Saint Anthony of Padua CTS Saints for Kids - Silvia Vecchini and Antonio Vincento and Simone Finaldi

Saint Anthony of Padua
CTS Saints for Kids
Silvia Vecchini
Antonio Vincento (Illustrator)
Simone Finaldi (Translator)
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 9781860825613


Sometimes when you get what you did not expect, it is worth the disappointment.  That is what happened with this book. I was expecting a book on this saint by Alice Curtayne published in 1948. But ended up receiving this on which was published in translation in 2009, and the original Spanish in 2007. But my children loved the cover of this book. I have now read it twice, once with my son, and again with my youngest daughter who came in while I was part way through the book with my son. Both children loved it, and I will tray and track down other titles in the CTS Saints for Kids series for them to read.

This is a short volume it comes in at 23 pages. And between a quarter to a third of the book are illustrations. Some full page illustrations and many partial page illustrations. It only has a few pages that are complete pages of text. The original Spanish text is by Silvia Vecchini and the illustrations are by her husband Antonio Vincenti, the English edition is translated by Simone Finaldi. The chapters in the book are:

In the shadow of the Cathedral
Choosing a monastery
A new name
The meeting with Francis
A hidden treasure
Anthony teaches and preaches
In France
Messenger of Peace
Anthony of Padua
Anthony and the child Jesus
In the Father's house
A Picture of St. Anthony of Padua
A Prayer

The final two, the picture and prayer are designed so that they can be cut out of the book and made into a prayer card. This book is a wonderful read for children. My son in grade four can read it easily, with just help on the foreign names. And my youngest in grade 2 can read some of the text but needs more help. The illustrations are bright and colourful. I believe they are water colors or water color pencil sketches. And the book does a wonderful job of telling the story of Saint Anthony of Padua. Both my children were fascinated by some of the stories from this saints life that were in this book.

This is a great read for children and those who read to or with them. And I look forward to tracking down others in the series.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2018 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.

Books in the CTS Saints for Kids Series:
Saint Anthony of Padua
John Paul II
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Saint Clare of Assisi
Saint John Mary Vianney
Saint Joseph
Padre Pio: Saint Pius of Pietrelcina
Saint Francis of Assisi
Saint Martin of Tours
Saint Peter