Index

Charlotte’s books | Book reviews |Pascha | St. Nicholas | Disability | Philoxenia | Saints and Feasts | Guest posts

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About Charlotte’s books

Reviews

Reviews: Catherine’s Pascha
Resources and reviews: The Saint Nicholas Day Snow

About the characters and settings

The creation of Catherine’s family
St. Mark’s Day: Winged Lions and Roses
Icons in Catherine’s Pascha
Orthodox churches in Catherine’s Pascha
Why St. Demetrios?
Why I wrote The Saint Nicholas Day Snow

Book activities for Catherine’s Pascha

17 ways to use Catherine’s Pascha
Easter picture books keep Pascha present
Children’s basket cover project
Simple basket cover blackwork embroidery pattern (FREE!)
Pascha ornaments
Glass icon project

Book activities for The Saint Nicholas Day Snow

Book activities with The Saint Nicholas Day Snow
Have a St. Nicholas party in July!
Snow Day Star ornament blackwork embroidery pattern (FREE!)
Hot chocolate mug project
Looking for the real St. Nicholas
The Saint Nicholas Day Snow literary analysis (Common Core standards)
You can find many, many more St. Nicholas crafts and activities at The St. Nicholas Center.

Cookie recipes

Because St. Nicholas Day calls for cookies.
Cranberry thumbprint cookies
Easy, elegant crescent cookies
Gluten-free double chocolate chocolate chip cookies
Traditional sugar cookies
Impossible coconut cherry cookies
Chocolate chip cookies
Pecan pie bars
Pecan puffs
Cherry tea bars
Alex’s peanut butter cookies
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Book reviews

Book lists

The complete list of multicultural Easter picture books
The best picture books with disabled characters
Easter books for toddlers
Six exceptional multicultural Easter books
Easter picture books for a child’s Lenten journey
Easter picture books keep Pascha present
17 essential picture books for Orthodox Christian kids

Books for grownups

Of Such Is the Kingdom: A Practical Theology of Disability by Summer Kinard
Seasons of the Faith by Sarah Wright
The Grace of Being There, edited by Summer Kinard
Living in Christ by Mother Raphaela
June 18: Dorotheos of Gaza: Discourses and Sayings

Picture books with disabled characters

The Zero Dad’s Club by Angel Adeyoha
Joy by Corrinne Averiss
A Friend for Henry by Jenn Bailey
My Pal, Victor by Diane Gonzales Bertrand
My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay by Cari Best
With Two She Flew by Catherine Bodega
The William Hoy Story by Nancy Churnin
The Boy, A Kitchen, and His Cave by Catherine K. Contopoulos
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Hello Goodbye Dog by Maria Gianferrari
The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith
King for a Day by Rukhsana Khan
Looking Out for Sarah by Glenna Lang
The Suitcase by Jane G. Meyer
The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane by C.M. Millen
Itzhak: A boy who loved the violin by Tracy Newman
Arabella by Wendy Orr
The Dancers by Thomas Peacock
The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree by Angeliki Pedersen
All the Way to the Top by Annette Bay Pimentel
Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz
Catherine’s Pascha by Charlotte Riggle
The Saint Nicholas Day Snow by Charlotte Riggle
After the Fall by Dan Santat
Just Ask! by Sonia Sotomayor
A Miracle at Bates Memorial by Gin Noon Spaulding
Jump-O-Ween by Gin Noon Spaulding
Dad, Jackie, and Me by Myron Uhlberg
When Charley Met Emma by Amy Webb
Sweety by Andrea Zuill

Picture books with Orthodox Christian characters

Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgol
Home by Carson Ellis
Silent as a Stone: Mother Maria of Paris and the Trash Can Rescue by Jim Forest
Goodnight Jesus by Angela Isaacs
I Pray Today by Angela Isaacs
In the Candle’s Glow by Elizabeth Crispina Johnson
The Man and the Vine and The Woman and the Wheat by Jane G. Meyer
Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story by Ken Mochizuki
The Adventure of Father Evangelos by Egle-Ekaterine Potamitis
The Lucky Egg by Anna Prokos
Catherine’s Pascha by Charlotte Riggle
The Saint Nicholas Day Snow by Charlotte Riggle
Sasha and the Dragon by Laura E. Wolfe

Picture books with characters who are monastics

The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane by C.M. Millen
The White Cat and the Monk by Jo Ellen Bogart
Silent as a Stone: Mother Maria of Paris and the Trash Can Rescue by Jim Forest
In the Candle’s Glow by Elizabeth Crispina Johnson
Snook Alone by Marilyn Nelson
Magic in the Margins: A Medieval Tale of Book-Making by W. Nikola-Lisa
Vasily and the Dragon by Simon Stern

