Children’s book humanizes struggles of 3-year-old St. Thérèse of Lisieux

By Beth Donze
Clarion Herald

During a visit to France in 2022, Dina Soulant Zelden noticed a small statue of St. Thérèse of Lisieux lodged in the wall of her bed and breakfast. A vase of fresh flowers had been placed at the saint’s feet.

Moved by the expression of saintly devotion, Zelden told the proprietor that she couldn’t wait to visit the nearby Carmel of Lisieux – the convent home of St. Thérèse from 1888-97 and the site of her death from tuberculosis at age 24.

“He said, ‘Yes, go to Lisieux, but you will not meet Thérèse there. You will meet Thérèse at (her childhood home located) in Alençon,’” recalls Zelden.

The man’s recommendation – to tour the house in which St. Thérèse was raised – ultimately led Zelden to self-publish a children’s book called “The Little Way of Trust.” Her story is a retelling of an experience Thérèse had in the house when she was just 3 years old: descending the stairway by herself for the first time, taking one tentative step at a time as her mother’s voice gently prodded her on from another room.

“As an elementary school teacher, I knew this would resonate with children – especially when you’re 3 and the stairs seem even bigger,” said Zelden, following an April 25 reading of her book to pre-kindergartners through second graders at St. Francis Xavier School in Metairie, part of the author’s three-day book tour in her native city New Orleans.

“The world is new to young children, so most experiences are filled with the potential for fear,” Zelden said. “On the other hand, children are resilient, so it often doesn’t take long for them to conquer small, daily challenges such as going up and down the stairs alone.”

Zelden’s story makes another important point: Little Thérèse was able to navigate the stairs by herself with the help of her mother’s encouragement – even though she couldn’t physically see her.

“On these stairs, Thérèse learned to trust that her mother would be waiting for her at the bottom of the long, dark staircase,” notes Zelden’s book. “It was through this experience that she learned to rely on Jesus, even though she couldn’t see him.”

A former second-grade teacher at Holy Name of Jesus School now based in Virginia, Zelden graduated from St. Frances Cabrini Elementary and St. Mary’s Dominican High Schools. She reminded her young audience that St. Thérèse was once a toddler, “just like you were, girls and boys.”

“Before she lived in heaven, she was a real person,” Zelden told them. “Sometimes she was sad or happy or mad, just like you, and sometimes she was a little scared.”

She challenged the children to look for “little clues” whenever they saw a picture or a statue of a saint.

“St. Thérèse’s ‘clue is’ that she’s holding roses and the cross, with Jesus on it,” Zelden explained. “She thought of herself as a little flower in God’s garden – she didn’t think of herself as being important. She said, ‘I’m happy just to be a little flower in God’s garden!’”

Zelden also touched on the roles of the author, illustrator and editing process leading up to publishing a book, encouraging the children to work on their own gifts for storytelling. The author admitted that when she set out to write her book, she lacked confidence – similar to the feelings Thérèse had on the stairway.

“Even when you don’t think of yourself as the best at something, it doesn’t mean that you can’t do it,” she told the St. Francis Xavier students. “Always be listening for interesting stories! You don’t always have to make up the story that you write about. I was right there, seeing the very stairs that Thérèse walked down, and I said, ‘I think children would love to know that someone who was now in heaven was scared of walking down the stairs when she was little.’”

Prayer also helps writers, she said. When Zelden was puzzling out her story idea, she went to an adoration chapel, “which is where they have Jesus in the Eucharist,” she said. 

“As I sat there, it came out kind of messy, kind of sloppy, but I got the whole story out – and then I had to work to make it better,” she said. “The stories you write on pieces of paper, that you illustrate and fold may one day be just as great. It just takes a little longer to get into a book!”

Zelden’s book also teaches how Thérèse’s tragic loss of her earthly mother, taught her to “rely on Mary, her heavenly mother,” to guide her. “Even though she could not see her, Mary was always there leading Thérèse to her son, Jesus,” Zelden wrote.

  But instead of turning inward in her grief over the loss of her earthly mother and fretting over her own illness, Thérèse tenaciously embraced a simple and joyful way of life that went on to rock the world, Zelden said.

“St. Thérèse told us that we can get to heaven by doing really small things. We don’t have to be a fireman saving people from fires to get to heaven,” Zelden told the youngsters. “We just have to do little things like doing our homework when we don’t feel like it, or staying quiet in class when we’d rather be talking to our friends. Those little things are like little steps to heaven!”

Zelden also presented her book to students at St. Ann, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thérèse Academy and Ursuline Academy. “The Little Way of Trust,” featuring watercolor illustrations by Jill Storey, is available for purchase at the following local stores: Banbury Cross, Haase’s Shoe Store, Mimi’s Kids Boutique, NOLA Gifts & Decor and Orient Expressed.
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