*Review* Audacious Ignatius by Paul Mitchell

 Genre: Children's 6-10 years

Published: November 28, 2023

Pages: 32

​Battle of Pamplona, May 20th, 1521

Ignatius of Loyola, a valiant soldier, is struck by a cannonball and gravely wounded. His military career is finished. Ignatius responds to this misfortune by listening for and responding to God's call. Follow him through his conversion, the development of the Spiritual Exercises, and the growth of the Society of Jesus. This playful rendition of the biography of St. Ignatius invites readers to encounter Ignatian spirituality and the wisdom of a Catholic spiritual master. 

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This somewhat rhyming story is about a soldier finding God. It's apparently about a real man, who later became a saint because of his service to a higher power. I was honestly impressed with how many rhymes the were able to find for Ignatius (although some of them were very tenuous as rhymes. 

What I liked about this book is that it didn't feel really preachy even though it was about a soldier finding faith. Because of that, I wouldn't be as opposed to reading it a few times, although the wonkiness of some of the rhymes would make me hesitant to read it again (although with extra readings I may be able to work around the sometimes lacking rhyming structure). The illustrations seemed really soft in a way. 

Overall I give Audacious Ignatius 3.2749 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Paul Mitchell is an educator who writes and teaches in the service of Catholic lay formation. He has taught in Uganda, Chicago, Boston, and Egypt, and studied theology at the University of Notre Dame and the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. Paul is the author of another recent children's title, The Examen Book, Exploring Everyday with God. Subscribe to his blog at paulmitchell.blog. Katie Mitchell Broussard is the award-winning illustrator of The Examen Book, Audacious Ignatius, Sorin Starts a School, and I'm a Saint in the Making. See more of her work at katiebroussard.com.