From the Religious Intelligence site, a piece about Jeanne Perego's book 
Max and Benedict, which is illustrated by Donata Dal Molin Casagrande and will be published in North America this October by Ignatius Press:
Perego believes that there is a need to educate children about
ecclesiology and says: “Many years ago writing children books differed
from today’s books in style, diction and language. Approaching ‘Church
matters’ for children obligates an author to explain the subject
interestingly. Church visits may train good habits, but they do not
appeal to the mind because the mind needs to be stimulated before it
articulates curiosity. Satisfying this curiosity is a parental
privilege and charming children books or movies for children can be a
help to them.”
In Perego’s writing studio, a house of naturally hewn stone, which was a former chestnut mill, deep in the Ligurian woods she says that her Catholicism corresponds more with the sensitivity of St Francis of Assisi in his Laudes crematorium (Canticle of the Sun) and this same sincerity is provided in her delicate portrait of Pope Benedict XVI.
Max tells readers about the Pope’s daily life which a personal insight into Benedict’s devotional prayer moments such as his daily walk in the Vatican Gardens where he visits Grotta della Madonna di Lourdes which is covered with a lugubrious climbing plant where Max can perch during Benedict XVI’s devotion to the Virgin.
The 52-page illustrated story explains the Pope’s responsibilities, public meetings and more curious liturgical moments such as the authentic blessings of a fire truck and hens from Padua and the objects presented to the Pope such as a Ferrari steering wheel or a pizza oven, which Perego says was chosen for the benefit of her young readers.
“Research for the book has been a hard job which took me around one year. On July 26 at noon of last year, at 36° Celsius, I climbed the 320 steps of the dome of Saint Peter in order to gain the vantage point of Max, the narrator of the book. It turned into an unforgettable experience!
The book follows the International success of Perego’s previous bestseller about Benedict’s papal election, narrated by a ginger cat called Joseph, which Perego researched with the help Ratzinger’s private secretary, Mgr Georg Ganswein.
In Perego’s writing studio, a house of naturally hewn stone, which was a former chestnut mill, deep in the Ligurian woods she says that her Catholicism corresponds more with the sensitivity of St Francis of Assisi in his Laudes crematorium (Canticle of the Sun) and this same sincerity is provided in her delicate portrait of Pope Benedict XVI.
Max tells readers about the Pope’s daily life which a personal insight into Benedict’s devotional prayer moments such as his daily walk in the Vatican Gardens where he visits Grotta della Madonna di Lourdes which is covered with a lugubrious climbing plant where Max can perch during Benedict XVI’s devotion to the Virgin.
The 52-page illustrated story explains the Pope’s responsibilities, public meetings and more curious liturgical moments such as the authentic blessings of a fire truck and hens from Padua and the objects presented to the Pope such as a Ferrari steering wheel or a pizza oven, which Perego says was chosen for the benefit of her young readers.
“Research for the book has been a hard job which took me around one year. On July 26 at noon of last year, at 36° Celsius, I climbed the 320 steps of the dome of Saint Peter in order to gain the vantage point of Max, the narrator of the book. It turned into an unforgettable experience!
The book follows the International success of Perego’s previous bestseller about Benedict’s papal election, narrated by a ginger cat called Joseph, which Perego researched with the help Ratzinger’s private secretary, Mgr Georg Ganswein.
Read the entire story. Perego's previous book was Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat (Ignatius Press, 2008). Click here to see sample illustrations from Max and Benedict.
I think you mean "Laudes Creaturarum" rather than "Laudes crematorium"...
Posted by: js | Friday, June 26, 2009 at 06:55 PM