Jack Wintz O.F.M., an award-winning journalist and editor of St. Anthony Messenger, has captured the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi in St. Francis in San Francisco recently published by Paulist Press. The book focuses on the 4-8 year old age group but, as classic children's literature so often does, St. Francis in San Francisco possesses a depth of meaning that adults will ponder and appreciate. St. Francis steps from history into modern day San Francisco, the city named for him. He encounters Johnny Thompson and Sunpatch, his dog. Sunpatch becomes the narrator of the story, providing readers with a view of life from the animal kingdom. The group commences on a jaunt through Golden Gate Park. Later they visit Mission Dolores, the birthplace of San Francisco. A cable car ride provides excitement. Their contemporary activities parallel stories of St. Francis' life in the thirteenth century: St. Francis feeding the wildlife in the park, mirrors his desire to spread food for the birds along the roads of Assisi, Italy, at Christmastime eight centuries ago. The little group's outward journey into San Francisco is accompanied by an inward tour of values. St. Francis of Assisi is a saint treasured by people of all religions. The reasons for his universal respect are highlighted as St. Francis praises the beauty of creation and the need for humans to revere and care for it. Coupled with this is the powerful message of God's love for all of creation. A bit of history of the founding of the California missions, a prayer for the American Indians who inhabited San Francisco before the arrival of the missionaries, and an exciting cable car ride with a group of fellow passengers who could be from anywhere on the globe round out a book that will be read many times to and by the young and the young at heart. Father Wintz is the author of Lights: Revelations of God's Goodness, an inspirational book in which he describes "moments of light" in everyday life which will inspire those searching for God. His reporting has taken him from interviewing such Hollywood celebrities as Gene Kelly, Bob Newhart and Brooke Shields to travels around the world -- Berlin, Jerusalem, Hiroshima, Viet Nam --to write on social issues. Artist Kathy Baron illustrates Father Wintz's work with a trio of delightful characters accompanied by a menagerie of God's creatures-buffalo, quail, opossums, raccoons, snakes, ducks, fox, a pony, hummingbirds, rabbits to name a few. A tiny mouse pops up in surprising places. San Franciscoscapes grace some of the full page illustrations. St. Francis in San Francisco has been a delightful book to share with my granddaughter as we explore God's love for all creation. It makes a great gift for a child, a library, a lover of God's creation and any admirer of St. Francis of Assisi.