Review of The Squire and the Scroll

In The Squire and the Scroll, author Jennie Bishop creates a parable meant to teach children the meaning of temptation and how to guard the heart from “all that is impure.” The author draws her story from Psalm 119:9 –

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.”

After having read Bishop’s other book geared towards girls that I loved, The Princess and the Kiss, I was eager to read The Squire and the Scroll. The message of this book seemed more geared towards boys.

The Squire and the Scroll has many positive aspects. The illustrations are beautiful and the story contains all the elements necessary to keep the attention of a child: a dragon, knights, a spooky forest and a dark mysterious cave. Bishop weaves metaphors into the plot such as the lantern, (representing God) and the scroll (representing the Bible).

The premise is that a dragon has stolen the Lantern of Purest Light, and the kingdom is silent and dark. Many valorous men go to retrieve the light and fail because their hearts are not pure enough. A young, unknown squire saves the day because he follows the teachings of the scroll.

I thought this book was just perfect until I got to the end. (Forgive me for giving away plot this time, but I have to explain what I disliked about this book.) Although it was so refreshing to see a children’s book teach young men purity, the ending disturbed me. As a reward for bringing home the Lantern of Purest Light, the King GIVES the squire his only daughter, the princess.

“Because of his bravery and his devotion to the Lantern and to the scroll, he will have my daughter for a wife and rule my kingdom one day.”

So I liked this book very much up until the king treated his daughter like property. Sure, I get it that the squire is probably the most honorable man in the kingdom, and most likely the best suitable future king, but that ending still bothers me.

I would have liked the story better if the king permitted the squire to meet his daughter, and let her fall in love with his excellent qualities on her own. So, while this story does do a good job of creating a parable about what it means to be pure of heart, the ending implies the idea that women are property.

Luckily, the princess is very happy, since she “had devoted herself to the words of the scroll as well.”

Quite honestly, this detail really disappointed me, and I wish the end was worded differently. To some my beef with this book might seem frivolous, but a few generations back women were treated like property in our society, and that was wrong. We can’t forget that. If a book is meant to teach a child morals, then it should be held to a very high standard.

I wrote this review of The Squire and the Scroll for the Tiber River Blogger Review Program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods, your source for First Communion Gifts. You can purchase this book here. For more information, please visit Aquinas and More Catholic Goods. Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases.

The Princess and the Kiss Review

If my children learn anything at all from me, I really hope that they realize the sanctity of their bodies. When it comes to raising teenagers, I know as much as I did before I had toddlers. What I mean is, I'm full of theories and know absolutely nothing of the challenges I will eventually face in this phase of my kids' development. Just thinking about them entering the dating scene makes me uneasy now, although I have about eight years until that may happen with my oldest.

Of course I'm afraid for my two boys and daughter. I want them to learn to respect others, and have the self-confidence to recognize on their own when their feelings are not being respected. I want my boys to resist the media message that urges men to objectify sex, and I pray often that my daughter will know that her self worth does not hinge on physical beauty.

I was a teenager once, and I can say from that experience that the quest for maintaining purity as a young adult is a mental, spiritual and even physical battlefield. I have this idea that I have to start preparing them now, but how does a parent do that for young children? Also, how do I instill these beliefs in a way that makes them feel autonomy in the choice to seek purity as single adults?

I think I can start now by making them strong mentally and spiritually. As a Catholic I have the help of the example of the saints, especially Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus. My secret prayer for her intersession when I was a teen strengthened me to guard my own purity. I can teach them to have a healthy self-confidence, and give them that sense of the sanctity of their bodies through books. Also, a good foundation in religion will be a metaphorical flashlight for them when they leave the nest, so to speak. The greatest lesson I think I can give them, is the example of my own actions. My battle for purity as a teen often left me with sad feelings back then, but now as a parent, the lonely path I walked turns into a picture I can give my children with the caption, "You are strong enough to make healthy choices too."

There are books out there that can help parents of young children begin to teach them about the value of their purity. The media tells us that abstinence education is useless and idealistic, not addressing the reality of modern teenage behavior. As the director of a youth ministry program I can tell you with confidence that is a lie. When teens have adults in their lives whom they respect, they more often listen to their advice, which strengthens them to make the healthier choices. We need more adults willing to talk up the sacredness of sex if we want young people to make healthy decisions regarding sexuality. As adults, we need to recognize that the teens in our lives are watching our own actions.

The Princess and the Kiss by Jennie Bishop is a children's book that teaches about God's gift of purity. This book, which is beautifully illustrated, tells the story of a princess who is given the gift of her purity (a kiss which is kept under a glass case) at birth. Her parents imply that this a great gift, with an almost magical value. While the princess is a child the king and queen keep the kiss safe for her, but when she is grown she inherits the responsibility of guarding this gift.

There are two things that I love about Bishop's approach to this topic. One is that she establishes the great value of the kiss, and two that she allows the princess to ultimately control what happens to it. Since this story also contains a prince, it is also a perfect teaching tool for boys.

I sincerely love this children's book. Santa put it in my four year old daughter's Christmas stocking. I wrote this review of The Princess And The Kiss for the Tiber River Blogger Review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods. For more information and to purchase, please visit Aquinas and More Catholic Goods. Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases.

Pictured above is my daughter looking at The Princess and the Kiss, and her dressed as Mary in our parish Christmas Pageant.