed with the Imperishable Crown and I want my kids to have the same heroes Andrew and I have. Catholic Saints for Children is vibrantly illustrated with page-long biographies and a corresponding prayer for each saint. We read one story a day to all of our kids; and I look forward to reading this as much as the kids do because the brief accounts of saints and their works spur me to attempt similar deeds in our family. The vocabulary is a bit above their heads (my oldest is 5), but I change wording when necessary; plus, it’s so very beneficial to read at levels higher than their current understanding.

A Missal for Little Ones is practically perfect and perfectly practical. Illustrated well, it guides little minds through Mass. My favorite feature is a line of little dots at the bottom of each page that indicates how far we are – or if you’re a distracted kid, how close we are to the end. Drawings of a little boy and a little girl show my kids gestures and postures during the prayers. I keep this in the hands of my 5 year old, and away from his little brothers and sister. He can understand quite a bit more and I trust he’ll keep the book for its contents instead of curiously tearing pages “just to see.” We left this book behind after Church one Sunday and he panicked until it was safe at home again – it’s that important. I can’t overemphasize how truly GOOD this book is.

And there you have it. I’m head-over-heels for these books especially. They’re invaluable because of their content first and foremost, plus they’re appealing to my kids. So if you’re hoping to develop your Catholic Littles Library, this is a solid place to start. Recommended without hesitation.

[Note: This post contains affiliate links, but I recommend them regardless of where you purchase.]