Scribblings from a twenty-year homeschool veteran about homeschooling, life after homeschooling, occasional peeks into the world of writing for children, and the ups and downs of life in general.
Yep, it's time for book (or product) reviews! Angela over at ByYouLove is hosting a Tuesday Book Review so I thought I'd get on board. Click the graphic to see more reviews of not only books, but other fun products, as well. And add your own reviews, too!
This summer, instead of only suggesting fun summer books, I'm going to snatch some of my product reviews from The Old Schoolhouse's product review list to give you some ideas to enrich next year's curriculum with some great books. Please don't ask me how I have time to review for TOS! But it is loads of fun and I get to pass on all of the great books I review to my DD, who is homeschooling her crew. Click here to browse hundreds of other reviews for great products for homeschoolers: The Old Homeschool Magazine Product Reviews
Even Donkeys Speak (click on cover for ordering information)
Do miracles happen today? Is God really at work in our world? After reading Gospel for Asia’s Even Donkeys Speak, I’m convinced that God’s mighty hand is still at work—at least in the sub-continent of India and the small, less-familiar nations surrounding India. This book is 131 pages of God’s miracles in Asia, divided into nineteen moving stories of real people turning from ineffectual gods to the living God to heal and protect them.
A peek into Even Donkeys Speaks reveals a remote tribal people seeking out a missionary so they can be baptized. Why? They listened to the radio and became followers of Christ; an illiterate young man steals a Bible and uses its pages to roll cigarettes until a friend tells him, “You are smoking the holy book of the Christians!” Appalled at offending another “god,” he listens while his friend reads the Bible, and accepts Christ. A woman suffering a large ankle boil is healed when she prays along with a radio voice that proclaims, “Jesus is able to heal any sickness.”
A withering tree, protection from man-eating tigers, unloved children sold into slavery yet finding Christ . . . Even Donkeys Speak is a treasure chest of God pouring out His love on the people of a culture very different from ours. I especially appreciated how each story emphasized that Jesus is God—over and over again—and how He is able to do what no other god can do: save, heal, and protect. Even Donkeys Speak gives readers a glimpse into a world where dead religion, evil spirits, and false gods keep millions of people in bondage. Jesus, the living God, delivers them. They in turn spread this Good News to their friends and neighbors, often with resistance from witch doctors and Hindu priests.
Written for children, with many of the stories involving young people, Even Donkeys Speak makes the perfect read-aloud addition to your geography curriculum or morning devotions. The stories are short, well written, and nicely illustrated. The countries on your wall map suddenly become real places with real people. It’s natural to want to pray for the people after you read about them. Even Donkeys Speak is exactly the kind of book I loved using with my children when we studied world cultures and religions; I wish it had been available back then.
Product review by Susan K. Marlow, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, April 2008.
Yep, it's that time of year again--book reviews! Angela over at ByYouLove is hosting a Tuesday Book Review so I thought I'd get on board. Click the graphic to see more reviews of not only books, but other fun products, as well. And add your own reviews, too!
This summer, instead of only suggesting fun summer books, I'm going to snatch some of my product reviews from The Old Schoolhouse's product review list to give you some ideas to enrich next year's curriculum with some great books. Please don't ask me how I have time to review for TOS! But it is loads of fun and I get to pass on all of the great books I review to my DD, who is homeschooling her crew. Click here to browse hundreds of other reviews for great products for homeschoolers: The Old Homeschool Magazine Product Reviews
And have you joined up for the Splash program yet? Click the banner at the top of my blog to go there for all the details. There are only a couple of weeks left but you can still join the fun! You can win books every week.
Now, on to my first review of the summer, Junkman's Daughter:
310 North Main St., Ste 300
Chelsea, MI 48118
800-487-2323
While still in the old country, Hanna's father inspires his family with stories of America: "You will see, Hanna. There are streets of gold." Hanna can hardly wait to begin packing!
Junkman's Daughter tells the story of an immigrant family's journey to America in search of a better life. This 40-page, hardcover story-picture book is part of the Tales of Young Americans series--books that feature fictional kids in real-life stories from our nation's past. And what a story! Each page is filled with child-like delight as Hanna and her family get ready for their journey to United States--the only country where people can work hard and fulfill their dreams. Once in America, Hanna expects to see gold lying around for the taking. Reality sets in. Hard work begins. Discouragement causes Hanna to lose heart. But Hanna's parents never give up their dream of making a better life. When Hanna and her father stumble across a few old bottles buried in the snow, they seize the opportunity to collect "junk" and resell it. Through small steps and perseverance, the family makes their American dream come true.
Junkman's Daughter is a wonderful enrichment book for ages 4-10. It dovetails nicely into a study of immigration in the early 20th century and clearly shows the respect and awe immigrants had for the opportunity to make a better life for themselves in the United States. Hard work and family loyalty bring young Hanna from rags to riches by the time she is an adult. The illustrations by Guy Porfirio are exceptional and give readers a realistic picture of the times.
