People liked to hear Saint Francis preach. He was kind, cheerful and always smiled. He preached about peace and forgiveness. People liked his simple life. His little group of followers preached and helped sick and poor people. Do we respect the earth and all creation? How can we make our world a better place?

In the new series of early reader books, Saints and Me , the real stories of saints come to life and connect with today's children, ages 4 to 9. Lively, full-color illustrations on every page match the text, aiding emerging readers with the text and story sequence. Each biography is themed with virtues that the saint models for young children. A companion activity book for the set offers coloring pages, simple word searches featuring words from the texts, and other activities.