Holiness is contagious- that's what I always tell my students. It's why so often we find that Saints come in pairs. Teacher & student, friend & friend, husband & wife, parent & child, brother & sister. It makes perfect sense that the fires of Faith burn brightly when souls aflame with love for Christ have the support of one another. So I love sharing their stories with my students to encourage them to not only grow in holiness themselves, but to also fan the flames of faith in those they are closest to. Who better to start with than their siblings?
I love this new book from Ignatius Press so much it was worthy of making its own set of extension activity pages. Featuring the stories of twelve sets of holy brothers and sisters, Sibling Saints by author Marie Malcurat combines multiple types of biographical storytelling. Each sibling set has a two page narrative story, a biographical comic, an infographic with facts, quotes, and a timeline, as well as a specific prayer. I love the combo of content that is informative while remaining interesting and appealing. You can get an inside look in this flipbook!
You might recognize some of the sibling sets, like Apostles James and John or the holy twins Benedict and Scholastica. But there are also stories of lesser known siblings like Cyril and Methodius or Donatian and Rogatian as well as modern day siblings like Edith and Rosa Stein and the Martin sisters.
I wanted to create some extension activities for my students to use what they read in the book, so below you'll find links to these activities:
- A crossword puzzle with one clue for each holy person named in the book (and key)
- A booklet with several activities. The booklet would work for any sibling set in the book and includes space for basic facts, dates and locations, feast days and patronage, an invitation to create their own simple comic, and reflection questions to tie it back to the student's life.
- A full sheet make-your-own-comic. This one is a great option for younger students, shorter timeframes, or to do as a whole group reflection after a read aloud.
Lots of possibilities!
Sibling Saints is a continuation of a series we've already been enjoying in my classroom. The first book, called
Young Saints, follows the same format of art, short story, comic, infographic and prayer. It has fifteen stories ranging across the eras.
You can find Young Saints here.
One more bonus: Ignatius Press has so, so many great new children's releases right now. You can find them here. They were also so kind to share a discount code for my readers. You can use code KATIEKIDS20 for 20% off your order between now and November 14, 2025!
Click here for the Sibling Saints booklet. Print two sided and fold in half:
Click here for just a
make-your-own comic template, perfect for younger kids or shorter time frames:
Click here for a
crossword puzzle based on all the Saints in the book:
Click here for the
crossword puzzle key:
