Fun, Fresh, and Faith-filled

September/October 2008 Issue | Posted by Tim Drake in Entertainment

Little Ones (ages 0-7)

by Tim Drake

Prayer Warriors

Can a family ever have too many Catholic prayer books around the home? This concise book of prayers not only teaches families what to pray, but how to pray. It offers friendly introductions to the Church’s traditional prayers, with sections on Ignatian prayer, the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, the order of the Mass, mealtime and bedtime prayers, and more. It’s designed to make it easy for both children and adults to make prayer a central, meaningful, and joyful part of their daily lives.

A Prayer Book for Catholic Families

by Christopher Anderson, Susan Gleason

Anderson, and LaVonne Neff ($9.95), from

LoyolaBooks.org or (800) 621-1008.

Veggies’ Greatest

This fun-filled collection, which includes 15 irresistible video shorts, had our entire family in stitches. When Edmund Storch’s pet hamster disappears after he accidentally leaves the top off of its cage, Bob and Larry use these shorts from the “Veggie Vault” to help Storch feel better. Highlights include “Dr. Jiggle and Mr. Sly,” the Shakespearean-based “Omelet,” and a short on the life of St. Patrick.

VeggieTales: Lessons From the Sock Drawer

— A Collection of Veggie Shorts and Briefs

($12.70), from SacredHeartBooksAndGifts.com

Flying Fish!

The goal of this simple, but enjoyable, variation on the game of “catch” is to toss and catch fabric fish to one another using bamboo-and-fabric nets. Don’t be deceived. The fish are hard to catch because they’re always jumping up. The beauty of the game is that it can be played alone or with another player, ages four and up. Piscari comes with two nets and two fish.

Piscari

($15.95), from ForSmallHands.com

or (888) 274-4003.

For Baby

There are many baby remembrance books on the market, but few that put the focus where it belongs — on God! This radiant keepsake book will help parents record all of the special moments, people, and events in your baby’s life. It includes prayers, Scripture quotations, and inspirational prose, as well as space to record details and add your own photographs and scrapbooking. The book comes in a gift box. It features a padded cover and a yellow-satin-ribbon closure.

My Special Baby Book

Illustrated by Maria Cristina Lo Cascio ($19.95),

from Pauline.org or (800) 836-9723.

Out-of-the-Ordinary

Sock Creatures

These handmade sock dolls make a unique, lovable, collectible gift. Released in eight playful and colorful animal designs, each doll is carefully handmade with a colorful pair of socks (or one individual sock), creative stitching, and accessories, such as button eyes, to make it perfect for snuggling. Each Sok-O is produced in limited runs and comes with an individual birth certificate and card to describe the cuddly creature’s personality.

Sok-O

($49), from

Sok-O.com

Big Kids (ages 8-12)

by Lori Hadacek Chaplin

Sisterly Love

Jane Austen fans (12 and older) will enjoy reading Cassandra’s Sister, which reads like one of Austen’s own novels. The book, based on fact, follows the life, the loves, and the development of the 19th-century author’s most beloved characters. The novel begins when Jane (called “Jenny” by her family) is 17 years old and her sister, Cassandra, is 19. Fans of the movie, Becoming Jane, should be apprised that Austen’s romance with Tom Lefroy plays only
a small part in this book.

Cassandra’s Sister

by Veronica Bennett (Candlewick;

$12.47), from Amazon.com

Beating Heart

“I’ll die with a hammer in my hand before any machine beats a man. … A man’s got a heart inside, a big old beating heart, but a machine ain’t got
nothing but a soul of cold steel,” says folk legend, John Henry, about the steam drill in Rabbit Ears Treasury of African American Heroes. Hear John Henry’s tale told by Denzel Washington, with musical accompaniment by B.B. King. And listen to the story of how a family uses the Underground Railroad to escape slavery, as narrated by Morgan Freeman, with toe-tapping music by Taj Mahal.

Rabbit Ears Treasury

of African American Heroes

(1 unabridged CD; $11.95),

from ListeningLibrary.com

Chosen People

My family and I enjoyed reading about the number of similarities and differences between Catholicism and Judaism, in My Jewish Friend. We hadn’t realized the Jews use a different calendar; they use a lunar calendar that lasts 354 days — and not the solar calendar, which is 365 days. Other facts that we found interesting are that there are no capital letters in Hebrew, and that Hebrew text is read from right to left. At a glance, the reader can find these facts and more, as the book is arranged with a number of sidebars along with the body text.

My Jewish Friend:

A Young Catholic Learns

About Judaism

by Celia Sirois, illustrated

by Mariano Santillan ($15.95),

from Pauline.org or (800) 836-9723.

Lost Journey

After the death of her Babushka (grandmother), 11-year-old Philomena travels to Prague to search for her only living relative, the beautiful and mysterious, but missing, Aunt Lishka. While seeking her aunt and employment, Philomena has many mishaps and adventures that leave her with a canary bird, a kitten, and a dog. In this illustrated story, set in the early 1900s, young readers (ages 8-11) learn the importance of keeping your word — even if it means sacrificing your pride.

Philomena

by Kate

Seredy ($11.95), from BethlehemBooks.com

or (800) 757-6831.

Teens

by Celeste Behe

Save the Earth

The Tripods Attack!, the first volume of the Young Chesterton Chronicles, is a story of faith, as young Gilbert manages to find God in the midst of terror and travail. Main characters: G.K. Chesterton, H. G. Wells, the diminutive detective Father Brown, and — oh, yes — St. Michael the Archangel form an alliance to save the human race from becoming Mar-tian fodder. Filled with witty dialogue and sprinkled with quotes from Chesterton’s own writings, The Tripods Attack! is a winner for older teenagers, and for younger teens who are able to handle its vivid imagery.

