Wednesday, April 25, 2012

My Favorite Picture Books: Saint George and the Dragon


Saint George and the Dragon, a golden legend adapted by Margaret Hodges from Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

We read this book every year on the feast day of St. George, April 23rd. St. George is one of First Son's favorite saints mainly because of this book. My children are enthralled every time we read the story. The battle is a ferocious one with many a fear that it has been lost, but St. George finds refreshment and healing to persevere to the end.

The language is lofty and beautiful; the illustrations draw us in. This year, I was interrupted as I was reading it. When I suggested First Son continue while I was away, he refused, saying instead he wanted more time to look at the pictures. There's quite a bit of text for each page, but the illustrations are so deep, the children are completely engrossed.

Brandy, who is not Catholic, loves this book just as much as we do.