An added bonus, and one I appreciate as a homeschooling parent, is the free PDF file "Teacher's Guide" that Sleeping Bear Press provides on their website. The download for Junkman's Daughter includes 25 pages of creative activity sheets for varying grade levels, based on the book. I found subjects like grammar, math, creative writing, sequencing, and critical thinking. These would be great activities for a unit study on immigration.
I highly recommend this delightful book and curriculum activities for your homeschool. I would also recommend checking out the other titles from the Tales of Young Americans series.
Product review by Susan K. Marlow, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, November 2007
Click on the cover for more reviews from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
It's time for a book review! I keep telling myself that I'm going to recommend some books for school next year, but who wants to think about school right now? At any rate, as a reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, I have a great opportunity to pass along some reviews on my blog (this helps when I'm fresh out of blogging ideas!). Here is a review of a novel I wish I'd had for my boys when we were studying U.S. History a number of years back. Books like this make the history part seem more real. So here we go....
Towpath Adventures by Jack and Judith Woods (click cover to go to their website).
The past comes alive on the Erie Canal in Towpath Adventures. Twelve-year-old Jonathan Hamilton is a likeable main character who spends his summer managing mules, canal boats, cargo, and even escaped slaves in this 136-page historical fiction novel for middle-grade readers.
Set in central New York State during the early days of the Erie Canal, the story finds Jonathan at odds with his stepmother and unhappy at the news that his best friend is moving away. On the heels of this comes the announcement that his father, a blacksmith, has decided to ship Jonathan off to spend the summer with his Uncle James, a canal-boat owner who has recently lost his wife. James needs Jonathan to drive the mules along the towpath as they pull the shipment of cargo along the Erie Canal. In the course of the story, Jonathan acquires a new friend, Charles, and is unexpectedly drawn into the Underground Railroad.
Towpath Adventures is a lively read, and the historical details of life along the Erie Canal are impressive. A short glossary at the back of the book explains words that might be unfamiliar to modern-day readers. For example, a "drummer" is a traveling salesman. And have you ever wondered what a "conch horn" is? Or a "towpath"? Readers follow Jonathan as he and his uncle prepare the boat for its canal journey, load up, and begin the trip. Adventures await the crew of the Deliverance at every stop along the way. Seamlessly woven into the narrative are actual historical characters.
This book would be an excellent addition to a unit study on the Erie Canal. I wish I'd had this novel for my boys when we were studying that era of U.S. history. Towpath Adventures works well as a read-for-fun book also. The gospel is presented in a natural, non-intrusive way.
I highly recommend Towpath Adventures, especially for that hard-to-interest group of readers--our boys.
Product review by Susan K. Marlow, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, January 2008.
This time the book's for you, moms! Or your high school students, especially if you're studying World History or Christianity through the ages, or World Cultures or....hey, you can fit it in. The Robe, by Lloyd C. Douglas, is quite possibly the best book I've read for giving me an authentic taste of the Roman world at the time of Christ. It is the story of a roman soldier, Marcellus, who wins Christ's robe in a gambling match at the foot of the cross (the incident mentioned in the gospels.) Clueless about what all the fuss is concerning the "dead" Nazarene, Marcellus sets out on a quest to discover the truth about the Man who wore the robe (which seems to have an unexplainable "power"--nothing weird, so don't worry--to convict and grip a person). Marcellus' journey takes him into the very heart of Christianity as he meets and speaks with those who knew Jesus personally. He is accompanied by his Greek slave, Demetrius, who becomes a follower of Christ.The Robe is the classic 1943 story of adventure, faith, and ultimate redemption.
One of my favorite lines of the book (it gives me tears when I read it) is when the Apostle Peter and Marcellus are in a heart-to-heart talk about Christ. Peter, humbling himself to Marcellus, tearfully says, " '...whatever sins you may have committed, they cannot compare to the disloyalty for which I have been forgiven....I swore that I never knew him.'
....Marcellus did not immediately reply, and when he did so, his words were barely audible. He heard himself saying, as if someone else were speaking: 'I crucified him.' "
There are numerous sub-plots, a hint of romance, and a look into the frightening mindsets of the Roman emperors, senators, and military leaders, all woven into a seamless retelling of the power of the risen Christ. I felt as if I were actually there.
Note: If you have seen the classic movie, The Robe, starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons, don't settle for this rendition. Read the book! It is a thousand times better than the movie! (The Robe DVD)
I usually tell you about fiction books I've enjoyed sharing with my children (or just reading for fun), but today I remembered this fantastic book for anyone who would like to share the diverse cultures and life of children around the world. Children Just Like Me(click link) is a 10x12, hardback Dorling Kindersley book I stumbled across at my local bookstore about ten years ago when I was just beginning my homeschooling journey the second time around. Since we were doing world history (a few choice selections like Egypt, the Vikings, Rome), I thought we would incorporate geography, also. This book jumped out at me, and as I thumbed through it I knew it would introduce DS 3&4 to children "just like them" from around the world.
