Georg Schwikart

Vom heiligen Bonifatius den Kindern erzählt is a very nice picture book of the life of Saint Boniface ("Bonifatius" in Latin and German), an Englishman who travelled across the sea to evangelize the Germans. His most famous adventure is depicted on the cover: chopping down Donner (Thor's) Oak. Boniface was able to use the fact that he chopped down the tree with no ill effects to show that his God was greater than Thor. The book continues to tell Boniface's story though the rest of his life and then also introduces the Bonifatius-Werk ("Boniface Work"), a major Catholic charity founded in the 1800s that serves Catholics in what is known in German as the Diaspora, places where they are in the minority, namely North and East Germany, Scandinavia, and the two Protestant Baltic states). Although there is a picture for each page, the book is wordy enough that it is probably best for slightly older children. There aren't many books about Saint Boniface out there, so this one is certainly useful and welcome. Highly recommended.… (meer)