Joan Windham’s Six O’Clock Saints series is witty, pithy and droll. In three volumes she lightly recounts the lives of several saints in a style reminiscent of Kipling’s Just So Stories. The tales have a homey, conversational tone, are filled with humorous anachronisms, and abound with common sense. Indeed, one has the impression that while Joan Windham is telling these stories, she is at the same time busy with some other activity. Her hands are covered in flour and dough; she is busy potting plants; she is gathering her hat and is on the way out the door. So in a spit-spot manner, she presents her stories without too many flourishes, with much good cheer, and with important points you really must attend to. If you happen to miss a point, however, don’t fret; it will come out again in another tale. One point she circles around and back to in these stories is the notion of being content not only in this life, but also in how and when we will be called to leave this life for the next. That is high matter couched in a fairy tale format. Clearly, these books are Ageless Children’s Literature speaking to the young and the old.
© 2022 Joann Luke