Book Reviews and More: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Daughter of America - Jeanne Marie Grunwell and Mari Goering

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton:

Daughter of America

Encounter the Saints Series Book 3

Jeanne Marie Grunwell

Mari Goering (Illustrator)

Pauline Books and Media
ISBN 9780819870223

eISBN 9780819871756

ASIN B07VRTPZ3F

I have now read all of the books in this series. And I have read this one twice nearly five years apart. This is a wonderful book in an excellent series! As a family we have read all books in this series, and many of them multiple times. I started reading them myself reading books on Saint Damien of Molokai and Saint Edith Stein Blessed by the Cross. Then started reading them with my three youngest children. My children and I love this series. We have read many of the books more than once. I have read about Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton previously, but nothing this in depth. I really enjoyed this and the way her conversion and life were presented in this book.

I have said it before and I say it again, this is an excellent series is! With my three children and I we have now read all of the books in this series. I have read them either by myself, or with one or more child. My youngest 2 children current ages 14, 11, still both love these books. And they have read or reread them frequently. My son wants to have the complete set in his room, so he keeps asking to buy his own copies, he loves these books so much. We have picked up several volumes to donate to the school library. I would love to have the whole set in the school library as a resource when the students are picking confirmation saints. With each reading of a book in this series we appreciate this series more. And though only one book has been released since we started reading them a few years ago, we hope there will be more books released in the series in the future. I would love to see how this series handles Saint Josemaria Escriva, Blessed Carlo Actus, … and many more. We would also like to eventually see eBooks of all of the volumes in the series. With my dyslexia and my son’s eye tracking issues we both prefer eBooks where we can change page color, font size and font spacing. This book has an eBook listed and at the writing of this review it is still available on multiple platforms.

Now back to this specific book on Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.

The description of this volume is:

“Catholic school students will find both a friend and a patron in this biography of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, founder of the first parochial school in the United States. A convert, wife, mother, and eventually a religious sister who founded the Sisters of Charity, Elizabeth captures the mystery of how God's love and call unfold all throughout life. Children will learn valuable lessons about faith, trust in God, and courage in serving others.”

And the description of the series is:

“The Encounter the Saints series offers intermediate readers relatable portrayals of the saints. Each story, in a handy format, vividly recreates the saint's place of origin, family life, and corresponding historical events.”

The chapters in this volume are:

1. Changes

2. A New Mother

3. Riot!

4. Young Outcast

5. Mrs. Seton

6. Stormy Days

7. New Challenges

8. The Fever

9. To Italy

10. The Lazaretto

11. Questions

12. Home at Last

13. All His

14. Hurtful Rumors

15. Persecution

16. An Invitation

17. Beginnings

18. Mother Seton

19. Early Days

20. More of the Cross

21. Sisters of Charity

22. Anna

23. The Secret

24. Joys and Sorrows

25. With the Father

26. Miracles

Prayer

Glossary

The prayer in this volume is:

“Saint Elizabeth Ann, you served God in many wonderful ways. You were a wife, a mother, a widow, a foundress and a sister—all in one lifetime!

Your love for God and his people made you strong and courageous. Because you loved so much, you also had the honor of being named the first American-born saint.

Thank you for the special help you gave to children and the poor. Thank you for beginning a congregation of sisters to continue your good work.

Help me to love, no matter what. I want to follow Jesus as you did. Pray for me, Mother Seton.”

The prayer in this volume is not the same to the one as in the companion volume, The Saints Pray for Us, which has prays for the first 30 saints and blessed covered in the series. Each volume follows the same format, the chapters about the Saints life, a prayer and a glossary. My children always look to compare the prayer with the one in The Saints Pray for Us. They also love looking at the pictures. Each volume has 5 illustrations. This is one of four volumes illustrated by Mari Goering, and they are wonderful pencil drawings. The illustrations have very dominant figures in the foreground and faded backgrounds, really drawing the eyes to the characters. These sketches really add to this story. The children enjoy these books so much they always read through the whole Glossary.

This book is an excellent read. Learning about Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton will bless any reader. Having returned to this volume almost 5 years apart, reading it with my oldest and now youngest did not change how moving this story is. In some ways it had even more impact on me this time through. With having now read all of the books in the Encounter the Saints Series from Pauline Books and Media we are still enthralled by these volumes. This book and all in the series are great read and would be wonderful additions to a home, school, or church library. Each book has been worth the read. It is an excellent read in a wonderful series!

Please Note: I discovered recently that most of the eBook editions are no long available for this series. In fact I could only find a handful of the over 20 volumes that had been available electronically. I do not know why this is the case but I consider it a great loss. A loss for people with reading issues like my son and I, for others with learning disabilities, and for those in different geographic regions.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!

Books about the North American Saints and Martyrs:

North American Martyrs Kids Activity Book - Bonnie Way

Saints of North America - Jean Olwen Maynard

…

Encounter the Saints Series from Pauline Books and Media: