An Alphabet of Saints

Mgr. Benson gives a witty, pious poem telling of a saint for each letter of the alphabet. "X" appears to have posed a bit of a challenge: he resorts to "Xystus," the Greek rendering of "Sixtus." Even with all the canonizations between the book's original 1905 publication and today, we don't appear to have other saints whose Christian names start with "X" other than a few named Sixtus. So one can't blame Benson for that.As indicated, the work is unchanged, by all appearances, from its original 1905 format. So the feast days for the saints are those appearing in what we would now term the "Extraordinary Form." Some, such as St. Norbert, are the same. Others, such as St. Benedict of Nursia have been moved.The little poems, as well as the selection of saints, have a tendency towards Anglo-centrism. Sts. Richard, Thomas a Becket, and Wilfrid make appearances, as do several rather recusant-themed barbs at Henry VIII's destruction of English shrines and reliquaries. But Mgr. Benson was writing for English children, so the English theme is to be expected.Overall, the book is a delightful little gem. The poems are equal parts poignant and hilarious. The illustrations (some of which you can see at Neumann Press's own website) are fantastic, and the appearance of the book as a whole is quite nice. The pages are a nice, thick paper. Neumann's binding and cover are a tad on the yeomanry side, but they're doing yeoman's work keeping works like this in print. The work should be a high-priority addition to your Catholic children's library.Edit (2014): Since I wrote the original review, Neumann Press has been bought by TAN Books and this title reissued in the new binding now seen on Amazon's page. I've seen a copy of the new printing, and while the paper quality remains high, the binding has improved and the margins have been shrunk (making the overall dimensions of the book a tad smaller), yielding a tome that fits more easily on the shelf. Even though the new cover is perhaps not quite as attractive as the old, I would call it, overall, an improvement. The book is still worth putting on your shelf.

My children and I love this book!

Really interesting book. Younger children can enjoy the letters and older children will learn some details about Saints' lives.

One of my favourite books to give to kids!

Beautiful book! These books are hard to find these days!!!

We gave this treasure to our goddaughter, with prayers that she will grow immersed in the Faith, and also immersed in high culture! A wonderful hardback book to last until she can read it to her own godchildren!