Children Just Like Me uses plenty of colored pictures and easy text to share the lives of children from sample countries from every inhabited continent on the globe: their families, samples of their schoolwork, their faith, and what the children like to play and do in their daily lives. I love this book!! As we read the stories, it made me want to pray for these real children and their families, that they would come to hear the gospel some day.
Each time we read a entry, we found the child's country on our laminated, black-line wall map. We colored the country with washable markers and attached a small picture of the child we were reading about (I cut up the dustcover of the book, which had nearly all the children in miniature form).
Bonus: When we had finished the book, we created pages for DS 3&4--patterned after the pages in the book. We shared our daily likes and dislikes, our school books, and Bible club, etc. The boys wrote their names like the kids in the book, and we added it to the back of our Children Just Like Me book. It was complicated ten years ago, but NOW? With computer programs like Word and Publisher, and with digital cameras, this extra activity would be a snap! I'd show you the page we did, but somehow it disappeared (I gave the book to my DD, so who knows what happened to my additional page!). Too bad. The pages were adorable!
I noticed on amazon that there are new books added to this series. I'd snatch them up in a minute if I were homeschooling anyone from ages 5-10 this year. Here are a few of the titles. I haven't read these, but if they are in the same great format of Children Just Like Me, they'd be worth a peek: Children Just Like Me: Celebrations Children Just Like Me: Our Favorite Stories
I know, I know. I did my Monday book review yesterday, but since school is starting I thought you'd be interested in seeing a wonderful historical fiction book about the early fight against slavery. My good buddy, Stephanie Reed, wrote a book called Across the Wide River, and my publisher, Kregel, is featuring an excerpt from the book over on their brand new Homeschooling with Kregel blog:
It's a story based on the true-life adventures of the Rankin family--a Christian family devoted to helping slaves escape across the "wide river"--the Ohio River during the 1840s--long before the Civil War. Young Lowry grows to manhood during this time, and the cruelty he sees deeply affects him and determines his life course.
So...click on the link above and read an excerpt. And there's good news! A sequel to Across the Wide River is coming next year! Lowry's younger brother Johnny is caught up in the true-life story of the slave Eliza (from Uncle Tom's Cabin fame).
If you would like to see a full review of Across the Wide River, you'll find it right here at The Old Schoolhouse product reviews: TOS product review.
Most of you are probably familiar with this line of books by Beverly Cleary, written in the 1950s. They have been a continual favorite of all 4 of my children for many years. My set of both the Henry Huggins books as well as the Ramona books are a mixture of rag-tag, old-fashioned covers and new replacement volumes. They sit at my daughter's house now, ready for a new generation to enjoy. Henry Hugginsis a typical young boy of the "golden age"---the 1950s era. His escapades are funny, wholesome, and an example of what life was like for most kids in the suburbs, when Mom stayed home, Dad went to work, and the neighborhood kids had the run of the few blocks within their domain. Set near Portland, OR, Henry has his share of problems to solve, whether it be how to bring a dog home on the bus (no dogs allowed), what to do when his pair of guppies turn into gallons and gallons of guppies, or his money-making venture of selling bubble gum to his classmates turns into a disaster. In later books, Henry is plagued by his good friend's (Beezus) little sister, Ramona. Ramona is not like the irritating Junie B. Jones (who becomes tiring after about the second book). Ramona has an innocent charm in spite of her "pest" label (well deserved). Most of her outrageous behavior is due to a lack of understanding from others of a four-year-old's honest attempts to be included with the big kids. And it sets the stage for hilarious Henry/Ramona/Beezus interaction. I will admit that the later-written Ramonabooks begin to reflect the changing attitudes of society (70s), but all-in-all, the entire series is good, wholesome reading. I read these books aloud to the first and second graders in my homeschool co-op, and they always begged for more. The reading level is about third grade and up. Here, in the order as best as I can recall, are the Henry Huggins books: Henry Huggins
Henry and Ribsy
Henry and Beezus
Henry and the Clubhouse,
Henry and the Paper Route
Ribsy
Here is the list of Ramona books, in order from early publishing date to the "newer" ones: Beezus and Ramona
Ramona the Pest
Ramona the Brave
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Ramona and her Mother
Ramona and her Father
Most of these books should be available from any public library. Enjoy!
I don't know if any of you remember those old Scholastic Book days at school. You brought your money (50 or 75 cents) and ordered some paperback books to have as your very own. Well, I am delighted to find that one of my old SBS favorites is once again available--with a new cover, of course, but this 1937 book is lighthearted fun.
