Roman Catholic and Christian: Exciting Catholic novel series --- for kids

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Exciting Catholic novel series --- for kids

The Lord of the Rings

Redwall Abbey

Little House on the Prairie

The Chronicles of Narnia

My twelve kids have read all these books,
and they're eager for more . . .

which is good because these books
teach virtue while they entertain

. . . but for Catholic kids,
they're not enough.

Catholic kids also need to read novels
with Catholics as heroes.

Stories where the Faith is
central and active,
not buried in symbolism
that only great effortscan penetrate.

Tales as gripping
as those of Tolkien,
as charming as those
of Laura Ingalls Wilder . . .

. . . stories whose heroes are
not moles or wizards, but
Catholics just like them,
---struggling with issues
that concern us all:

not only goodness and
honor and courage
(which are themes in all good books)
but God and suffering,
prayer and forgiveness,
the evil that lurks in our own hearts,
and how to live as Christians
in a world that mocks Christ.

For years I've wanted to give
my kids novels like that,
but I can't find any.

Protestant publishers put hundreds of them
out each year, and some are o.k.
--- but they're not Catholic;
neither in their theology
(which can be anti-Catholic)
nor in the ways their characters
act, think, and pray.

A Catholic equivalent
to those books?

There is none.

So we parents here at Sophia Institute Press
have just launched Imagio Catholic Fiction,a new imprint to provide the kind of overtly
Catholic fiction that once was common,
but is no more.

To write these new novels,
we've enlisted talented authors
who are graduates of rock-solid
Christendom College and
Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Young, and with growing children of their own,
these authors are products of the renewal
of Catholic education we've witnessed
over the last couple of decades.

Now they're helping us
renew Catholic literature.

Leading off the Imagio line of books
is Catholic, Reluctantly,the debut novel in
the John Paul 2 High series,
and the first-ever novel to depict
modern teen life at a
faithful Catholic high school.

Students at John Paul 2 High School
talk and act like real teens today
--- and like real Catholics.

They struggle with the doubts,
insecurities, relationship crises, and mood swings
that afflict teens in Sweet Valley High stories
and on prime-time dramas . . .

. . . but unlike those secular tales, marred as they
are by nihilism and moral relativism,
books in the John Paul 2 High series
are Catholic to the core.

Kids in them face problems
common to teens today, but
(without becoming saccharine or wimpy)they work through those problems
as Catholics should,
relying on prayer,
forgiveness, and self-denial . . .
even when cool kids mock them for it.

Which makes
John Paul 2 High
not just a
Catholic alternativeto modern teen books, but
a Catholic antidote
to them.

"I'm telling you, if you start reading it,
you won't be able to put it down. I read it
in two days and my teen son read it in one day!
Really incredible, enjoyable read,
great story, great characters!"
Lisa M. Hendey
CatholicMom.com

Imagio's other new series is
The Young Chesterton Chronicles,
starring beloved Catholic author
G.K. Chesterton re-imagined as
a young man in a fictionalized setting.

The Tripods Attack!, the first book in the series,
combines action-packed science fiction
and alternative history with a strong dose
of Catholic sacramental and supernatural elements.

There are also themes from Chesterton's
own thought, and guest appearances
by beloved characters from past fiction and history
(Father Brown is one; you'll meet the rest
when you read the book).

All in all, The Tripods Attack!is an utterly unique
--- and thoroughly Catholic ---
book that your teenagers will love
. . . and you'll want to borrow!

We're excited to be part of
this renewal of Catholic fiction,
and to support these authors who have
labored long over these novels.

But we need your help, too.

First, could you buy copies of our two new Imagio titles
for yourself, your children, your grandchildren,
or perhaps for the youth minister in your parish?

And could you recommend them
to others you know who have teens
who might like them?

Narnia

Redwall

The Lord of the Rings

Little House on the Prairie

These are excellent books,
and they belong on
every kid's bookshelf.

Their worldviews are consistent
with the Faith, but none of them have Mass-going
heroes or ever speak explicitly of Jesus and His Church.

Buy Catholic, Reluctantly or The Tripods Attack
today, and welcome your kids into imaginative worlds
that are not just upright and entertaining,
but will confirm them in the Catholic Faith
that you and I hold so dear.

Thank you.

God bless you.

And please pray for us
and for the success of
Imagio Catholic Fiction.