Ten Saints

By Eleanor Farjeon | Illustrated by Helen Sewell

In days long past, stories of saints were told, not written. Ordinary men and women shared these stories of the marvelous deeds and wondrous love of God’s holy ones with their children and grandchildren; they, in turn, maintained the tradition, sharing the stories with the next generations.

Taking root in hearts everywhere, these stories grew and flourished. At times they were allowed to run wild with legend and myth until the difference could no longer be told between them. Most often, however, they were well-tended and faithfully cultivated, and they bore good fruit.

Gleaning that good fruit, Eleanor Farjeon has composed these stories of Christopher and Martin; Bridget and Patrick; Dorothea and Nicholas; Giles and Hubert; Simeon Stylites and Francis. Complimenting Farjeon’s brisk telling and deft rhyming are Helen Sewell’s distinctively lovely paintings of each saint.

First published in 1936, fifteen years before Farjeon’s conversion to the Catholic faith, Ten Saints proves that the saints are, as Pope Benedict XVI remarked, one of the truly effective apologia for Christianity, and promises that the stories of the saints will continue to be told now and in the ages to come.

Blessed be God in his Angels and in his Saints. (The Divine Praises)

Eleanor Farjeon (1881–1965) was an English author of children’s literature. Among her many charming and poignant books are the Martin Pippin stories, best-known of which is Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep; Jim at the Corner; and The Little Bookroom, for which she won the 1955 Carnegie Medal. She was also awarded the inaugural Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1956 and inaugural Regina Medal in 1959. In 1951, Farjeon was received into the Catholic Church.

Helen Sewell (1896–1957) was an American illustrator and author. In addition to the nine books she wrote and illustrated herself, she illustrated fifty-plus books in her relatively short career, including Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books and Alice Dalgliesh’s The Thanksgiving Story, for which she received the 1954 Caldecott Honor. 

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Hardcover: 176pp., illustrated in full color, with ribbon

ISBN: 978-1685954376 | Book Six

ALLTA Collection | Book Six