This remarkable true story pays tribute to a band of Aboriginal boys who grew up together in one group home - many succeeding spectacularly in later life. In 1945, Anglican priest Father Percy Smith brought six boys from their Northern Territory home to an Adelaide beach suburb. There, they became the first boys of St Francis, a place that would house 50 such boys over 11 years. Some were sent, with the blessing of their mothers, to gain an education. Others were members of the Stolen Generations. In their interviews with Ashley Mallett, many of these men recall Father Smith's kindness and care. His successors, however, were often brutal, and the boys faced prejudice in a wider world largely built to exclude Indigenous Australians. The Boys from St Francis is a multi-layered tale of triumph against the odds - using the early building blocks of education and sporting prowess. Many of them went on to become fiercely effective advocates for Aboriginal causes, achieving significant progress not just for themselves, but for Aboriginal people, changing their world for the better. Activist Charles Perkins, the first Indigenous man to receive a university degree, commenced his status as a national icon with the 1965 Freedom Rides. John Moriarty, the first Indigenous man picked for the national soccer team, designed the famous Dreaming images for five Qantas planes. Harold Thomas created the iconic Aboriginal flag. Vince Copley played football for the Port Adelaide Magpies. George Kruger worked with Fred Hollows in remote Indigenous communities for nearly 20 years. The Boys from St Francis is a sometimes shocking, but ultimately hopeful book about black and white Australia, told through one constellation of lives, sharing one seaside address.

This graphic representation of the life of Saint Francis show his spiritual growth though his friendship with Brother Duck.

A Vision Book about St. Francis and St. Clare, the two very popular saints of Assisi. Helen Homan has captured all the excitement and beauty of the lives of these saints from their childhood growing up together in Assisi to their profound conversion and lifelong influence�indeed centuries-long influence�on the whole world through their radical living of the Gospel and founding of two great religious orders, the Franciscans and the Poor Clares. Combining the stories of Francis and Clare in one volume makes for a book that will be of great interest to both boys and girls of a wide age span. Illustrated. Cover art by Chris Pelicano This book is now part of Renaissance Learning's Accelerated Reader program. Quizzes are currently available.

In 1972, a young Franciscan friar named Murray Bodo wrote a unique book about the life of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis: The Journey and the Dream offered readers a unique combination of lyrical prose and brief, absorbing vignettes that inspired hundreds of thousands of people all over the world to contemplate the life of the famous saint and see him in a new way. Fifty years and over 200,000 copies later, this book still captivates people everywhere, and Fr. Bodo is still writing about St. Francis and the Franciscan way of life. His poetic style continues to draw readers in, and he himself continues to gaze in wonder at the saint who worked nearly his entire life to rebuild the church. This special anniversary edition includes a new preface in which Fr. Bodo reflects on a half century spent immersed in the Franciscan way.