Author Topic: Spiritual Reading for Children 8-10 ? (Read 1160 times)

Ladislaus · « **on:** June 23, 2014, 06:51:33 AM »

I have been searching in vain for decent spiritual reading for children about 8-10 years old. There seems to be a huge void in this area. There are great books out there, but most have vocabulary and syntax and grammar that are geared towards adults and which render them unintelligible for younger children. That's even true of the Douay-Rheims translation of the Bible. Sometimes the language is so archaic that it's inaccessible to children. Same thing with most lives of the saints. Ironically, if you look at the Greek New Testament, it's written in the simplest Greek and has very little complex grammar or syntax.

On the other hand you have a lot of the saint picture books, but they seem to be geared towards the 5- or 6-year old and are lacking in substance and have a lot of fluff.

So something in between these.

I've had a thought to come up with a children's translation of the Bible, based on the Douay Rheims (plus Greek and Latin) but simplified for children. Same thing with lives of the saints. But I just don't have the time at this point in my life.

Another thing I've also thought would be beneficial for children but I don't have the time to put together is little audios with guided meditations for children, to help teach them mental prayer. Yes, the SSPX offers Ignatian retreats, but these target adults and late teens. And chlldren need guided meditations. These new-agers create guided meditations, but there's nothing like that out there for younger Catholic children. Children need to learn mental prayer, and they need to be walked through it and guided through it, helping them to use their imagination, the imagination of their various senses, according to the method of St. Ignatius. You can't just give them a "topic" for meditation, as one does for adults and send them off.

To me, this 8-10 year-old range is the most critical in spiritual formation, and yet it appears to be the most neglected.

Does anyone know of materials out there that target this range? If not, I'm going to have to start creating such materials myself.

Tiffany · « **Reply #1 on:** June 23, 2014, 07:23:25 AM »

Have you seen the Treasure Box series?

Ladislaus · « **Reply #2 on:** June 23, 2014, 09:00:58 AM »

Quote from: Tiffany

Have you seen the Treasure Box series?

Thank you, Tiffany. No I haven't. Because of your post, though, I looked them up. They seem nice, but I can't tell if they're geared for the younger crowd, 5-7 year olds, or if they have enough meat to target those 8-10 year olds. Series seems to have 20 small booklets for $100, and I think that my 8-10 year-old children would get through the series in about a week and then be bored.

Once the kids get to about 12 or 13, they can start handling the adult books. But there just seems to be a huge gap from 8-10, and those to me are crucial formative years, the ones after which children start to reach the age of reason. I am very surprised that with hundreds of years of strong Catholic Church in America and vibrant religious orders that there isn't more out there for them.

Ladislaus · « **Reply #3 on:** June 23, 2014, 09:02:41 AM »

On Amazon I found this:

Age Range: 3 - 7 years
Grade Level: Kindergarten - 2

Cantarella · « **Reply #4 on:** June 23, 2014, 11:02:12 AM »

Here are 3 links you may want to check out. You can look for books and materials according to grade and subject. Not sure if you can find here exactly what you are looking for, but they sure have some good resources.

http://www.olvs.org/
http://www.setonbooks.com/
https://www.chcweb.com/catalog/

Ladislaus · « **Reply #5 on:** June 23, 2014, 11:49:11 AM »

Thank you also, Cantarella.

I just can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

Until I can, I'll just try to make the time to create some of these materials myself.

MaterDominici · « **Reply #6 on:** June 23, 2014, 03:33:34 PM »

Treasure Box is a little baby-ish for an 8-y-o. But, not necessarily a waste of time. It's rather diverse, so it's hard to say what they'd think of them. There are a few of them on sale at TAN right now for $3 each if you wanted to give a few a try.

We're reading The Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories as part of our schoolwork. While they're probably already familiar with many of the stories themselves, this isn't a baby-ish book, and my 8-y-o enjoys it.

Two others I'd recommend for this age group are A Life of Our Lord for Children (which I've read and enjoyed myself) and (which I've not read, but is a continuation of the first). My son hasn't read these himself yet as we did the first as a read-aloud several years ago, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be too difficult for him now at age 8 1/2. If you enjoy them, the author has written a couple of others as well.

MaterDominici · « **Reply #7 on:** June 23, 2014, 04:23:47 PM »

These aren't really recommendations as I've not read any of them, but here are other books I'm aware of that I believe would be in the age range you're looking for. Feel free to Google for age levels in case I toss something in this group that doesn't belong.

