Pro Tips (and a Good Read) to Get Catholic Kids Interested in Praying the Rosary| National Catholic Register

‘St. Dominic and the Holy Rosary’: New children’s book series highlights ‘Saints and Sacramentals.’

“[Sacramentals] aren’t just ‘extras’ in the Catholic faith — they’re powerful reminders of spiritual realities, and I hope this series will help to inspire a new generation of Catholic children and parents to use these gifts often,” says Shaun McAfee, author of the new book St. Dominic and the Holy Rosary (TAN Books).

The Register interviewed McAfee, a lay Dominican and father of seven and Register contributor, about his latest children’s title, teaching children about sacramentals, and praying the Rosary as a family. 

What inspired you to write St. Dominic and the Holy Rosary?

St. Dominic has always been a hero of mine — right from the time I converted. 

I resisted the Rosary to the point of literal anger while listening to Catholic radio. I was trying to learn more about Christ, the Church and the sacraments, not a draining set of prayers that didn’t seem to stop repeating. But as time went on, I let down my guard and learned about why we pray this way, and, simply put, I fell in love with the simplicity and beauty of the mysteries. 

The Rosary, given to Dominic by Mary according to tradition, has become one of the most powerful spiritual tools in the life of the Church. I wanted to bring that story to children in a way that’s both true to our faith and approachable. 

I think kids can grasp much more than we often give them credit for, especially when it comes to beauty, mystery and prayer.

It looks like this book will be a part of a series called Saints and Sacramentals. Can you share more about that?

Yes! The Saints and Sacramentals series aims to introduce young readers (and parents, too) to the richness of our Catholic tradition through the lives of saints and the treasures they cherished.

 Each book will tell the true story of a saint who helped the Church better understand or appreciate a particular sacramental — things like holy water, scapulars, medals and, of course, the Rosary. 

These aren’t just “extras” in the Catholic faith —they’re powerful reminders of spiritual realities — and I hope this series will help to inspire a new generation of Catholic children and parents to use these gifts often.

Tell us a little about the illustrations by Jennifer Beam.

Jennifer Beam brought such tenderness and warmth to the project. She is extremely gifted and experienced — credited in the Paw Patrol movies for her outstanding talents. We’ve been acquainted for a while, and I saw some mock-ups of hers a couple of years ago and I said to myself, “If I ever get to do a children’s book, I want her to be the artist.” 

Her artwork has this way of being both joyful and reverent — exactly the tone I hoped to strike. 

Children will notice the rich colors and expressive characters, but adults will appreciate the deeper symbolism and quiet details she wove in. She truly captured the heart of St. Dominic’s mission and the beauty of Mary’s gift to the world.

Is there anything you learned or anything that surprised you in the process of writing the book?

For me, going from fairly scholarly books that help adults understand the Catholic faith to books for children was a really interesting process. 

In reality, the mission is the same: Evangelize. Even the content is sort of the same, but to condense the information to reach a very limited word count, make the characters memorable, and make the important details interesting to the new reader level was a real challenge. 

What resulted is really neat, and I’m anxious to share it with Catholic parents who want the same Catholic values to be impressed upon their children.   

The book includes helpful content in the back about how to pray the Rosary. As a father of seven, what are some pieces of wisdom you can share about praying the Rosary as a family?
First, don’t expect perfection. We’ve prayed Rosaries with toddlers upside down on the couch, crying and throwing tantrums, someone asking every five seconds, “Is it almost done?” and toddlers completely missing in action. But don’t be discouraged — grace still flows. 

We’ve found it helpful to start small — just one decade, maybe with pictures or Scripture to accompany it. In our house, we pray a full Rosary after Mass on Sunday, no matter what. We place a candle and incense in the room as well, to keep their attention (and help them learn about those sacramentals, too).

 What matters here is the routine, like saying, “This is what our family does, and we will not stop just because of a little inconvenience or behavior.” 

And always, always, we try to link it back to love of Jesus and Mary. The Rosary is a school of prayer, and kids are very capable students. We just need to help them take the first step.