What better way can there be to peek into the life of Pope Francis than through the eyes of his cat? Cat Margaret, the hero of the a new series of chapter books, The Pope's Cat, by Jon M. Sweeney, is a fictional character but she could very well be real. I don't know if Pope Francis owns a cat but I do know a few priests who have a feline friend - don't you? Pope Francis meets a stray cat ,names her Margaret and smuggles her into the Vatican where she observes the goings on a

Since the release of the motion picture For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada, a long covered up period in Mexican history has come to light. In the wake of the movie, some great books for Catholic kids have been published about the Mexican martyrs who defended their faith in the face of brutal persecution in the 1920s. Saint Jose: Boy Cristero Martyr by Father Kevin McKenzie, LC, is a brand new addition to the popular Vision Books series by Ignatius Press. 14-year-o

I like to investigate books popular among kids at our public library. When I took home I Survived Hurricane Katrina, one of the volumes in the I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis, I was impressed: On August 28, 2005, the day Katrina is approaching, eleven-year-old Barry Tucker, the book's fictional child hero, is oblivious of the disaster that is about to strike his hometown of New Orleans. Barry's mind is occupied with excitement over a comic book he has written and illustra

British author Margaret Rumer Godden (1907-98) is probably best known for her adult novel In this House of Brede (highly recommended) which was made into a movie starring Diana Rigg. I discovered only recently that Godden was a prolific writer with over 60 books to her name, many of them children's books.She wrote under her last name Rumer Godden. Godden grew up in Bangladesh but was educated in English boarding schools. She converted to Catholicism at age 61. Godden's childr