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Local author's books teach kids about God
By Joyce Coronel, news@catholicsun.org
December 18, 2008
The fourth-graders from Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral School sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounding local author Sandra Shaw. She sat in a rocking chair with a copy of her book, “The Christmas Lambs.”
Shaw, decked out as “Grandmother Christmas” in a long red calico skirt, matching bonnet and scarf, was on hand Dec. 9 to entertain the kindergarten through fourth-grade students with a reading of one of her four books.
The children sat quietly as Shaw read the story of a lamb who finds the infant Jesus in the stable and in the months that follow, becomes His playmate and friend. A tender story of a little one’s love for the Messiah, the book is a touching account of the friendship that develops between Lamb and Jesus.
Shaw wrote the book as a gift to her granddaughter, Alex, and had it illustrated by local artist Mary Lou Bott. The two women have teamed up as well for two of Shaw’s other books, “Taylor’s Halloween,” and “Jonathan Rabbit.”
The Ss. Simon and Jude schoolchildren seemed enthralled by Shaw’s presentation.
“I thought it was a great book,” said Houston Ortloff, 10.
“She made it seem so real,” classmate Leanna Rivera added.
Shaw, a retired registered nurse, religious education instructor and the wife of Deacon Chuck Shaw, was led into a writing career through prayer and discernment. Pointing to a conversion experience she had at 40 while living in Pittsburgh, Shaw said God directed her to write a series of Bible study materials.
The family had just moved to Pennsylvania and Shaw said she “didn’t take kindly to moves or changes.” She had vowed to join the first group for which she received an invitation. That turned out to be from a non-denominational Bible study group, in which members were not to discuss the particulars of their religious tenants.
Wanting to share about the Blessed Mother, Shaw found herself inwardly complaining. “You want to be careful about complaining,” she said laughing, “because He will give you a job to do.”
She sensed God nudging her toward writing a Bible study guide. While she encountered some skepticism along the way, she eventually relocated to Arizona where her study guides were embraced at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Scottsdale.
Today, Shaw has written 70 separate Scripture study guides that cover nearly every book in the Bible. The guides are distributed to inmates and former inmates of the Arizona correctional institutions. Shaw herself is an auxiliary chaplain at the Perryville prison for women, where once a week, since 1996, she conducts Bible studies and holds Communion services.
Shaw branched into children’s books when she became godmother to the son of a close friend, who, at 40, was a little nervous about giving birth. When the child was 2 years old, he confessed to Shaw in a telephone call that he had seen the Easter Bunny at the mall and was scared.
Shaw immediately thought of the story potential.
Thus “Jonathan Rabbit — a Story of Jesus” was written. The book is an eyewitness account of a rabbit that follows Jesus during the last week of His life on Earth.
Subsequent books, all published by Shaw’s company, Teach My Children, were written for grandchildren. After selling 2,400 copies of “The Christmas Lambs,” the paperback book has gone to a second edition. Shaw donates some of the proceeds to local Catholic schools, including Ss. Simon and Jude and St. Thomas Aquinas, and pumps the rest back into printing more copies.
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