Baby Islandby Carol Ryrie Brink (author of Caddie Woodlawn, see my review) is the story of two young girls, Mary and Jean, traveling on an ocean liner to meet their father in Australia. They love babies and take it upon themselves to amuse the other passengers' little ones. Then a storm comes up, the ocean liner begins to sink, and the girls find themselves alone with 4 babies in a lifeboat, washed up on a deserted (or so they think) island. These girls are capable babysitters and solve a myriad of problems as days turn into weeks, while keeping a "chin-up" attitude. This is not a story where danger lurks and survival is hard and frightening. Instead, it's obvious even to a young reader that it's a bit tongue-in-cheek, light, and pure fun to imagine being the sole caretakers of 4 active toddlers and babies. Little girls 8 and up--especially those who love babies--will thoroughly enjoy Mary and Jean's adventures and wish they, too, could care for babies on a tropical island.
I got so carried away by this book as a young girl that I immediately set about writing my own story about three children being cast away on a deserted island. Castaway Island became one of the first books I actually finished--illustrated and everything. I still have it. Baby Island is a reminder that good books can spark readers' imaginations to write their own stories. And maybe, some day, they will see their own stories in print as real books. It happened to me!
Here I sit in the dentist office, waiting for Ryan to have his wisdom teeth removed. While I'm waiting I thought I'd share my thoughts on some books for that hard-to-interest group: teen boys. We want our boys to read (I have 3 that have been or are now teenagers!) but there's a lot of junk out there that I would prefer to keep away from my boys. Fantasy is hot, but it's tricky stuff. I thought I'd let you in on some true-blue science fiction. Sometimes sci-fi and fantasy are mixed, and that's hard for me, since I am not a fantasy fan apart from Narnia and Lord of the Rings.
Have Spacesuit--Will Travel (click on title)by Robert Heinlein is one of a group of old science fiction books that I enjoyed as a teenager. Published in 1958, it brings together a teenaged young man (who has won a spacesuit) and a precocious little girl (who has been kidnapped by space aliens). Robert Heinlein can be trusted to bring out the best in human nature as Kip tries to protect and understand Pee Wee, his small charge. Together, with a lovable "Mother Thing" alien, the trio grapples with evil men (1950s style), scary aliens (again, 1950s style), and fantastic travels to Pluto and beyond. Have Spacesuit--Will Travel is never corny, but refreshingly fun and wholesome in this day and age of graphic and totally inappropriate depictions of violence and outer space gore. Within the pages of a fast-moving plot, Heinlein puts forth scientific facts (a little outdated) and his "opinion" of the current (1950s) sad state of education, which we can agree hasn't improved much. (That's why we homeschool, right?)
Other "trusted" books by Robert Heinlein (click on titles) include Tunnel in the Sky, Podkayne of Mars (my favorite), Citizen of the Galaxy, and The Rolling Stones(a family named Stone buys a spaceship and goes to Mars. I bet you anything this is where the Star Trek folks got inspiration for Tribbles). Rolling Stones has a great cover, but don't let the covers of the others put you off. They've modernized them (unfortunately!), but the stories are the same.
A word of caution: The books mentioned above were all published in the 1950s and 1960s. Unfortunately, the newer (post 1960s) Robert Heinlein books cannot be trusted to continue in the same vein as his former works. I was sorely disappointed to discover this in later life and now have to content myself with rereading his old "classics."
I’m digging into the ancient Archives for this one. The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron is a science fiction classic for the younger set (8-12 year olds). (Click on the cover for details).
With the promise that “an adventure awaits for the boy or boys who build the best spaceship,” best friends David and Chuck bring their homemade rocket to a mysterious address, where they discover an even more mysterious little man. Soon David, Chuck, and their mascot, Mrs. Pennyfeather (a hen), find themselves blasting off on a rescue mission to Basidium-X, a tiny, near-invisible planet orbiting not too far from Earth. It’s up to the two boys to save the tiny Mushroom Planet from a terrible fate, and they have only their wits and their love of science to accomplish their task.
David and Chuck are likeable characters, and the plot moves quickly. The Mushroom Planet people are simple and innocent, and the life-threatening problem they face appears unsolvable. There are so few wholesome “sci-fi” books available for our young, outer-space fans that it is refreshing to discover that this 1950s classic has been reprinted and is available for a new generation to enjoy. I loved it as a child (loving all things dealing with outer space), and boys, especially, will enjoy it.
I'm off to a writers conference in Oregon this week, but I hope, hope, hope they have wireless so I can enjoy reading blogs this week during any down times! I wish I had time to read your blogs this morning, but I'm on a tight schedule and wanted to get this review posted. If I don't "chat" this week, have a good one! See ya soon.
(The Robe DVD)
I will admit that the later-written 
