Caswell Family Retelling Resources


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There are 13 saints retellings in 1st grade, and 8 in 2nd grade, and 5 reports in 4th grade. I find that reviewing the stories from earlier grades are a great way for them to refresh and get a handle on their report.

I hear a lot of people asking about the saints books to use. Our family is picky; as a writer myself, I want a story that is a GOOD STORY, not just a dry article or series of sketches from the saint’s life. We use picture books almost exclusively.  This method is more expensive than just getting a collection, but I’ve found it turns out better reports and retellings if there is a narrative to latch onto. I got all mine (except St. Joseph books) on abebooks.com or paperbackswap.com or used on amazon.com for a few dollars each.

Books we use all the time for the retellings and report refreshers (Find the amazon links on their actual calendar date, and which Pochocki book they’re in HERE.)

New to the list:

*John Mary Vianney:  The Holy Cure of Ars** Therese: The Little Flower of Lisieux**Bernadette by Marival-Hutin* * Francis Poor Man of Assisi*

A Gift of Gracias: The Legend of Altagracia by Julia Alvarez
A Saint and His Lion: The Story of Tekla of Ethiopia by Stone
Book of Sanctity by Seton:  Martin of Tours, St. Anthony, St. Blaise, Germaine Cousin, and others.  (Companion stories for most in Pochocki.)
Brigid’s Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story by Bryce Milligan/ Helen Cann (delightful companion story in Pochocki)
Children’s Book of Virtues Series  or found in a single volume Treasury (illustrated) by Bennett: We like this version of St. George and there’s a short Francis story too.  Also Junipero Serra, Mother Teresa (if it’s not too sad for you), St. Christopher, St. Martin of Tours, and plenty of Bible Character stories.
Christopher, the Holy Giant by Tomie dePaola
Legends of Saints and Beasts by Jauss: Four stories about saints and animals. We especially like Jerome and the lion and Francis and the wolf.
Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert by Schmidt (There’s a companion story in Pochoki*)
Our Lady of Guadalupe by Bernier-Grand OR De Paola version from library or Kindle is equally good, (There’s a companion story in Pochoki*)
Pascual and the Kitchen Angels by Tomie dePaola
Peter Claver, Patron Saint of Slaves by Julia Durango/Rebecca Garcia-Franco
Saint Brendan and the Voyage Before Columbus
Saint Felix and the Spider by Dessi Jackson* (There’s a companion story in Pochoki*)
Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda
St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend by Stiegemeyer*(There’s a companion story in Pochoki*)
The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola (There’s a companion story in Pochoki*)
The Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica by Kathleen Norris/ Tomie dePaola
The Little Friar Who Flew by Patricia Lee Gauch (There’s a companion story in Pochoki*)
The Queen and the Cats: A Story of St. Helena by Lee
The Saint and his Bees by Dessi Jackson

For the five Saints reports in 4th, we generally review the matching picture books above, followed by the below Saint Joseph picture books.

Kateri Tekakwitha
Elizabeth Ann Seton
St. Martin De Porres
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Patrick
There are many others to choose from too, but the top three are the only AMERICAN saints in the collection.