Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Waiting with Elmer , by Deanna Klingel is excellent book for the young adult in your life who needs to learn patience. Learning to wait for God’s timing can be an impossible task for anyone, but especially for a child. Meet Willy Skyes, left at a train station, by his father, to fend for himself. As Willy sits on a bench, waiting for the father who will never return, he meets Elmer, who seems to run the town of Waitnsee. Elmer introduces Willy to all the town’s residents, especially Rake, who runs the Union Street Mission. Willy and his dad were always running from town to town because of the misdeeds of Willy’s dad. Now Willy was alone, but not for long. The men of the Union Street Mission take Willy under their wings, and Elmer makes sure that Willy has what he needs; a place to sleep, food, new clothes, and an education. As the story progresses, we see Willy grow in virtue, especially patience, building bonds with the men of the Union Street Mission. He finds a “family” in t...

Spokes , by Deanna Klingel, a fast paced, easy to read novel, sends Kelsey Merritt and Brendon Cohen on an adventure to solve a mystery. Kelsey, a home-schooled teen, is a triathlon athlete. While cycling one afternoon with her mom, in preparation for an upcoming triathlon event, tragedy strikes. This tragedy sends Kelsey on a mission; to determine who is responsible for a hit and run accident. In her pursuit, she teams up with fellow triathlon athlete and home-school student, Brendon Cohen. Together, these two teens, take us on a wild ride through the hills of North Carolina. We come across some unsavory characters. But, we also come across some rather funny, and down-to-earth Franciscan Friars. These Friars add a comical, yet heartwarming dimension to this wonderful story. As I raced through this book (a real page turner), I kept asking myself... Read more...

Reading to the Children During Catholic Schools Week Yesterday, I got to meet with 120 children at Saint Pius X Catholic School in Greensboro, NC. As part of the Catholic Schools Week festivities, I read my new book, Adventures of Faith, Hope, and Charity: Finding Patience to the Kindergartners, as well as the First and Second Graders. Read more...

One of our family's favorite Advent traditions is the Advent Book Basket.  Each year I wrap both religious and secular read-alouds in purple and pink paper and we unwrap and read one book per day between December 1 and Christmas Eve. Click here to see our book list for this Advent!   What about you - what are your favorite Advent and Christmas books?

For children, waiting for anything seems endless! Faith Livingstone would agree, having just moved to a new town, and about to enter a new school. Faith wants so badly to make new friends.  She wants to feel like she belongs in her new surroundings. It all can’t happen fast enough for Faith. Journey with Faith as she struggles to make new friends; yet, learns the value of the virtue of patience in the process. More info about Adventures of Faith, Hope and Charity - Finding Patience can be found here  and here .

Kids don't have to listen to dinner-time conversations about the politics of the pro-life and pro-choice movements in order to know that babies matter. I've never known a little kid who hasn't asked his parents, "Please, can't we have another baby?" Babies are a gift, and sometimes little kids know that more instinctively than the rest of us. So, with the anniversary of the Supreme Court's  Roe v. Wade  decision looming, I'd like to highlight a Live Action News list of pro-life kids' books brought to my attention by blog reader Tara Sayani. Thanks, Tara!! From "Simple ideas for communicating the pro-life message to children": Storytime is another prime opportunity to instill pro-life values in our children. In general, it’s important to be selective about which books we choose to read to our little ones. And with a little effort, we can find excellent stories that teach why every life matters. Here are some pro-life values t...