Book Review: The Miracle of the Roses by Angela Costa Simões

The Miracle of the Roses
O Milagre das Rosas
A bilingual Children’s Book: English and Portuguese
Story by Angela Costa Simões
Illustrations by Mariana Flores
Published 2026 by Riso Books

I’m often asked to review books, and at first I declined this one, thinking it wasn’t a good match for my Heartspoken theme of Connection. I changed my mind, however, when I learned a bit more about it.

First of all, I love children’s books when they’re done well. This one tells the story from Portugal about their beloved Queen Saint Isabel, “a princess whose kindness, courage, and faith change the lives of people all around her.” When I read it, I realized that the actions of this princess, later queen—even when she was quite young—were the epitome of all four of the Heartspoken Life’s essential connections: with God, with Self, with Others, and with Nature.

Through her faith and her love of family, three different times and with three different generations of men, Queen Isabel worked hard for peace between fighting factions and family members. She wrote them letters to try to get the warring parties to reconcile. Of course, I was enchanted by the role of these letters.

Children will love the miracle of the roses and will be taken by Queen Isabel’s kindness, her bravery, and the way her subjects adored her. Even today, the people of Portugal celebrate her with an annual feast.

Each page of the book gives both English and Portuguese versions of the story. I love this idea for a children’s book. It could help children of different cultures better understand each other and appreciate the values that transcend national boundaries. It offers a meaningful way to explore faith, generosity, and heritage—while also supporting early language learning.

The publishers suggest this book will appeal especially to Catholic and Christian families looking for engaging children’s books about saints, parents and educators interested in helping children learn Portuguese through storytelling, and readers seeking diverse, culturally rooted children’s literature.

The publisher, Riso Books, offers other books in Portuguese and English.