Storybook Plan

As I mentioned in my previous project post, I've decided to do my storybook project on Saint Francis and stories surrounding his life! I'm planning on using the perspectives of other characters to retell major episodes from his life. I've named my project "Visions of Francis: Storybook of a Saint."

The first story I found last week is from The Little Flowers of St. Francis, translated by W. Heywood on the Sacred Texts website. As I said last time, this story recounts how a young boy, just accepted as a monk into the Order, was living with Francis and other friars. One night, the boy arises and can't find Saint Francis. The boy goes looking for Francis and then sees something amazing: "Christ and the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist and the Evangelist and a very great multitude of angels who spake with St. Francis." I would love to retell this story from the perspective of the boy, going into further detail about what he saw that night. Per Laura's suggestion, I'm going to use this boy as the central storyteller for the length of the project! Every other story will be told from the perspective of this boy having visions of the life of Saint Francis. This initial story will be the first "vision," and the other stories will also be told from the boy's perspective.

The second story I want to work with is Saint Francis and Brother Wolf, which can be found in the Saints and Animals unit in the UN-Textbook. I want to explain how exactly Francis was able to tame this wolf and create peace in Gubbio, from the point of view of the young boy having a vision of the events. I want to emphasize the legendary reverence that animals had for Saint Francis.

For my third story, I want to use another text from The Little Flowers of St. Francis on Sacred Texts. This one tells of Francis liberating a friar who had been, essentially, possessed by a demon. This story is short and pretty wide open, so I will add several creative details. Perhaps Francis will say some sort of mystical prayer and lay a blessing on the friar. Like the other stories, I plan to retell this from the perspective of the young boy having a vision of the great deeds of Saint Francis.

To end the storybook, I will cut back to the young boy in his room and have him explain how these amazing visions have impacted him. He will express great awe for the character of Francis and Francis's life events.

I want to express the values of Saint Francis through this storybook, including discussing his care for creation and deep love for the world around him. Using the boy from the first story as the narrator throughout will be a fun framing tool to help present some of Saint Francis's legacy through the lenses of childlike wonder.