Fr Finn books - there are six that have been printed by TAN
"Like Catholic versions of Tom Sawyer or the Hardy Boys -- but these books also teach Catholic virtues through their exciting, fun to read adventures! Includes Tom Playfair, Percy Wynn, and Harry Dee. A great portrayal of the All-American Catholic boy."

My Path to Heaven - I borrowed a copy of this to preview and wasn't fond of the writing style, but it's the right age group.

Windeatt chapter books - saint books advertised for age 10 and up

Vision Books - saint books for about age 9 and up

The Book of Saints and Heroes - I think this is out of print again, but it's an old book, so you might be able to find it free online. One of the reviewers on Amazon suggested age 12+.

Tales of Foreign Lands: Catholic Stories of Adventure in the Mission Lands - three volumes

My Catholic Faith - a catechism good for almost any age (maybe 10 on up?), numerous illustrations

Ladislaus · « **Reply #8 on:** June 23, 2014, 06:19:40 PM »

Quote from: MaterDominici

Treasure Box is a little baby-ish for an 8-y-o. But, not necessarily a waste of time. It's rather diverse, so it's hard to say what they'd think of them. There are a few of them on sale at TAN right now for $3 each if you wanted to give a few a try.

We're reading The Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories as part of our schoolwork. While they're probably already familiar with many of the stories themselves, this isn't a baby-ish book, and my 8-y-o enjoys it.

Two others I'd recommend for this age group are A Life of Our Lord for Children (which I've read and enjoyed myself) and (which I've not read, but is a continuation of the first). My son hasn't read these himself yet as we did the first as a read-aloud several years ago, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be too difficult for him now at age 8 1/2. If you enjoy them, the author has written a couple of others as well.

Thank you so very much. I'll look into these.

Neil Obstat · « **Reply #9 on:** June 23, 2014, 09:19:47 PM »

Quote from: MaterDominici

These aren't really recommendations as I've not read any of them, but here are other books I'm aware of that I believe would be in the age range you're looking for. Feel free to Google for age levels in case I toss something in this group that doesn't belong.

Fr Finn books - there are six that have been printed by TAN
"Like Catholic versions of Tom Sawyer or the Hardy Boys -- but these books also teach Catholic virtues through their exciting, fun to read adventures! Includes Tom Playfair, Percy Wynn, and Harry Dee. A great portrayal of the All-American Catholic boy."

My Path to Heaven - I borrowed a copy of this to preview and wasn't fond of the writing style, but it's the right age group.

Windeatt chapter books - saint books advertised for age 10 and up

Vision Books - saint books for about age 9 and up

The Book of Saints and Heroes - I think this is out of print again, but it's an old book, so you might be able to find it free online. One of the reviewers on Amazon suggested age 12+.

Tales of Foreign Lands: Catholic Stories of Adventure in the Mission Lands - three volumes

My Catholic Faith - a catechism good for almost any age (maybe 10 on up?), numerous illustrations

The "Windeatt Chapter Books" are miscategorized for "10 and up."

They are for ALL AGES. I have known 3-year olds to enjoy them. There have been many saints in the history of the Church who at a very young age, like before the age of reason, had the grace to understand concepts most challenging even for adults. Your child could be one of these. You never know how God's grace will work next.

Mary Fabyan Windeatt was a most talented writer, who took complicated and intricate stories making them understandable at a simple level.

The most prominent of these 20 books (you should have the entire 20 volume set without question!) is The Little Flower. This is a marvelous work that serves both as a stand-alone story book for children (but based in reality) but also for an introductory volume for adults who would like to read A Story of a Soul, by St. Therese of Lisieux. Many adults who could not understand things in the quasi-autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, have been most appreciative of this shorter work by Windeatt, because it explains all of the mysterious questions in the Saint's writings. St. Therese had not intended her work to be made into a book for publication, but rather it was a series of letters sent to her sister under obedience, for her sister was the Superior of the Convent where St. Therese was stationed.

It says right on the pages of this book that perhaps when the reader is a bit older (like a year or two over 5, for instance) that he might like to read the original writings, A Story of a Soul. That is to say, now that you have read The Little Flower by Windeatt, you will be prepared to read the full version that captivated the interests of millions in the early part of the 20th century, before she was canonized in 1924. In fact, it was in no small measure the popularity of this fine book that advanced the cause for her canonization to a mere quarter-century.

(Do not make the mistake of comparing this to the literal joke of JPII's cause, which is another matter entirely. In 1924 the Church was still running on the tracks and firing on all 8 cylinders.)

.

