history

Dictionary of Tommies’ Songs and Slang, 1914–1918: A Net Galley Review

August 21, 2019 Grace-Filled Writer

I am completely fascinated by how language changes over time. I also love studying history. This wonderfulbook provides a combination of the two. It is in ever sense a dictionary, alphabetized with slang and definitions of each word as well as a collection of songs from the British during World War I.

This period of war-time history was particularly brutal. In studying the war you will find the first use of chemical weapons, flame throwers, and many more horrible affects of war. As with any major period of history the culture is greatly impacted. One of the ways during this war was the rise of a slang particular to those in the war, known as Tommies. Some of this slang inevitably carried over to our own country.

This is a republication of a text from 1930 and revisits an era long forgotten. The political agenda of the war is long forgotten by many and when discussed the individuals are lost. This beautiful compilation is an effort to bring back the individual soldier, specifically of the lower class, who was at the mercy of the reigning powers. While others may debate the war’s causes and consequences, these authors do a wonderful job of preserving the culture of the every-day soldier who lived, fought, and died at the whims of world leaders.

You will thoroughly enjoy reading through this title and getting a glimpse of the language of the day. You may recognize some slang, while much will undoubtedly be new to you. For instance, kahaki, is a term we use readily to describe the light brown colored pants and originates with the British Army. It was first used in the 1880s and is from a Hindi word which described a drab colored linin cloth. Beginning in the early 1900s the word began to be used for the material we know as kahki today.

Discover this and more as you enjoy this fabulous time machine of language!
Disclaimer: I was given this title through Net Galley in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery: A Net Galley Review

August 6, 2019 Grace-Filled Writer

I remember visiting my family in Kentucky when I was little and seeing the bookshelves full of the Foxfire books. They intrigued me so and I could tell they were well read and well-loved. I love learning about our family’s history and Appalachian heritage runs in my veins. I was really excited to have a look at The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery.

One of the beautiful aspects of this book are the many photographs, stories, vignettes, and recipes straight from the Appalachian region. This series is doing a wonderful job of preserving the ways and history of the people of Appalachia. There is a wealth of natural wisdom and this book captures the resources beautifully.

We often go there to take our family pictures and I just love how they turn out!

I particularly enjoyed The Grist Mill chapter. We have a beautiful, working grist mill just a couple of miles from our home. It is no longer the primary way people have their grains processed, but it once was the primary means of grinding. The same stone still grinds cornmeal a few times each month during the warm seasons.

My children are learning a bit about their Appalachian heritage through traditional clogging. I am enjoying sharing even more through this wonderful series! I hope to one day visit the Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center with the girls. It would be a bit of a drive from North Carolina to its location in Georgia, but it would be more than worth it!

Disclaimer: I was given this title through Net Galley in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

The World’s Story 3 Set: A NLPG Book Review Crew Review

May 30, 2019 Grace-Filled Writer

My favorite part about homeschooling is just how rich our history and literature studies are. My love of these two subjects comes from my parents. They read aloud to me from before I can remember and dad would tell me stories of the people from history. Knowing I wanted these two subjects at the heart of all we learned, I chose a curriculum which focused on this. It has a Charlotte Mason feeling and I love almost everything about it! The one exception was the elementary world history book. Although a classic within the homeschool community, it does not have what I consider a Christian worldview. I used it twice before with Rose and Beth. My husband would hear me correcting some of the language (such as savages or negro) and questioned me as to why I used it. I told him I hadn’t yet found a comprehensive replacement. I wanted something Christian, readable for a 3rd grader, and covering the span of Creation to modern-day, but had not yet found a good substitution.

I found it!

Rather than the older text Grace has been using the World’s Story this year for her history spine. This is intended to be used for middle school, but we use the text portion only have have found it to be thoroughly wonderful for 3rd grade! Grace is a bit advanced in her reading level, so she reads much of the text on her own, but the conversational nature of this text would make this an ideal read-aloud for Charlotte Mason homeschoolers. Living books are at the core of this methodology and this text fits right into our way of learning.

