Approximately ages 6-11 ie. around First Communion age, though it would work for a younger child with a higher reading age. The reason is the combination of the colourful comic book panels and clear explanations – if they get tired of reading, the vibrant pictures keep their attention; want more than the pictures and the explanations make learning about the Mass fun.

The combination of exclusive personalisation options available with the My Catholic Library Children’s Missal makes this the perfect Catholic present for Christmas or a First Communion:

• choose the colour of cover and the design
• add the child’s name to the spine in gold
• I’ve created a dedication page so you can write their name, your name, and the occasion of the gift. There’s plenty of space for a heartfelt message too.
• The matching slipcase adds something special (like those fancy Folio Society books) and protects it for a lifetime.

By being really organised! The key is that the book is in two parts, the pages (called the ‘textblock’) and the cover, which can be handmade seperately – the ‘textblock’ is folded and sewn together by hand, and the boards and 3 colours of bookcloth for the cover are cut by hand. When your order comes through, I then foil emboss the design (and child’s name) onto the colour of cover you’ve chosen, and add the coloured elements to the textblock – endpapers, ribbon, endbands…again, all cut and glued on manually. Only at this point do I stick the two parts together (a process called “casing in”), and after 24 hours drying under weights so the boards dry straight, your book is ready to ship. The only part of this book which is done entirely by machine is the printing!

Yes, absolutely! About half the families who have bought the Missal go to a regular English Mass on a Sunday. While this comic-book Missal was created in 1954 when the Latin Mass was the norm, the structure of Mass, the symbolism of the priest’s actions, and the meaning of the prayers remain the same, and great nourishment for a young soul whichever Mass they go to.

The 96 pages of the Children’s Missal are a beginning-to-end guide for kids, laid out in full-colour comic-book-style – the outside column has colourful picture panels showing what’s happening at that moment in Mass, while the inside column text draws out the full meaning in a way a child can understand. Exclusive features -Since you can customise this book with a choice of 3 symbols for the cover, I’ve added an explanation of them so their learning starts as soon as they open the book, as well as a dedication page so they’ll always remember who gave them this personalised gift. FREE BONUS: If you want 2 sample pages so you can see for yourself, plus an exclusive colouring page of priest’s vestments a ‘cheat sheet’ to help you explain them, sign up for my newsletter here.

My aim in creating this edition of the Missal was to make a ‘future heirloom’, something of such high quality that it would last as long as the 100 year old hand- and altar Missals I regularly restore. What does that mean for you? You get the option to personalise a unique gift for the special child in your life since I make each book to order – this isn’t a mass-produced (no pun intended) item where everyone has to have the same version. More importantly, the child gets a hardback book, printed on heavyweight paper (120gsm), and made with traditional bookbinding techniques (hand-sewn, not just glued together!) which is built to last them a lifetime. Stamping their name in gold on the spine with old-fashioned moveable brass type is another touch which sets the MCL Children’s Missal apart in terms of both personalisation and finished quality.

If you select this option, you’ll get a very strong handmade portable box to house the book, which will have the same colour and cover design as the Missal you bought. Slipcases help protect a book from bleaching by sunlight, getting nibbled by pests, and more importantly from damage due to being dropped (or thrown!).