Our children love to read!  Over the years, our library has continued to grow.  Catholic books are great for helping form our children in the faith!  Both our Catholic and secular books are mixed in together on the bookshelf, so we never know which our children will bring to us to read.  Some of our favorite Catholic children’s books are below.  These are great ideas to consider for your child’s next feast day or baptism anniversary gift!

My First Pictures of Easter by Maite Roche

Maite Roche does a wonderful job in this board book!  The book shows a large scene on one page with simple text along with smaller illustrated key terms.  It depicts the events of Holy Week and Easter on a level a two-year-old can understand and it provided a great way to discuss Christ’s passion and crucifixion in an age-appropriate way for the first time with our oldest son. Roche’s other board books, including My First Pictures of Jesus and My First Pictures of Christmas, are also favorites in our household.  This book was an Easter gift from our oldest child’s godmother for his first Easter, and since then this book has become a favorite for a young child to take to Mass.  Additionally, we include a Maite Roche board book as part of a baptism gift.  Our children enjoyed this book from the very first moment they showed interest in books!

The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism by Bennet Kelley

The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism uses the content and questions of the original Baltimore catechism but enhances the question and answer format with expanded lesson activities. It is also filled with age-appropriate artwork and additional prayers which can be utilized daily to reinforce the lesson. It is further offered in multiple editions with The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism #1 designed for ages 8 and up (or grades 3 and up) and The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism #2 designed for grades 6-8.

Can You Find Jesus?  Introducing Your Child to the Gospel (Search and Learn Books) by Philip D. Gallery

Philip D. Gallery’s Search and Learn books help visually bring the Bible to life. The illustrations are incredibly engaging and our two-year-old child enjoys simply looking at the pictures. Additionally, short paragraphs describe each item the child is searching for to sprinkle a bit of learning in with the fun. Our five-year-old can repeat the stories and enjoys finding the hidden picture items over and over again. A parent guide is also included to help further deepen the conversation. After your child has found all the images on each page, there are additional images hidden on the pages as described in the front of the book. We have had this book for over a year and our children still enjoy it as much as when it was new!

Other titles include Can You Find Bible Heroes?, Can You Find Followers of Jesus?, and Can You Find Saints? Our children have enjoyed this book beginning at 18 months.

New Catholic Picture Bible by Catholic Book Publishing Co

This Bible is our favorite children’s Bible! Each story is one page with a full page color illustration. Over one hundred stories are represented. Each year, we use this Bible for our Jesse tree readings as these stories are presented in a way that is engaging to youngsters. It would also be great to read one story each night before bedtime. Both Old and New Testament stories are included which helps create a well-rounded representation of the Bible. Because of this Bible, our five-year-old son can tell you his favorite story: David and Goliath. We started using this book around age 2 and continue to enjoy it!

Picture Book of Saints by Lawrence G. Lovasik

One hundred and six saints are included in this book. Each saint's chzpter includes a stunning illustration along with a prayer, a short biography, and feast day information. Our son loves to find his patron saints, and due to this book, is able to articulate his patron saints' stories. The book is even able to portray the trials of the martyrs in an accurate but age-appropriate fashion.

Another great way to use this book is to read the “saint of the day” from the liturgical calendar each day when possible. We enjoyed this book from age 2 and up.

The Mass for Children by Rev. Jude Winkler, OFM

This is a great way to introduce your child to the various parts of the Mass! The book takes the child through all the various parts of the Mass from beginning to end. We suggest using it during Mass just like the Missal for adults. The gorgeous pictures will help hold a child’s attention and follow along with what is taking place. The words in the book are not the actual words of Mass like a Missal, but the parts of the Mass are explained in a way that four-year-olds and up can understand.

Catholic ABC Book by Emma McKean

This coloring book is our favorite for young children! Each page includes a letter of the alphabet and a religious item that corresponds with the letter. For instance, ‘B’ is for Bethlehem with a picture of Mary with Jesus in the manager to color. There is also a short one-sentence explanation on how the letter corresponds with the picture. In addition to teaching letters, this coloring book has also helped our children identify religious items within our church and within our home. It is best suited for ages 3-5.

St. Patrick’s Summer: A Children’s Adventure Catechism by Marigold Hunt

When St. Patrick appears to Cecelia and Michael, the two children begin an adventure which is both fun and intellectually formative. Over the course of the adventure, Cecelia and Michael encounter many great figures of the faith including St. Patrick, Eve, Abraham and more. As the figures appear to the children and share their stories, Cecelia and Michael learn the faith in a question and answer format as they converse with each of these great heroes.

St. Patrick’s Summer is one part adventure and one part bible lesson. Moreover, it is rich in Christian philosophy and will provide to parent and child alike valuable lessons in the truths necessary to understanding the catholic faith. Important philosophical concepts like human nature are described in a manner that is eloquent, simple, and age-appropriate. Our son enjoyed this when we first started reading chapter books to him. For ages 8 and up (including adults!).

Stations of the Cross by Lawrence G. Lovasik

This is one of our favorite books to read during Lent! The book beautifully depicts the traditional Stations of the Cross, along with a short explanation of each station. The stations are explained so well! It allows our children to more fully participate when we pray the Stations of the Cross as a family or with our parish family. The pictures have engaged our children from the time they were old enough not to eat the book and it is still prayerful for us as parents. Our oldest son will occasionally ask us to pray the Stations of the Cross with this book outside of Lent as well. We actually bought a pack of ten several years ago so we could give some of these books away to friends.

What is your favorite Catholic children's book? Share in the comments!