Neil Obstat · « **Reply #10 on:** June 23, 2014, 09:45:57 PM »

Quote from: Ladislaus

I have been searching in vain for decent spiritual reading for children about 8-10 years old. There seems to be a huge void in this area. There are great books out there, but most have vocabulary and syntax and grammar that are geared towards adults and which render them unintelligible for younger children. That's even true of the Douay-Rheims translation of the Bible. Sometimes the language is so archaic that it's inaccessible to children. Same thing with most lives of the saints. Ironically, if you look at the Greek New Testament, it's written in the simplest Greek and has very little complex grammar or syntax.

On the other hand you have a lot of the saint picture books, but they seem to be geared towards the 5- or 6-year old and are lacking in substance and have a lot of fluff.

So something in between these.

I've had a thought to come up with a children's translation of the Bible, based on the Douay Rheims (plus Greek and Latin) but simplified for children. Same thing with lives of the saints. But I just don't have the time at this point in my life.

Another thing I've also thought would be beneficial for children but I don't have the time to put together is little audios with guided meditations for children, to help teach them mental prayer. Yes, the SSPX offers Ignatian retreats, but these target adults and late teens. And chlldren need guided meditations. These new-agers create guided meditations, but there's nothing like that out there for younger Catholic children. Children need to learn mental prayer, and they need to be walked through it and guided through it, helping them to use their imagination, the imagination of their various senses, according to the method of St. Ignatius. You can't just give them a "topic" for meditation, as one does for adults and send them off.

To me, this 8-10 year-old range is the most critical in spiritual formation, and yet it appears to be the most neglected.

Does anyone know of materials out there that target this range? If not, I'm going to have to start creating such materials myself.

Two things here.

First,
I recommend that YOU read from Frank Sheed's Theology and Sanity (Ignatius Press) in the first 3 chapters. Do not expect the 8-10 year olds to understand this. It is for you, so you can help them. You say they need guidance using their "imaginations" but I suspect you don't literally mean that.

WARNING: Pay no attention to the 8-page "Preface to the Revised Edition," which goes on for 8 pages of infection with the unclean spirit of Vatican II that had swept the world at that time. When the book was first written it had no such corrupted Preface in it. The one-page Forward to the First Edition is okay.

Read Chapter 1 of Sheed's book, and you will have a better grasp of what I'm talking about. The first section is "Religion and the Mind," which goes directly to the problem of us replacing our intellect with our "imagination," as you have done here, in your post above. It is an innocent mistake, because of our culture, but you would no doubt be most appreciative of the expansion Sheed offers in this fine book of his.

Second,
I do hope you haven't been looking at "centering prayer" or "meditations in the manner of Merton" or things like that. Steer clear of anything written after about 1947. That is, until you know what you're looking for. We have a tremendous wealth of information that was available prior to then.

I recommend for the children to try using a 150 step meditation for the Mysteries of the Rosary. They're in a book called "Let's Pray, Not Just Say, the Rosary," by Fr. Richard L. Rooney, SJ.

I made a thread about them in November, found here.

The Rosary is Our Lady's gift to us to train us how to meditate in a Catholic manner. Actually that is the only way to really meditate at all. Any "eastern mysticism" or "NewAge" method is only a DISTRACTION from the true one.

It is the OBJECTIVE of meditation to FILL our mind with God's grace, beauty and goodness, not to EMPTY it of everything, including God's grace, beauty and goodness!! Children can never be too young to learn this lesson.

Go and see - go to any public place and find the children that are worst behaved, and find out if they're Catholic or pray the Rosary. They will not be. Then find the children who are well-behaved, and find out the same. Many of them will be so. This is very interesting to do.

.

.

Neil Obstat · « **Reply #11 on:** June 23, 2014, 09:52:08 PM »

Quote from: Ladislaus

Quote from: Tiffany
Have you seen the Treasure Box series?

Thank you, Tiffany. No I haven't. Because of your post, though, I looked them up. They seem nice, but I can't tell if they're geared for the younger crowd, 5-7 year olds, or if they have enough meat to target those 8-10 year olds. Series seems to have 20 small booklets for $100, and I think that my 8-10 year-old children would get through the series in about a week and then be bored.

Once the kids get to about 12 or 13, they can start handling the adult books. But there just seems to be a huge gap from 8-10, and those to me are crucial formative years, the ones after which children start to reach the age of reason. I am very surprised that with hundreds of years of strong Catholic Church in America and vibrant religious orders that there isn't more out there for them.

Curiously, the Treasure Box series is attractively made and the artwork is tasteful enough even for adults to appreciate.

