We at Aleteia are long-time fans of Voyage Comics, a great place to find positive, faith-filled entertainment formed by Catholic values. (You can read more about this inspiring comic company here!)
And as Catholic parents, you can imagine our excitement upon finding out that Voyage is launching a new imprint of children’s books: Little Voyagers. The imprint for kids ages 2-8 kicked off with Seek and You Will Find: A Catholic Sacraments Adventure, now available for pre-order. Kristina Schoh, the author, describes the book this way:
In Seek and You Will Find, seven guides take kids on an adventure to discover the seven sacraments, bringing clarity and igniting an undeniable love for the faith. This book is our chance as parents, grandparents, or godparents to sit down and connect with our little loved ones while they experience the sacraments.
8 years in the making
Schoh is an accomplished speaker, a former Miss Wisconsin, and a Catholic with a background in marketing and public relations. She put years of thought and research into the book project.
“This book has been a project eight years in the making and my inspiration all began with my oldest daughter,” she said in an interview with Aleteia. “At the age of two she was fixated on seek-and-find/I spy books and had a special interest in attending Mass.”
But Schoh was disappointed when she tried to find Catholic seek-and-find books and came up empty.
“After searching high and low at local bookstores and online, my husband and I were dispirited when we couldn’t find any faith based seek-and-find books. I wanted my daughter to understand what Mass is about, who Jesus Christ is, and how she could feel purpose and connection to the faith at a young age. I knew it had to be on the sacraments and it had to be engaging! As a full-time working mom, I added it to my to-do-list and prayed for direction and gave myself grace through the process.”
Trusting God through the process
The prospect of putting together a book was overwhelming at first. “I had no idea what I was doing so I immersed myself in research!” she said candidly. She tossed around ideas with two of her role models, but then “pocketed the project until my husband and I had another child.”
It was not until the birth of her third child that “I knew it was my time to finally do this. As every season of life has proven to me, ‘you can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail’ (Proverbs 19:21),” she said.
Seeking an illustrator with a strong understanding of the Catholic faith, Schoh and unexpectedly found herself in contact with her 6th-grade teacher’s son-in-law, Michael La Voy.
“Michael and I met for a cup of coffee, and I learned about him as an illustrator and the Chief Creative Officer at Voyage Publishing,” she said. Within a week, they had a plan in writing.
Throughout the process, she said, “I gained an even greater appreciation for the simplicity of just trusting. I didn’t need a sign, I needed to trust myself and my commitment to prayer over this opportunity!”
The new Little Voyagers imprint
Schoh said she feels honored to be a part of the new children’s line for Voyage Comics and Publishing. The beautiful thing about the Little Voyagers imprint is that the company is already well-known for their adventure-filled, engaging stories. The new imprint will bring more of this exceptional content to a younger audience.
“For a child, learning about the Catholic faith should be an adventure filled with excitement and the eagerness to come back and learn more,” she said.
And today we celebrate...