Picture books with characters who go to church

Brothers of the Knight by Debbie Allen
With Two She Flew by Catherine Bodega
Tekla’s Easter by Lillian Budd
Emma’s Easter by Lisa Bullard
Sawdust Carpets by Amelia Lau Carling
The Bat Boy and His Violin by Gavin Curtis
In the Candle’s Glow by Elizabeth Crispina Johnson
How the Trollusk Got His Hat by Mercer Mayer
The Man and the Vine and The Woman and the Wheat by Jane G. Meyer
Miz Fannie Mae’s Fine New Easter Hat by Melissa Milich
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco
The Adventure of Father Evangelos by Egle-Ekaterine Potamitis
The Lucky Egg by Anna Prokos
Catherine’s Pascha by Charlotte Riggle
King Island Christmas by Jean Rogers
A Miracle at Bates Memorial by Gin Noon Spaulding
The Miracle of St. Nicholas by Gloria Whelan

Picture books for Easter/Pascha

The complete list of multicultural Easter picture books
Easter picture books for a child’s Lenten journey
Six exceptional multicultural Easter books
The Dance of the Eggshells/Baile de los Cascarones by Carla Aragón
The Easter Egg by Jan Brett
Tekla’s Easter by Lillian Budd
Emma’s Easter by Lisa Bullard
Sawdust Carpets by Amelia Lau Carling
My First Easter by Tomie DePaola
The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DuBose Heyward
Pascha at the Duckpond by Mother Melania
The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhouse
Miz Fannie Mae’s Fine New Easter Hat by Melissa Milich
Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco
Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco
Piccolina and the Easter Bells by Pauline Priolo
The Lucky Egg by Anna Prokos
Marushka’s Egg by Elsa Okon Rael
Catherine’s Pascha by Charlotte Riggle
The Magic Babushka by Phyllis Limbacha Tildes
The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith

Picture books featuring St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins by Jim Forest
The Saint Nicholas Day Snow by Charlotte Riggle
The Baker’s Dozen by Aaron Shepard
Vasily and the Dragon by Simon Stern
St. Nicholas and the Mouse of Myra by Jay Stoeckl OFS
The Miracle of St. Nicholas by Gloria Whelan
The book Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney is dedicated to St. Nicholas, although he doesn’t appear in the story.

Picture books about saints (other than St. Nicholas)

The Boy, A Kitchen, and His Cave by Catherine K. Contopoulos
Pascual and the Kitchen Angels by Tomie dePaola
St. Patrick and the Snakes by Patricia Egan
Saint George and the Dragon by Jim Forest
Silent as a Stone: Mother Maria of Paris and the Trash Can Rescue by Jim Forest
St. Francis and the Wolf by Jane Langton
Father and Son by Geraldine McCaughrean
The Life of Saint Brigid by Jane G. Meyer
Sweet Song: A story of St. Romanos the Melodist by Jane G. Meyer
Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story by Ken Mochizuki
The Story of Mary the Mother of God by Dorrie Papademetriou

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Pascha

Celebrating Pascha: The Queen and Lady of Days
Celebrating Holy Week and Pascha at home
Celebrate Pascha with your godchild
Anastasis icon of the Resurrection
Calculating the date of Pascha
Pascha for families with disabilities
Pascha baskets and Pascha basket covers
Pascha gifts during a pandemic
Make red eggs for Pascha using onion-skin dye
Christ is risen, and I need sleep!
The Sweetest Easter Basket Treats
Like Jonah on the third day
A history of words: Pascha and Easter

Pascha recipes

Honey bunnies
Paska and kulich
Rhubarb cookies
Gluten-free, dairy-free date-sweetened banana bread
Peeps in marshmallow nests
Red eggs
Dairy-free paska cheese spread
Cheese and sausage balls
Bacon-wrapped dates

Pascha picture books

See also Picture books for Easter/Pascha
Pascha at the Duckpond by Mother Melania
Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco
The Lucky Egg by Anna Prokos
Catherine’s Pascha by Charlotte Riggle
The Magic Babushka by Phyllis Limbacha Tildes
The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith

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St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas’s primary feastday is December 6. He is also celebrated on May 9 and July 29.
Have a St. Nicholas party in July!
Build a St. Nicholas Day gift bag

Stories from the life of St. Nicholas

The Life of St. Nicholas: Understanding the stories
Loooking for the real St. Nicholas
Saint Nicholas, pirates, and Thursday prayers
A dowry for the widower’s daughters
St. Nicholas, the unwilling Bishop of Myra
St. Nicholas and Arius at the Council of Nicea
St. Nicholas takes the executioner’s sword
St. Nicholas, patron of sailors
St. Nicholas, deliverer from famine
Three boys in a pickling tub
The tale of St. John Cassian and St. Nicholas