This text covers what is the modern age from European exploration to present day. That is a lot to cover in a year, but I’m very pleased with how it is laid out. It is full of beautiful pictures, artwork, maps, diagrams, and illustrations to help children see a full breadth of history, why it matters to us, and how it fits into God’s plan. I appreciate the thoughtful way history is presented. Not everything is positive, but those topics which are harder to deal with are not dealt with so deeply as to trouble younger students.

There are wonderful questions in the student book to help guide your student with narration, a wonderful practice which helps children learn how to summarize what they have read. The teacher guide has a layout of what to complete each day for a year. In addition it also includes activity pages, review sheets, research work pages, and… answer keys! Yay! Answer keys really do make homeschooling multiple ages at the same time so much easier. I appreciate that the worksheets are brief, but with high quality, thoughtful questions. There is no busy work here!

If you are looking for a readable world history text that will engage your kids, this is a great choice! Elementary students will gain much from the text and your middle schoolers will thrive with the added learning materials.

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the New Book Review Crew at NLPG in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Who Was Jonah? & Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus? from the Kingdom Files series by Barbour Publishing: A TOS Crew Review

September 10, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

For the last year or so I have included reading a chapter from a biography every day as a part of my daughter’s schooling. They have the chance to choose any person they want and read an age-appropriate biography of that individual. They have had the opportunity to read about a wide range of individuals. Since most of these have been from more recent history, Beth and Grace were both excited to get to read 2 books from the Kingdom Files series: Who Was Jonah? and
Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus? from Barbour Publishing.

Kingdome Files Who Was Mary Mother of Jesus

Biblical biographies are a lovely way to continue our historical study of Scripture. Materials like these are an excellent way to reinforce our worldview that Scripture is 100% historical. These fantastic little biographies are quite engaging! They are structured in a modern way and are written so that even early readers could enjoy them. As long as your students can handle small chapter books, they can read these on their own. If they are not quite there yet, or you would like to engage with these titles as a family, they would also make very nice read aloud selections.

These two read through the books in less than a week! Even though I only assigned one chapter a day, they eagerly read much faster. They also decided to take a chance to read each other’s books.

The books are illustrated beautifully inside and out. The color cover invites the reader to dig in and learn more. Within the pages are beautiful drawings which feel like sketches. The pages art structured like a notebook “clipped” notes which are shadowed to give a 3D appearance.

As far as the information, it is historically accurate and completely compatible with Scripture. I love knowing I can send my girls off to read material which will supplement and never contradict God’s Word. That is a rare find in children’s literature and it is important to know a company is trustworthy. Barbour Publishing has proved themselves to be a trustworthy resource in our household time and time again.

My favorite part is the “Power File” section towards the end of the book. This creates greater substance beyond just the facts. We are a family who wants to study God’s Word as a historical text, but also as the living, active Word of the Lord. It should and does teach us if we are willing. There are 10 life application lessons directly written to kids so they see that God’s Word is for them too! This is such an awesome feature.

Seeing my girls snuggled up reading is one of the greatest blessings of homeschooling. They get great pleasure reading and learning from what they read. Including biographies in our daily structure. These are great resources for your family to start the habit as well!

The best news is, these are not the only books in the series! Take a look at all these great titles available in the
Kingdom Files series…

WOW! Check out what my Crewmates have to say!

The World’s Story 1: The Ancients – A New Book Review Crew at NLPG review

June 8, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

History…possibly the most important subject taught in school. Although mathematics and reading are vital to function in everyday society, history is the story of who we are as a people and how we came to be where we are. Many in the world today are looking to gloss over hard things in history, pretending it never really happened. Some countries even have leadership which denies certain provable and documented aspects of history. We need quality resources like The World’s Story 1: The Ancients by Angela O’Dell from Master Books.

