After reading about "Lolek" by the Hoffman's I thought I would visit their shop in Harbor Springs this summer and purchase a copy, but I just couldn't wait. I was in a local religious articles store recently and saw this book. The owner removed the plastic wrapping and together we looked through the book and both of us were amazed with the beauty and content, and I just had to buy it!
Lolek is a beautifully illustrated children's book about Pope John Paul II. The story of John Paul's life is gently told to convey the holiness, strength, beauty, love and wisdom of this great man. This book is an excellent way to introduce children to our late Holy Father, who many children are too young to remember. It would be a great keepsake for children, who will hopefully see John Paul canonized in their lifetime.
This book does an incredible job of giving children a short biography of John Paul including his family, love of sports, friends, skiing, studying, his fight against poverty and communism, becoming a priest and pope. It gives us a look at a couple of special celebrations in Poland: August 15th is celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Harvest, and June 23rd is a celebration of St. John`s Eve celebrating God`s creation of fire and water. Both of these are beautifully illustrated.
The illustrations include maps of Poland, Italy, and the world, that will help kids understand where John Paul was born and where Vatican City is. Pope John Paul II traveled to 129 countries while he was pope and in each country he kissed the ground to show his love and respect.
Two pages are devoted to illustrating and explaining the rosary with the Luminous Mysteries added by John Paul. The rosary was his favorite prayer.
I highly recommend this book for schools, homes and libraries. My copy will go my parish library after my grandchildren read it.