Revisiting Childhood Stories - Patricia St. John

1919–93

Patricia St. John was born to parents who had been missionaries, but she never lived on the missions field with them; they returned to England right before she was born. There they raised her and her four siblings with a desire to help others.

After becoming a nurse, Patricia found herself in London during World War II, attending to the wounded during the Blitz. After the war, she worked for a while as a housemother at a boarding school, looking after thirty children. Eventually she made her way to Tangier, Morocco, to work with her brother for many years at a hospital. Then she went farther into North Africa to work at a village clinic. In all, she spent twenty-seven years as a medical missionary in Africa.

Even after she left Africa, Patricia dedicated herself to caring for people. When she returned to England, she cared for elderly relatives and used her home to minister to youth, single parents, and older people.

She ministered in another way too. Throughout her life, she wrote dozens of books, both fiction and nonfiction. She honed her storytelling skills when she worked as a housemother, telling bedtime stories to kids. Many of her works are children’s books, including Treasures of the Snow, which was made into a movie. Written shortly after World War II, the book has a theme of forgiveness.

She wrote in her autobiography that she saw many who could not forgive others for the atrocities that happened during the war. “I knew that this generation of children needed, above all things,” she said, “to learn the meaning of forgiveness.” The book is still in print today; many of Patricia’s books are. Readers find them relevant because the themes are timeless. The characters get into realistic situations where they must make important choices.

C. S. Lewis once said, “A children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story.” Adults and children alike enjoy Patricia’s stories.

Are there books with Christian themes that you remember from your youth? Are they worth revisiting? Why not grab a copy (or download one) and see if you learn something as an adult that you didn’t as a child?

My children, listen to me, for all who follow my ways are joyful.

Proverbs 8:32