Imagine a large, beautiful garden. Nestled beside it is a small pond with lily pads. Frogs croak nearby, and from time to time, brightly colored koi fish pop their heads out of the water as if to say hello. As lovely as these all are, the fish and the lily pads do not compare to the beautiful flowers and their sweet-smelling fragrance. In the words of Saint Bridget of Sweden, “These flowers are all the chosen men from Adam to the end of the world which were planted in the garden of the world and shone and smelled in manifold virtues.”  Of all these flowers, it is the rose that stands out. The rose is the queen of the flowers whose soft fragrant petals grow among thorns. This particular flower represents Mary, Queen of heaven and earth. It is only fitting that she is called the Mystical Rose. Why this title?  Mystical means hidden and Mary’s sacred body is hidden because it is in heaven. 

Mary, Mystical Rose creatively teaches children about the beauty and the importance of Mary through the use of sacred art, prayers, the traditional teachings of the Church, and saints’ stories. This is the first book in the Litany of Loreto series, and hopefully many more will follow. The series is inspired by the titles of Mary in the litany. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Litany of Loreto, is a Marian prayer that seeks the intercession of Mary through her various titles. 

The book begins fittingly with the Litany of Loreto prayer before diving into the story of Adam and Eve. Instead of a few paragraphs on all the wonderous things God made, J.T. Frodin goes deeper and explains the connection between Eve and Mary. The creation and fall of mankind is written on a child’s level with colorful artwork supporting the story. 

Two saints are highlighted in this book, Saint Bridget of Sweden and Saint Therese of Lisieux. Saint Bridget of Sweden had a vision of the Annunciation from Mary’s perspective. Saint Therese of Lisieux as a young child wanted to make sacrifices for Jesus. In one of her poems, she expresses that she loves the thorns that guard the rose. The thorns are her daily crosses – her good deeds. She made a chaplet to help her keep track of the good deeds. For crafty young minds there is an instruction of how to make the chaplet. As she got older, Saint Therese wrote about her life in a book entitled, The Story of a Soul. A page of this remarkable book is included for children to read. Included in this section are photographs of beautiful Saint Therese growing up. My daughter, who is ten loved seeing the photos of her favorite saint. 

The virtue of patience is very difficult for children and adults. We all want things now. That is not what God wants for us. He desires our trust in His slow work. Jesus understands patience well. He suffered patiently for our sins. When we’re having trouble with this virtue, we need to look no further than the cross. 

J.T. Frodin has created a brilliant interactive Catholic book for children, ages four through twelve. Instead of boring paragraphs or dated drawings (found too often in older Catholic books) Mary, Mystical Rose features real sacred art and quotes from the saints. Each page is loaded with colorful artwork and traditional teachings. Most delightful is the artwork from children of all ages. Frodin encourages children throughout the book to draw closer to Mary through their own art. 

Sacred art tells a story and that’s what makes it such a great tool to teach children the faith. Parents who are lovers of art will immediately be drawn to this book. Children will appreciate the scrap book design of it. While enjoying artwork from famous artists as well as little artists children will learn traditional teachings of our rich Catholic faith.