Two Nun Stories

Two Nun Stories

Picture books
Growing up in a working class city, I found nuns scary and
fascinating. My Catholic friends painted pictures of knuckle rapping
no nonsense authorities whom you did not want to get on the wrong side
of...sort of ecclesiastical mafiosa. Adults painted pictures of
saintly women who had forsworn the pleasures of the flesh, whatever
those were, to serve God. Neither description seemed to fit. When
I'd see a nun in her penguin outfit I'd study her eyes and see what
seemed to be a flesh and blood human returning my gaze. Recently on
the Orono Public Library shelves I found two lovely picture books
featuring these women of God.
Snow Day by Moira Fain harks back to the days when I was young.
Maggie Murphy has the toughest teacher in her school, Sister Agatha
Ann. Usually when she's breaking rules she can fly under her radar.
One day, however, she's caught drawing a picture when she isn't
supposed to be and assigned to write a poem and recite it to her class
the next day.
A snow day gives her not only a reprieve, but an unexpected
insight into the hidden soul of a dreaded disciplinarian.
Sister Anne's Hands by Marybeth Lorbeicki is also set in the
sixties. When Anna is about to start second grade she hears her
parents talking about her new teacher. She hears her father tell her
mother, "I don't know how a woman of her color is going to survive."
The first day of school she discovers what he's talking about. Sister
Anne intercepts a paper airplane that has
"Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Don't let Sister Anne
get any black on you."
on its wings
Sister Anne's reaction to the hatred inscribed on the plane is a
lesson in grace that makes a picture book into a vivid coming of age
story.
Both stories are told convincingly and touchingly with perfectly
paired illustrations. They are absolute gems.
On a personal note, I enjoyed a snow day yesterday. It was church,
not school, that was cancelled. As much as I love my Methodist
services it was such a gift to have an unexpected day to stay to home
with the kids making us all good things to eat like pancakes with
strawberry syrup and chocolate chip cookies to eat fresh out of the
oven with milk and reading in my comfy chair near the beautiful tree.
A great big shout out goes out to Pastor Steve and all the other
clergypeople who had the good sense to cancel services and not
endanger their congregations.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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