The Lilies of the Field
Recommended. Age: 11+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Homer Smith is a traveling handyman who stops to help some poor nuns. The Mother Superior is sure God sent him to build them a chapel. Homer is not Catholic, but he stays and builds it with his own hands. Then he quietly goes on his way. This short book is a gift. It shows faith that prays and expects an answer, and a good man who answers it with hard work. The nuns are shown with love and respect by a Catholic author. Catholic educators assign it in the middle grades. The content cells are blank because the usual content logs do not cover it, though two reader reviews found nothing of concern.
For parents
Read aloud from about nine or ten. Independent reading from eleven or twelve. It is short and plain, about 127 pages. The Cardinal Newman Society places it in grades 5 to 8. Ask: why is Mother Maria Marthe so sure God sent Homer? Is Homer wrong to want to be thanked? Why does he want to build the chapel with his own hands, and what changes when the neighbors help? Why does he leave without a goodbye? Read Matthew 6:25-34 together, since the title comes from it. Talk about prayer and work going together. Homer is a Baptist and stays one. Tell your child that his goodness is real and that God uses him, and also that the fullness of the faith is in the Catholic Church and we hope all Christians will be one. One reader review notes that Homer speaks about racial segregation. Use it to talk about the dignity of every person. A reviewer quotes the line that the nuns had no color line and saw him as just people.