The very first year we homeschooled our curriculum covered the story of the Pilgrims in very great detail. This was first grade. It became increasingly apparent to me that I was given a very minimalist view of history, one that did not include the God of this universe. My dad loves history and he supplemented my school learning with wonderful facts and stories. I decided I wanted to teach my children as my dad taught me, with living history. The problem I came across was a lack of God-centric living world history books. The most commonly used world history book in homeschool circles started with evolutionary teaching and put all religions on an equal playing field. We are very open about other religions on our home, but we do not say they are equal and viable options. While I have used this book, and others, I always have had to stop and teach the biblical view of false religions. Yes, it has provided some excellent conversations, but I felt there must be a better way! I was right.

This history book is by far my favorite I have ever read. So much so I’m reading it through for myself first which I honestly don’t do that often! Angela O’Dell writes in a beautifully conversational way, just what those of us who love living history like. Beautifully vibrant art graces nearly every page and delights your eyes. The most important aspect, however, is that the author believes the Bible is the true, historical account of God’s story, preserved by Him through time. She does not shy away from hard things like evolution, ancient mythology, or even the belief some hold onto of early alien visitations! The key to teaching and learning these hard things is to do so with the Bible beside you as your guide.

One concern I have with some history books which are labeled as Christian is the decided European perspective. They basically center their teachings in the Europe. While European history is important, so are African, Asian, and Ancient American histories. I really love the inclusion of all of these cultures which gives a very different view of what was happening world-wide after the tower of Babel than any other world history book I have viewed.

This coming fall Grace will dive into world history with me. She will officially be in 3rd grade and we will still be using our core curriculum. The difference from her sisters will be that we have a solid Bible-centered history text to draw from and I can’t wait to dive in with her!

Review of Historical Stories of Survival Unit Studies

January 13, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

In our family history and literature are the core of our studies. It is always exciting when the two overlap and the girls get to see interdisciplinary learning at its best! This is the case with the Historical Stories of Survival series of unit studies written by Justine Gamble.

We had the opportunity to review the following two studies:

I Survived Curriculum – Historical Stories of Survival Unit 5 Surviving The Great San Francisco Earthquake 1906

I Survived Curriculum – Historical Stories of Survival Unit 13 Surviving Hurricane Katrina – 2005

We already owned several of these engaging historical fiction books, but they are readily available at libraries across the nation. They are enjoyable for a wide variety of ages. While they are recommended for grades 3-5, my 2nd grader was fully engaged and my 7th grader finds them enjoyable. If you think your kids are not quite ready for the reading level they also make very engaging read aloud books which would work very well for these units for family learning.

Thanks to these fabulous unit studies, the book is only the beginning! The author has created a fully integrated unit study with varied learning style activities which will appeal to a large age range. I used them as independent studies for Beth and Grace. Beth studied about Hurricane Katrina and Grace studied about the San Francisco Earthquakes. My girls did fine with the stories, but remember they are fictional survival stories of historical tragedies. The idea of death as well as natural disasters and man-made tragedies are explored. You should absolutely take into account the sensitivities of each child when choosing a study.

I love that the literature is fully covered. Students identify various literary elements and write about different aspects within the novel. This is compiled into a lapbook. Lapbooks aren’t a regular part of our day-to-day learning so the girls really enjoy it when they get the chance to create one. Guided literature questions will assure your students are retaining what they read and vocabulary/spelling lists will help them build their skills with word usage.

In addition to the literary elements there are excellent questions guiding students to learn more about the historical period and scientific investigations to engage the learners in the science behind the disasters. Students will create timelines, learn about the cultural and social aspects of the times studied, and learn about the geographical region of the novel. My girls had the chance to learn more about earth quakes and hurricanes, two really fascinating natural disasters! Hurricanes were especially interesting to Grace because her grandparent’s had just spend time preparing for one that came through South Florida.

Grace’s only concern was if she had to fill up all the space provided. That is the wonderful flexibility of this unit study! You can have your kids write as much or as little as is appropriate. This makes is a great fit no matter the age. She is in 2nd grade, but is advanced because she has a later birthday. Still, she gets overwhelmed with too much blank space on a page. I easily fixed this by marking the lines part-way down and telling her where she needed to aim.

