We are gearing up for Catholic Schools Week with a book guide for our Encounter book on Elizabeth Ann Seton, patron saint of Catholic Schools!

In Southern California, where I grew up, Our Lady of Guadalupe makes near daily appearances on the back of truck windows, murals in people’s backyards, and even purses.  Needless to say, she is a beloved figure in Mexican culture.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me” (Lk 18:16) but he sends Mary straight to them!  We need to remember God’s special love for the children in our lives.  They may not know calculus yet, but they have joy for life and compassionate hearts that we could probably learn a thing or two from.

I Will Remember You can give you some tools to teach your students about grief and can help you start the difficult, but necessary, classroom dialogue if someone your students know passes away.

Excitement buzzed around the building when we received the official word of John Paul II’s beatification.  He was Pope for the majority of ...

The cover of our Encountering the Saints book on Pier Giorgio Frassati really stands out.  My first reaction was, “This guy looks soooo cool!  I want to be his friend!”  I’m sure this was the cover artist’s intention.  So often, saints and blesseds look, well…saintly!  (No offense, Saint Francis of Assisi.)  What they’ve done seems like so far of a reach for us.  But Pier Giorgio looks like a cool guy!

Many schools nowadays have a strong focus on character development.  Some of the schools I’ve worked in have had giant murals painted on a prominent wall on campus to remind students of the six pillars of good character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.  At first I thought that these things should be taught at home.  After all, a teacher’s lesson plans are already so crammed full of academic subjects with hardly a moment to spare...

Around mid-November, I received an email from a Librarian who asked if JClub ever thought about offering a Summer Reading list. I was really excited by the idea, and to my relief, the childrens editors thought this was a splendid idea too...