Some of you may remember how excited I was last year when I learned that Jane G. Meyer was working on a children's book about the life of St. Brigid of Kildare.

Well, that book has finally been published and arrived on my doorstep just in time for me to bring along on the roadtrip we just took.

I love this book for so many reasons! Most of you know of my Greek background but what many of you may not know is that I am only half Greek. My paternal Grandfather was Slovak and Irish and my paternal grandmother is German. I am always looking for ways to incorporate the rest of my heritage into my lifestyle but I'll be honest, it's not always easy. Many of the saints from the other half of my background are usually not well-known. So I am very happy to add this beautiful book to our collection.

The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare is written in a beautiful prose that is not only fun to read but easy for children to understand. I gathered my boys, my 6-yr old nephew and 3-yr old niece and we sat together as we read the beautiful story of St. Brigid. All of the children took something with them from the story. It was such a beautiful thing to watch them find happiness in St. Brigid's acts of charity.

The story is filled to the brim with wonderful details from the saint's life and presents the perfect opportunity to explain to our children the importance of giving freely to others.

Ace and my nephew also really loved the Celtic style illustrations done by Zachary Lynch, who also illustrated the book St. Patrick: Enlightener of Ireland. They oohed and aahed at the swords and castles, while my niece kept referring to St. Brigid as "St. Princess."

After we finished the story, the kids wanted the book to "read" on their own and it was so beautiful listening to them re-tell the story in their own words. I was surprised by how many of the details they remembered. I wish I could have videotaped them.

Here is a wonderful link with photo directions on how to make a St. Brigid's Cross. This video is also pretty good. I think this would be so much fun to do and I also think it would help the children feel a closer bond to St. Brigid.

What a blessing it is to have books for our children of Orthodox Saints from different lands! You and your children are sure to fall in love with St. Brigid and the beauty of Ireland!