But first, a professor goes to the library.
A medieval story tells of a man taken in by monks even though he had apparently little to offer. Monks traditionally have many talents — making wine and fruitcakes, singing and praying. So at Christmas, they had much to offer up to a pregnant woman whose child renews the earth. The man taken in had not those talents. About all he could do was juggle. But that, he did well. So one night, he quietly went to the chapel and juggled by the statue of Our Lady.
And the statue came to life.
For centuries that story has been retold in many forms, delighting children and those older but wise enough not to leave childhood behind.
A couple of years ago, Mary-Kate Sableski ’98, who holds UD’s Leary Chair for Innovation in Education, Health and Wellness, worked with the Marian Library on an exhibit based on the story of the juggler. During the 2023-24 academic year, she was researcher-in-residence at the Marian Library examining its juvenile collection with an eye to Catholic school classrooms.
“The collection hadn’t been touched in a while,” Sableski said, “and Kayla Harris (Marian Library director) wanted to make it accessible to teachers.”
The result: sets of texts for use at various grade levels. Each text set has an anchor book, which focuses on Mary, and several supplemental texts, which can be used to elaborate a variety of themes. The anchors often feature stunning art and can be read aloud, making them accessible for younger children but also of interest to older ones. Supplemental books offer choices for various grade levels.
Not surprisingly, one of the sets features Mary gardens, with the anchor book being A Garden for Mary by Nena Gaynor. In it, two children and their mother plant a Mary garden. One supplement, Wintergarden by Janet Fox, offers a theme of diversity as a little girl and her mother plant an indoor garden on a windowsill. Among the other books in the set is one called If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson and another called Flowers by Gail Gibbons. “They could be used in a science unit,” Sableski said.
“I didn’t want all the books to be about the Nativity,” Sableski said. But a couple are. One anchor book, The Night of His Birth by Katherine Paterson, tells the story in Mary’s voice and has, Sableski said, “gorgeous illustrations.” A supplemental book, Kevin Henkes’ Waiting, looks at the notion of what it means to wait for a wonderful surprise to arrive. Another, Because Amelia Smiled by David Ezra Stein, shows how one thing, a smile, can change a day.
Another anchor, Mary’s Song by Lee Bennett Hopkins, also has a Nativity setting. The book builds through the familiar scenes of Nativity to a powerful but simple climax: Mary spending a quiet moment with her baby.
Our Lady’s Wardrobe by Anthony DeStafono portrays Mary in many of the traditional costumes associated with her apparitions. A supplemental book takes costume into modern times — R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul; it’s suitable for older children. For younger students, there is Kevin Henkes’ Egg, which is about eggs (and friendship).
Mary, Mother of Us All by Scott Hahn allows for supplemental books showing that, indeed, Mary is mother of us all.