My Warrior Saints

Contains a CD. The following is a review by Sian Williams, "the Garden View. blogspot" "My Warrior Saints" by Dionysios & Egle-Ekaterine Potamitis. This beautifully produced large-format (A4 size) 64 page hardback book is an absolute treasure-trove for Orthodox parents. The book is printed on high-quality glossy paper, and is lavishly illustrated with full colour iconographic pictures on each double-page spread. I have two daughters aged 11 and 7, and was curious how they would react to a book specifically about male warrior saints...... I need not have had any concerns, as they both thoroughly enjoyed it. Each chapter is exactly the right length for a bedtime story session, and it has become the highlight of our evening. So much so that once we reach the end of the book at our bedtime story sessions, I have been told I have to start right from the beginning again, and they never give a higher compliment than that ! Some of the Saints were familiar, some were not, and it was lovely for me to make their acquaintance as well as being able to introduce them to my children. The Saints' lives are presented in a warm and engaging manner, using a nice mix of colloquialisms and reverent, slightly more formal language where appropriate. The stories are appropriate for all age-groups, though parents might want to re-phrase or edit some of the details for younger children. Children aged 7- 8 and above would very likely be able to read the book largely unassisted. Young children will really enjoy pointing out and talking about the very detailed pictures, showing birds, animals and sea-life according to the Saint being illustrated. My seven year old was full of "Oooh, look at that !" on almost every page. It really is a pleasure to look at this book. The Saints included are :- St Mercurius St Theodore The Recruit - I loved this chapter, dealing with the Saint's adventures battling the "dreadful serpent dragon" !