They were produced in a time of innocence when artists were still able to retain some of the virtue of the Catholic Age of Grace before the corruption inherent with the abomination of Vat,II set in like a disease.

So by that standard, you might well find your 8-10 yr olds fascinated with the style of presentation. Remember, the author and illustrator were not "too old" to appreciate them when they did their work of love. Who knows, you might have a budding author or illustrator on your hands!

.

Cantarella · « **Reply #12 on:** June 23, 2014, 10:19:01 PM »

Quote from: Neil Obstat

I recommend for the children to try using a 150 step meditation for the Mysteries of the Rosary. They're in a book called "Let's Pray, Not Just Say, the Rosary," by Fr. Richard L. Rooney, SJ.

Thank you for the reference.

Is this the one?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076481656X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=076481656X&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwchanco-20

It seems the Luminous Mysteries have been added.

"The original classic edition of this bestselling pamphlet with the Luminous Mysteries of Pope John Paul II added in the same style as Father Rooney's original fifteen mysteries".

Ladislaus · « **Reply #13 on:** June 24, 2014, 02:42:03 PM »

Quote from: Neil Obstat

Second,
I do hope you haven't been looking at "centering prayer" or "meditations in the manner of Merton" or things like that. Steer clear of anything written after about 1947. That is, until you know what you're looking for. We have a tremendous wealth of information that was available prior to then.

Nope. I'm talking about the meditation techniques of St. Ignatius ... using one's imagination, senses, etc. But, with little ones, they don't know enough about the mysteries involved to be able to do this effectively.

Quote

I recommend for the children to try using a 150 step meditation for the Mysteries of the Rosary. They're in a book called "Let's Pray, Not Just Say, the Rosary," by Fr. Richard L. Rooney, SJ.

Most adults, much less children, do not actually meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary.

Quote

I made a thread about them in November, found here.

Thank you. I will definitely look at this.

Quote

The Rosary is Our Lady's gift to us to train us how to meditate in a Catholic manner. Actually that is the only way to really meditate at all. Any "eastern mysticism" or "NewAge" method is only a DISTRACTION from the true one.

Are you not aware of the Spiritual Exercise of St. Ignatius? There is such a thing as mental prayer and meditation outside of the Rosary. In fact, I am convinced that it's the reason that Our Lady asked SEPARATELY for 15 minutes of meditation on the Mysteries of the Rosary IN ADDITION to the Rosary itself for the First Saturday devotion. Too many people have gotten into the habbit of rattling out the words and not actually using the Rosary as a springboard into mental prayer and meditation. I actually dislike doing the public Rosary thing in Church ... apart from it being a public way to honor Our Lady. When I pray the Rosary, I need to spend several minutes BEFORE each decade meditating on the mystery in order to say the Rosary properly.

Quote

It is the OBJECTIVE of meditation to FILL our mind with God's grace, beauty and goodness, not to EMPTY it of everything, including God's grace, beauty and goodness!! Children can never be too young to learn this lesson.

This has nothing to do with emptiness, but ... again ... the method of St. Ignatius.

Ladislaus · « **Reply #14 on:** June 24, 2014, 03:11:12 PM »

IMO, here's how I think the Rosary works. Our Lady (God through Our Lady) designed it quite beautifully. In addition to lower forms of cognition, those shared even with animals, human beings also have higher intellectual faculties. Have you every found yourself driving home from somewhere and, when you get there, being unable to recollect specifically how you got there? I have that happen if I'm preoccupied thinking of more important things. Somehow your brain causes your body to make all the correct turns, merge onto the right highway, stop at stop lights as needed, etc. without your having to consciously think "Turn right here.", "Now go straight." etc. I've found myself 10 minutes on the way to work before realizing that I wasn't trying to get to work but merely intended to run an errand. Because my mind was elsewhere and focused on other things.

What the Rosary does is to keep the lower cognitive functions of the brain anchored in the Hail Mary. Because it's so habitual and repetitive, you don't have to focus your higher faculties on making sure you say the correct words. Consequently, this frees up the higher faculties to contemplate the mysteries of the Rosary.

Our Lady gave us the Rosary basically as training wheels for (at least acquired) contemplation. Contemplation involves the almost exclusive use of higher faculties to think about God ... without the noise of recursive thought. So the Rosary anchors down in the repetitive words the recursive part of the brain so that the non-recursive higher-faculties can soar to the heights of contemplation.

I can see Our Blessed Mother behind us as we ride our bikes, first having us put on the training wheels (the Holy Rosary), then holding the back of the bike (as we focus more on the mysteries), and then finally sending us coasting in the world of contemplation.