Saint Martin de Porres and the Mice

A great book! Be forewarned that Martin's Mother assures him that while white people may be prejudiced against his skin-color, his soul is pure white. My Grandmother used to ride in the back of buses in Washington DC, and so the language of Martin's Mother came as no surprise to my family. However, some families are squeamish about reading/hearing such phrases. I feel that the book is a superb introduction to St Martin (and he was my other Grandmother's favorite saint !) and recommend using this book as a discussion opener about how far back in time and how widespread skin-color bias has existed in our world. The account of Martin, himself, is inspirational!!

Beautiful story but the artwork was not beautiful.

My 8 year old son loved this book! Finished it in 2 days.

perfect for my 1st grader. she loves animals and I love her learning about the saints. beautiful books and stories.

Saint Martin de Porres and the Mice is a 6'' x 8" hardcover reprint of a 1960s children's classic. It is 45 pages in length with semi-thick paper, and it contains pencil sketches (classic to the 1960s) on almost every page. The book starts off explaining the rough childhood of young Martin. He grew up in a poor family in Peru in the late 1500s. His father left when he was young, and his mother was tasked with raising the children as a single mother. Martin always showed a kindness to all, but especially animals. He would feed and doctor all the hungry and sick animals of the world if he could. We continue on in this story and see Martin gain an education, apprentice as a barber-doctor, and eventually find his true calling as a Lay Brother of the Dominican Order. You may be asking, "What about the mice?" You'll have to buy the book to hear those wonderful tales.When reading through this book, you will have to instruct your children about the era in which it is written. There are hints of racism that St. Martin must overcome for being black. The language with which St. Martin speaks also comes off uneducated. That doesn't make this book bad. It just means you can use it as a teaching tool for how people viewed black people, both in the late 1500s (when St. Martin lived) and in the 1960s (when this book was published.) I did enjoy the book, and I like the message of loving all of God's creatures, even those as tiny as the mouse. I also liked the message of overcoming obstacles in life, and keeping your soul "shining and white." If I had one thing to change, I would want the title on the spine of the book, so it's easy to pick out on a bookshelf. Highly recommended book for Catholic homeschooling families and those who want to learn more about St. Martin de Porres.