The Good Bad Boy
by Fr. Gerald T. Brennan
Overview
FROM THE PUBLISHER
The day to day diary of an eighth-grade boy. Of all of Fr. Brennan’s great and popular books, this is the one we have had the most requests to reprint. Grade school and Jr. High boys will love, treasure, guard and re-read this favorite many times. Of course, all young Catholics will enjoy this very special book. Any parent who ever attended the old-style Catholic grade school will have moist-happy eyes throughout the entire book. Everyone will find this edition not only good entertainment but a great teacher of Catholicity.
My thoughts
What a delightful children's book! I recently came across this previously out-of-print book and decided to read it as part of my Lenten reading. No, I'm not Catholic but as most of you know by now, I'm not anti-Catholic either. And I think children's books can be fantastic! This one certainly goes into that category.
I'd heard about this book from a friend and went looking for it on my own to see if it was still out there in cyberspace somewhere. When I saw that it was being published again, I swooped it up and couldn't wait to sit down to read it.
This is a book that was apparently sometimes read by school teachers in parochial schools, thus it is full of Catholic propaganda. It should carry a warning label: The book you are about to read contains heavy Catholicsm. Parental discretion is advised! (I'm teasing!) The Catholic rituals are presented in such a way that I smiled each time I came across another mention of confession or Mass or Catechism, and they blend almost seamlessly if you're not looking for them. OK, maybe not. But they're good for a smile every time.
This book is a sweet book about a little boy in the 8th grade at a Catholic school. He gets into a bit of mild trouble here and there but for the most part he's a good kid going through the same things 8th graders go through, namely girls. The book is dated but it's still a very good read, and I'd recommend it highly if anything I've said intrigues you.
Favorite Passage
Since Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year, I'll give you the diary entry from Sunday, December 25.
The best day of the year! Midnight Mass was great! Just before Mass began, all the lights went out and the choir sang "Silent Night". Felt as though I was in heaven. After church Jean met me and gave me a dandy muffler. Clara gave me gloves, and best of all, Mom and Pop gave me a pair of skates. Went to bed at two-thirty this morning. Aunt Sarah came for dinner and brought me underwear, the worst present I received. What a dinner of turkey, cranberries, dressing, sweet potatoes, turnips and mince pie! Thought I'd bust my belt. Took Jean her bottle of Christmas Night in Paris perfume and she liked it. Clint Tucker gave her a gold cross on a chain. Bet he paid five dollars for it. Wonder if he's trying to steal my girl! Suppose I shouldn't think such thoughts on Christmas Day! Even though I don't believe in Santa Claus, still he was pretty good to me.