Picture books that feature St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins by Jim Forest
The Baker’s Dozen by Aaron Shepard
Vasily and the Dragon by Simon Stern
St. Nicholas and the Mouse of Myra by Jay Stoeckl OFS

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Disability

See also Picture books with disabled characters
Welcoming everyone to church: Disability and special needs
Lent when you have disabilities in the family
Of Such Is the Kingdom: A Practical Theology of Disability by Summer Kinard
Pascha for families with disabilities
The best picture books with disabled characters
It’s not just about the building
Why I find the Sunday of the Paralytic disheartening

Autism

When an autistic adult goes to the hospital
Growing up later: Autistic people in their twenteens
9 steps to an autism-accessible home library
Loving an autistic child at church

Deafness

Hearing loss isn’t silence, at church or anywhere

Dietary restrictions, food allergies, celiac

Love and food allergies at church
“Let ALL the Little Children Come,” Including Those Who Need Gluten-Free Food

Parenting children with disabilities

The Giant Cookie Test
Chores for children with special needs
A child who never sleeps
Outside the Box Kids and Sundays of the Paralytic
Have a happy special needs Halloween

Other disabilities

A mercy of meds, a sacrifice of sleep
Being Orthodox — with asthma
When your eyes are too tired to see
Saints for children with learning disabilities
Faceblindness in the family

Service dogs

Service Dogs and Church
Farewell, Beloved Dog

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Philoxenia

A table where strangers are welcome
When names matter more than money
How to love strangers: Reflections on philoxenia
In this family, we don’t judge
If you don’t know what to do, be kind
The Parable of the Great Feast
Halloween hospitality

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Saints and Feasts

St. Nicholas and Pascha are listed separately.

Saints for children with learning disabilities
Orthodox saints of World War II
The Grace of Being There: Stories of saints and single moms

September

September 1: Times and seasons
September 8: How do you celebrate the Nativity of the Theotokos?
September 11: How Theodora of Alexandria became a monk and a mother
September 11: The Boy, A Kitchen, and His Cave by Catherine K. Contopoulos (about St. Euphrosynos)
September 14: The Exaltation of the Cross and a Bed of Basil
September 14: Catfish in basil cream sauce (recipe)
September 14: St. Placilla the Empress
September 21: Why do we celebrate Jonah today?
September 22: Like Jonah on the Third Day
September 25: The Emerald of God, St. Euphrosyne of Alexandria
September 25: St. Dositheos, recluse of the Kiev Caves
September 28: Good King Wenceslas, Duke of Bohemia

October

October 1: Sweet Song: A story of St. Romanos the Melodist by Jane G. Meyer
October 1 (Slavic) or October 28 (Greek): The Protection of the Theotokos
October 4: St. Francis and the Wolf by Jane Langton
October 8: The Story of Pelagia the Penitent
October 9: Saints Athanasia and Andronicus: Models of marriage and monasticism
October 22: The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus
October 29: St. Maria, the Niece of St. Abramius the Recluse

November

November 8: Matushka Olga, healer of the abused and broken (Matushka Olga has not yet been formally glorified.)
November 8: What do you eat on St. Michael’s Day?
November 11: My godson’s patron, St. Theodore the Studite
November 11: St. Corona, the patron saint of pandemics/
November 12: St. John the Almsgiver
November 14: Justinian and Theodora: A love story
November 25: St. Catherine’s Day chocolate cake
November 26: St. Stylianos, Guardian of Children

Advent

Keeping Advent and Christmas during the pandemic
Four tips for fasting as a family
Fasting on Thanksgiving?
Holiday gift guide for Orthodox families
Five tips for a merrier Christmas

December

December 15: St. Susanna, Deaconess and Martyr
December 16: St. Modestos, patron saint of animals
December 24: Christmas Eve and Theophany
December 24: Getting kids to write thank you notes
December 27: 6 ways to celebrate St. Stephen’s Day
December 31: The Lord’s Wise Handmaiden: St. Melania the Younger
The Sunday after Nativity: Joseph Was an Old Man
The Sunday after Nativity:When Joseph Went Up to Bethlehem
The Sunday after Nativity:Father and Son by Geraldine McCaughrean
The Sunday after Nativity:The Case of the Disappearing Name Day

January

January 6: Thoughts on our House Blessing (Theophany)
January 11: Venerable Vitalis, Patron of Prostitutes
January 20: St. Peter the Tax Collector
January 25: St. Gregory, the saint of three names

February

February 1: St. Brigid’s cloak and blueberry jam
February 1: The Life of Saint Brigid by Jane G. Meyer
February 2: Groundhog’s Day and the Presentation of our Lord
February 10: St. Scholastica and the thunderstorm
February 18: When Pope Leo met Attila the Hun
February 22: After St. Gorgonia’s funeral
February 28: St. Nicholas of Pskov, the Fool for Christ
February 29: The tale of St. John Cassian and St. Nicholas