The Tripods Attack!

by John McNichol ($14.95),

from SophiaInstitute.com

or (800) 888-9344.

The Perfect Cup

The campus coffeehouse has closed for the night, eyelids are getting heavy, and the Big Exam is tomorrow. What’s a student to do? Tear into his stash of Mystic Monk Coffee, that’s what! Roasted and prepared by Carmelite monks in a cloistered monastery, Mystic Monk coffee is a superior product. Sales of Mystic Monk merchandise, including T-shirts and Gregorian chant CDs, help to support the monks. The top seller, a double-handled coffee mug emblazoned with the Mystic Monk logo, reflects the old custom that the monks drink with two hands “as a sign of gratitude for the gifts of food that God provides from our benefactors.”

Mystic Monk Coffee

25 varieties ($9.95 for

a 12-ounce bag), from

MysticMonkCoffee.com or (877) 751-6377.

Broadcast Faith

In response to YouTube’s slogan, “Broadcast Yourself,” the folks at LoveToBeCatholic.com encourage young moviemakers to “Broadcast Faith.” The result is a monitored media website featuring videos that strive to reflect authentic Catholic teaching. Over two dozen video categories include: vocations, Catholic organizations, liturgy, videos en español, catechesis, and popular culture. The “musical and visual guides” to devotions such as the Angelus and the Divine Mercy Chaplet are excellent aids to prayer. Teens will like the snazzy faith wristband imprinted with the Latin phrase “Periucundum est Catholicum esse” (“It’s cool to be Catholic”), free with a donation.

Love to Be Catholic

Check it out at

LoveToBeCatholic.com

What a Day

From the tiny Catholic nation of Malta emerged the mighty voice of Rob Galea. Now a seminarian living in Australia, this seasoned Maltese powerhouse was tapped to sing the Italian version of “Receive the Power,” the official anthem of World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney (downloaded free of charge from WYD2008.org). Galea warmed up for Sydney in his newest album, “What a Day,” where his talents in singing and songwriting are showcased in English, Maltese, and Italian. Check out his site RobertGalea.com

What a Day

($12.97), from

CDBaby.com

— Grace Behe

A Break From Busyness

Take a time-out from back-to-school bustle. Browse these great picks for you.

Adults

by Daria Sockey

Classical Music Buff

Enjoy a rendition of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony right along with the Pope. In 2007 the Bavarian Symphony Orchestra performed for the Pope — plus an audience of several thousand — in the papal audience hall. Afterwards the Pope addresses the orchestra with a brief but lovely meditation on the Symphony’s theme of “Joy.” In addition, the “making of” documentary that is included will amaze you with the technical details required to put on such a concert, and gorgeous visuals of Rome and St. Peter’s square.

A Concert in Honour

of Pope Benedict XVI

($28.99), BarnesAndNoble.com

or rent from Netflix

Christ at Your Coffee Break

St. Ignatius was a multi-tasker.
He knew that his followers would not be spending their entire day in quiet contemplation. They would be working, and working hard. So his spirituality is designed for anyone — religious or lay — whose vocation is an active one. Authors Mike Aquilina and Father Kris Stubna have de-signed a handy little book of blessedly brief meditations from the writings of Ignatius. Each one is followed up by a few key points to think and pray over. If you have tried to pray at work and not had much success, this book will jumpstart your spirit.

Take Five: On the Job

Meditations With

St. Ignatius

by Mike Aquilina and Fr. Kris Stubna ($9.95), from OSV.com or (800) 348-2440.

Dark and Stormy Night

Normally I don’t read scary fiction, but when I saw, under the usually tame “Christian fiction” category, a book that involved kidnapping, demonic activity, and a child with psychic ability, I just had to bite. And I loved it. The main character’s gritty faith, which kept her praying right through her pain and doubts, was right and real. There’s nothing preachy, saccharine, or even heretical here. Just faith seeing you through pain and giving you strength to do what you must do. The book is suspenseful and creepy, but I’d let an older teen read it.

My Soul to Keep

by Melanie Wells (Multnomah Books;

$10.39), from Amazon.com

Best Westerns

John Wayne is the iconic, la-conic western hero, and the four pictures, The Big Trail, North to Alaska, The Comanchero, and The Undefeated in the John Wayne: The Fox Westerns collection are among his best. If you want more variety in your leading gunmen, try the Fox Western Classics instead, a three-disc collection that features Gregory Peck, Tyrone Power, and Gary Cooper in starring roles. These 1950s films — Rawhide, The Gunfighter, and The Garden of Evil — are a bit more grim than the Wayne pictures — the good vs. evil conflicts are a little more nuanced, with some unexpected twists at the ending.

John Wayne:

The Fox Westerns

($19.49), from

FamilyVideo.com

Fox Western Classics

($14.99), from

Amazon.com

The Real Population Story

Do you have friends who claim that the planet is doomed because of overpopulation? You might want to share this documentary with them. It’s the only video I’m aware of that tells the real story about population — using social scientists, economists, and graphs to show that a demographically aging population and plummeting birth rates are leading toward a demographic winter that threatens to have catastrophic social and economic consequences. Catholic families will support the film’s conclusion — that only stable, faithful families offer any hope for the coming crisis.

Demographic Winter:

The Decline of the

Human Family

($19.95), from DemographicWinter.com

— Tim Drake