The girls’ favorite part far and away were the games included! I had the girls cut and prepare the games for each of their units. This built up quite a bit of anticipation by doing it themselves! For Grace’s game we grabbed some game pieces from another game to be our “people”.

They also played together! The really cool part about this was that since each of them studied a different historical event, they spent time explaining various historical facts through the game-play. I never told them to do this, but it was an excellent way to assess their actual learning as I listened to the interaction. I played as well and they loved that I participated!

In addition to the games each unit also has suggested field trip ideas and several artistic creations which can engage those students who love hands-on learning.

If you are looking for a new way to spice up your homeschool studies or even just as a new way to engage with literature, I highly recommend Historical Stories of Survival from Justine Gamble. Your kids will love learning as they dive into any one of these studies!

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of each of these units for use with my family for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Unauthorized from Chara Games: A TOS Crew Review

September 13, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

Our family really, really loves games. From before the girls could even speak they were sitting on our laps, or the laps of their grandparents, watching us play all variety of card, board, and strategy game and they have been participating as game players since they were each about 18 months old. They are always ready to play a new game, especially when they think it is more grown up! They were especially excited that their Grampy and Grammy were in town from Florida to try out Unauthorized from Chara Games.
The premise of this compact card game is to role-play life for Christians in a country where Christians are persecuted. The rules are fairly straight forward, although there is a learning curve which is best worked through by actual game-play. It is also pretty short. All of the games we played took 30 minutes or less. My in-laws came into town for an over-night visit on their way to visit more family, but they were here long enough to join in the fun! We played several times with all 7 of us! The fast-paced momentum kept all of us interested. Although recommended for 12 and up on the box, Grace (7) and Beth (10) both really enjoyed it. One of their favorite parts was choosing the character to be. Sometimes we did this randomly, but we also let them pick characters. Each of the character cards had a female side and a male side so each would work no matter who was using it.

My husband is excellent at rule-reading and then at providing subsequent explanations. So he played a mock round with himself to see how it all worked. This was a really great idea since we were playing with kids younger than the target age who may have been bored as they waited for us to understand the rules enough to explain them.

There is one designated pastor and one designated state policeman. They are on opposing sides and each is trying to gather the most support. Their loyalty is based upon how many of which color action cards they have. If the player has more green cards, they are on the pastor’s side. If they have more red cards they are on the state’s side. As each player has opportunities to play their cards or take actions they must act in the best interest of whichever side they are loyal. If they happen to have equal of each color they are considered neutral and may play in whichever way they want. Every action made is intended to help sway more people to be loyal to your own side.

The goal is to be on the winning side whether that is the state or church. The side wins when they all the rounds have been played and they have the most people loyal to them. My girls of course always wanted to be on the church’s side, but the adults understood they wanted to be on the winning side. We all felt like this was a fun game. It did take a couple of rounds to really get the hang of it, and Grace (the youngest) needed some guidance, but she did quite well on her own by the 3rd time we played! They also have asked to play it several more times. It is important to note that this is intended for 6 or more players. There are special rules so it can be played with 5. We did not try these, but basically one person takes on two separate roles and it could definitely work well with someone who understood the game fully.

The girls and I have been having conversations about how to pray for people in these real-life situations. While this game is indeed quite fun, it has also provided wonderful opportunities to discuss more deeply some of the trials persecuted Christians face. We have friends serving in these nations and this was a great reminder to pray for them and to know exactly how to pray for them. It has also provided reflective moments that really caused us to pause and consider just how blessed we are in this nation and exactly how much we take these freedoms for granted. I highly recommend this interactive and fun game. Be sure to click below and see what my Crewmates have to say!

In the Reign of Terror from Heirloom Audio Productions: A TOS Crew Review!

August 1, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

One of our favorite activities is listening to radio dramas. There is something captivating about listening to a story without visual stimuli which captivates a unique portion of our imagination. It is a beautiful form of drama I adore so much I create a radio drama with the homeschool English class for junior high students I teach. Although I have read rave reviews of the company, In the Reign of Terror is our first opportunity to hear a production from Heirloom Audio Productions. We were thrilled to hear the tale from G.A. Henty and it exceeded my expectations!