Lent (and the weeks before Lent)

Lent when you have disabilities in the family
Easter picture books for a child’s Lenten journey
Pascha at the Duckpond, a picture book about Lent, by Mother Melania
When Jesus was the guest of Zacchaeus the Publican
Christine, who fasted during the fast-free week
A dangerous story: The prodigal son
Relics of the True Cross

March

March 10: The Mystery of our Holy Mother Anastasia
March 17: The Lenten feast of St. Patrick
March 17: St. Patrick and the Snakes by Patricia Egan
March 25: Implications of the Annunciation
March 25: Upon the Annunciation and Passion
March 30: The Uncondemning Monk

April

Saturday before Palm Sunday: The Second Death of Lazarus
April 7: St. Tikhon and Holy Trinity Temple
April 20: When Jesus was the guest of Zacchaeus the Publican
April 23: Saint George and the Dragon by Jim Forest
April 24: St. Elizabeth the Dragon Slayer
April 25: St. Mark’s Day: Winged Lions and Roses

May

May 8: St. John the Theologian and the Mother of God
May 14: The Righteous King Tamar of Georgia
May 21: St. Helena and the Cats of Cyprus
May 30: St. Macrina the Elder, Grandmother of Saints and Bridge of Theology
40 days after Pascha: One thing you must not do on Ascension

June

June 18: Review: Dorotheos of Gaza: Discourses and Sayings
June 22: St. Alban, Protomartyr of Britian and Patron of Refugees

July

July 2: St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco
July 8: The Story of Peter and Fevronia
July 13: It’s the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel. But why?
July 20: Silent as a Stone: Mother Maria of Paris and the Trash Can Rescue by Jim Forest
July 26: St. Paraskevi and Ss. Joachim and Anna
July 27: St. Irene and the Apples of Paradise
July 31: Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story by Ken Mochizuki (Chiune Sugihara has not yet been formally glorified.)

August

August 6: Why is Transfiguration in August?
August 15: Blessing of bees and flowers and fruit (Dormition)
August 27: St. Phanourious and the missing cell phone
August 28: St. Moses the Black

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Guest Posts

Natalie: Paska and kulich recipes
Lola J. Lee Beno: Hearing loss isn’t silence, at church or anywhere
Anastasia K. Bond: Outside the Box Kids and Sundays of the Paralytic
Grace Brooks: The scandalous Mary of Egypt
Bev. Cooke: St. Macrina the Elder, Grandmother of Saints and Bridge of Theology
Susan Cushman: It’s not just about the building
Jennifer Hock: Chores for children with special needs
Nic Hartmann: A mercy of meds, a sacrifice of sleep
R. J. Hughes: Why St. Demetrios?
Angela Isaacs: Teaching children with children’s books
Summer Kinard: The Logos for my nonverbal son
Summer Kinard: 9 steps to an autism-accessible home library
Victoria Marckx: “Let ALL the Little Children Come,” Including Those Who Need Gluten-Free Food
Jeanie Murphy: Being Orthodox — with asthma
Nicole Roccas, PhD: Can children struggle with despondency?
Nicole Roccas, PhD: Four tips for talking with children about despondency
Agatha Rodi: Saints for children with learning disabilities
Alana Ruth Worth: Love and food allergies at church
Alana Ruth Worth: Growing up later: Autistic people in their twenteens
Randi Maria Sider-Rose: Anastasis icon of the Resurrection
Monica Spoor: Why I find the Sunday of the Paralytic disheartening
Sarah Wright: 4 tips for fasting as a family

Guest posts by Charlotte on other blogs

Ancient Faith Presents: Catherine’s Pascha
Angela M Isaacs: Kidlit Karma: 3 children’s books with disabled main characters
Behind the Scenes (Ancient Faith Ministries): Shepherding Sam: The Boy You Were Warned About
Jump Into a Book: The Saint Nicholas Day Snow Picture Book (and cookie recipes!)
Multicultural Children’s Book Day: What Do YOU Look for in an Easter Picture Book?
Orthodox Christian Network: Paschal Evangelism
Orthodox Christian Network: For of Such Is the Kingdom
Orthodoxy in Dialogue: On the Incarnation: Space and Time Turned Inside Out
Orthodoxy in Dialogue: Disability in the Orthodox Parish: A Call to Love
Orthodoxy in Dialogue: Of Such is the Kingdom: A Practical Theology of Disability reviewed by Charlotte Riggle and Monica Spoor
Queen Abigail (Grace Brooks): Peonies for Pascha
Time Eternal (Nicole M. Roccas): Time Outside Time

Charlotte Riggle    Sharing books with faith and philoxenia

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