Light of Heaven

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I’ve been a fan of Adalee Hude’s art for some time now, following her on instagram and drooling over her beautiful prints, so when I found out she was publishing her first ever children’s book, I got very excited.

If you’ve read any of my other blog posts, you know that I love filling our home with beautiful books. Surrounding my children with quality literature, especially literature that sparks their imaginations and grows their faith, is important to me.

Naturally, I pre-ordered Adalee’s Light of Heaven, and so yesterday we waited for our copy to arrive.

(Side note: Amazon’s new feature that allows you to track your package and see exactly how many stops away it is is crazy and kind of awesome)

When it did we opened it up and read it right away. And it did not disappoint!

The Saints

I was very impressed by the saints that Adalee chose for her book. There were some that I expected- Mary and Joseph, Peter and Patrick-, but there were others that don’t appear in many other other introductory books on saints. Saints like Benedict and Mary Magdalene are often overlooked, and I am so glad that she included them!

The Text

The text of the book is well-written. The descriptions of each saint are simple and easy to understand but not watered down. Adalee does a great job of conveying who the saint is in just a short paragraph, cutting to the heart of their life and personality.

The Latin

Okay, this was my favorite surprise! For each saint Adalee chose a latin word that fits them. Latin is such an integral part of the Church’s history, and I love that she found a way to include that in her book. What a cool way to introduce the language and to make it relevant!

The Illustrations

Light of Heaven’s illustrations are, in a word, stunning. The colors are vibrant and the images draw you in. Each saint stares straight out of the page, and I swear their personalities come through in the expression of their eyes. I really appreciated her take on the saints, especially the way that she depicted several of them as older men and women.

The male saints in particular struck me, perhaps that’s because I’ve felt at a loss for how to get William hooked on his faith. There seems to be a dearth of Catholic books aimed at boys, and goodness knows I’ve been on the hunt. But Adalee’s depictions of the men definitely caught his attention in a way that other books haven’t

The Coloring Book

I’m a big fan for books that give children an opportunity to respond to what is presented to them. G’s current favorite extension of any book is coloring, and so the Light of Heaven coloring book is a perfect fit for her. Sitting and coloring a picture together gives me the opportunity to talk with her and have a conversation about the saint. It’s a chance to see what information she remembers, what parts stuck out, what questions she has.

If you are looking for a Christmas gift, baptism or first communion present, you can’t go wrong with Light of Heaven. It is definitely going be my new go-to gift book!