The story is set at the start of the French Revolution. I remember reading about this event when I was in high school and I’ve read a few novels with the same setting, but honestly nothing really stuck out in my mind about it. I suppose I equated it with the American Revolution. Through this incredible story I heard more about the horrors of what occurred during this time and realized the two “revolutions” were completely different. My interest is also peeked and I am excited to study further about the French Revolution.

As you listen to this fabulous drama you will be transported to a time very different from our own. You will feel the fear as the family tries to escape the horrors brought about by those leading the French Revolution. You will anxiously await the fate of the family and earnestly wish you could help them. You may even cry, as I did, at certain moments where bravery in the face of certain peril shines forth. I can’t tell you anymore because I don’t want to spoil it for you!

We listen to a lot of high-quality radio drama from a variety of companies. I was so incredibly impressed with the excellent acting, fabulous sound effects, and incredible music! This is a professionally made drama with well-known actors helping create it and we even recognized some voices from other things we have heard. We were all thoroughly absorbed throughout the story. While we listened the girls colored and drew most of the time. This is a great way to spend time together in the evenings as a family.

One note of caution is to be aware this is a very intense story. My youngest, Grace, is seven. We had been listening for about an hour when she came over to me and asked if she could go into another room. She struggles with nightmares and we are cautious with what she listens to, reads, and watches. I did not think about this being scary for her, but it was very intense. We had not even gotten into the most intense scenes yet, but she was starting to feel nervous. I was happy to allow her to slip out of the room. I say that just to let you know that this is so realistic and emotional that sensitive children may have difficult time listening to it. Both Beth (10) and Rose (11) absolutely loved it and was not bothered by the intensity of the scenes.

A really neat aspect to this production is the availability of a study guide. There is more historical information which I found to be excessively balanced and more informational than what I was taught in traditional schools. Each track has a set of “Listening Well” questions to help students (especially the younger ones) better understand what they are hearing. There are also “Thinking Further” questions that are excellent for older students. Each track also has a set of vocabulary words which may be unfamiliar. The “Expand Your Learning” sections provide even more opportunity to learn about the cultural, social, and political aspects of this time. There are also many other activities to go along with this section to further learning and discussion.There is also a beautifully outlined Bible study available. This could be a great small-group opportunity for youth and would be very unique.

One of my favorite extra resources is the chart comparing the American Revolution and the French Revolution. I was always led to believe they were incredibly similar, but nothing could be further from the truth. This logical chart shows the spectacular differences, many of which are alluded to in the drama.

If you want to get even more out of your experience, the Live The Adventure Club is a great place to go! Here you can access even more content such as the original e-book, the official sound track, printable posters, and the official script. There are so many wonderful features you can use this as a spring-board for a fabulous unit study.

Check out this incredible preview!

We can’t wait to hear another production from Heirloom Audio Productions!

Don’t forget to check out what my Crewmates have to say!

Make-a-State Activity (part of the Activity-Paks series) from Homeschool in the Woods: A TOS Crew Review

July 10, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

Summertime is always a great time for us to learn together. During our traditional year the girls each have their own, unique course of study, but summer provides ample opportunities for unit studies and group work. This summer we’ve had a chance to spend lots of time with family and the girls have especially enjoyed extra time with their cousins! My sister-in-law and her husband had a chance to getaway while we had a blast with their 5 kids. They are a fun group and when I told them we were going to spend a little time learning about Florida before we traveled together to see their grandparents they were game. I was excited to introduce both my girls and these five kiddos to the Make-a-State Activity, a part of the Activity-Paks series from Home School in the Woods.

When they realized this was “school” my girls were excited, but their cousins weren’t quite sure what to think. My nieces and nephews attend an amazing Private Christian School in their hometown and while they know a lot about homeschooling, they haven’t had the chance to try it themselves. While they were a little uncertain, I had every confidence they would love this project because we have loved every single experience we have had with Home School in the Woods!

