This gem of a book is best described in the words of Peter Kwasniewski, who has written the Foreword for our newly reprinted edition:
“Quite simply, it’s the loveliest, most charming, and in many ways most clever introduction to the liturgical calendar I’ve ever come across. It is informed by a deep Catholic love for the seasons of the year, the feasting and fasting, the great holy days, the pageantry of the saints and their stories, the underlying rhythm that connects nature, culture, and sanctity.”
And that is precisely what Enid Chadwick manages to capture: not simply the feasts of the Church's year, but its rhythm and pattern. With remarkably little text, her captivating artwork leads children from Advent through Corpus Christi, while the saints fill the months in between. The result is a parade of Catholic life in which the mysteries of Our Lord, the seasons of the Church, and the lives of the saints all belong together.
Chadwick herself was a High Church Anglican, but the calendar she depicts corresponds remarkably closely to the traditional Catholic calendar. In his foreword, Kwasniewski explains the few differences for Catholic readers, while also drawing attention to the rich liturgical heritage the two traditions share.
Chadwick's illustrations are simple and immediately appealing to young children, yet packed with delightful details and surprisingly rich teaching for those who look more closely—making My Book of the Church's Year a book to pore over again and again.
See photos comparing our newly reprinted edition with the original book here on our blog!
6" x 9.5" Hardcover 52 pages
Customer Reviews
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Great Purchase
Great Purchase
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My Book of the Church’s Year
I’ve wanted this book for a while and was hoping it would be available through a UK source. However, when I did order it from The St. Augustine press, it arrived remarkably quickly and I’m very pleased with it
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Love it!
Love it!
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Colourful, Illustrative, and Charming
This book presents the Church's liturgical seasons (N.B. Traditional reckoning) using images that would be familiar to a mediaeval Christian, but is attractive to children of our days. Well done!
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Great
Great
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Lovely! What a gem!
I saw Leila Lawler speak about this book on her blog awhile back---what treat to then see a blog post at LIKE MOTHER LIKE DAUGHTER telling how St. Augustine Academy Press had taken on the project of getting this little gem back in publication. A worthy treasure for any Catholic family library.
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Excellent!
This is a treasure of Anglicanism and it's lovely that it's being shared with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters.
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My Book of the Church's Year
An excellent & delightful book for teaching (and learning!) the Church's Liturgical Year.
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Great to see this book back in print
It’s wonderful to see this book back in print. An absolutely delightful book for children and adults alike. Beautifully illustrated