Kimmel, Eric A. Brother Wolf, Sister Sparrow : stories about saints and animals / retold by Eric A. Kimmel ; illustrated by John Winch. New York : Holiday House, 2003.
Excellent tales of Saints and animals.

Introduction: There is no introduction, but Saint Francis' "Sermon to the Birds" precedes the stories. Though we are not birds, in a way it prepares us, the readers, for the wonder and mystery that is to follow.

Organization: There is a table of contents and the stories of the Saints are told alphabetically.

John Winch has made two types of illustrations. Before each tale there is an intriguing representation of an artifact representing the Saint. One looks like a painting on wood, one looks like a small statue, another looks like a coin. These gray illustrations also mention the country and rough dates that the Saint lived. I like these symbolic illustrations much more than the colorful acrylic folk paintings that plainly detail the stories.

The stories themselves:

  • These tales appear very tellable as is.
  • I think that they are appropriate for ages 5 and up.
  • These stories may be especially good for religious groups, but I think they would have a broad appeal to children and animal lovers of all ages.
  • Each tale ends with an informative blurb about the Saint. For example, "Saint Notburga is the patron saint of poor farmers and hired servants. Her feast day is September 14. Her emblem is the sickle."

Source Notes: The verso mentions that "The author's principal source for this book is Butler's Lives of the Saints (New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1956)."

The author's note is brief and explains what makes a person a saint and the canonization process. The author concludes, "This process does not make a person a saint. Only God can do that. Through canonization, the church recognizes what God has already done."

©2004 Librarians.info. All rights reserved. Karen Woodworth-Roman Last updated 5 May 2004.

 !    Stories
Saint Ambrose and the bees
Saint Blaise and the animals
Saint Brendan and the whale
Saint Brigid and the cows
Saint Francis and the wolf
Saint Giles and the doe
Saint Herve and the hen
Saint Hormisdas and the camels
Saint Hubert and the stag
Stain Hugh and the swan
Saint Kevin and the otters
Saint Notburga and the pigs.
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