Hands-On History Activity-Paks: Make-A-State

As I mentioned above, we chose to work with Florida. The downloadable files are so beautifully crafted, but incredibly simple to print and use. The directions for Make-a-State Activity are clearly written so that anyone should be able to follow them. I would even be comfortable having a high school student use this curriculum to teach their younger siblings. Because we had been camping just before all of the kids came, I hadn’t had a chance to print ahead of time like I normally do. This was actually really a good thing for me because I saw first-hand just how print-and-go these projects really are! I typically prepare days in advance for things because that is how I feel comfortable. What I learned with this curriculum is I don’t have to do that if I don’t have time!

I had the oldest two girl with the younger 4, 2 for each of them. The middle two girls worked together. I got them all set and and handed each pair the information page for the state of Florida. The youngest kids were 5 and 7 and may have had some trouble reading this on their own, but with the help of an older cousin/sibling there wasn’t any trouble at all. Parents can easily step in and help younger kids or those who struggle with reading for this portion without taking away from the learning experience in any way. I then assigned each of the three groups different portions to read and discover. After finding out information like the state capital, population, destinations to visit, and agriculture they used the printable pages included to record, draw, and color all about what they learned.

After everyone was done the kids took turns sharing with each other what they learned and then attached them to our large poster board. This is intended to be a file folder project, which I would absolutely do if each of the kids were making their own. Because we were creating a group project I chose a slightly different way to feature their learning and it worked beautifully! Adapting this project in this very small way did not take away from their experience at all.

So now I know you are wondering how they all felt about it! My girls enjoyed it as always. They even asked if were going to get to do more states after our vacation to Florida. I assured them we were as well as spend some more time playing the Name That State game! I wasn’t surprised by their enthusiasm or that they enjoyed working on this even while they consider themselves “on vacation”.

So what about my nieces and nephews? Their response was to tell me they were going to ask their mom if they could be homeschooled! There isn’t much of a better recommendation than that! Some of their specific comments were, “I didn’t know learning could be fun like this!” and, “Do you guys get to do stuff like this all the time???”

The kids’ final project!

They also were so funny after we were done. One of the younger kids asked how long we were working. It was about 90 minutes or so for us to research, color, write, and share. He could not believe they had been working that steadily for that long! His response to that was, “Really??? I thought it was only 10 minutes!” To me, this is the indicator of engaging learning. When a child becomes so absorbed in what they are studying they lose track of time, we have a winner.

You may already be familiar with Home School in the Woods, but make sure you take some time to see some of the new learning opportunities they have available! In addition to the incredible Activity-Paks there are also amazing titles in the the Lap-Paks series and a wonderful and unique way to look at history with the Timeline Trio. This is also a great opportunity to let kids choose their own areas of study.

One new feature found at Home School in the Woods is the opportunity to purchase several of the individual activities found in the Paks alacarte! I absolutely love this because this will give me the opportunity to supplement our regular curriculum with projects as we need them. I’m so excited to explore this option further!

Don’t forget to check out what my Crewmates have to say!

The Adventures of Rush Revere Series: A TOS Crew Review

June 19, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

Adventures of Rush Revere Our homeschool learning centers around and thrives upon living history books. Living history simply means the books we read are written in a story-like way that is much more engaging than a typical history textbook filled with facts and dates. Living history books focus on the people who lived and their stories more than the events of the times. As a result our girls absolutely love history. They enjoy going to historical sites and museums and will all tell you that history is one of their favorite things to study in their schooling. We are always on the lookout for new history titles which will engage their minds. The Adventures of Rush Revere Book Series from Adventures of Rush Revere #1 New York Times Bestselling Book Series by Rush and Kathryn Adams Limbaugh was recommended to us by another homeschooling family a while ago and we were very excited to have a chance to review the entire series!!!

It isn’t often the girls get to read their own copy of the books we review and they were ecstatic to do so! Our summer learning still happens, but it is quite a bit more relaxed than the rest of the school year. Everyday the girls have a math assignment and a required 2 chapters of reading. This was assigned for their summer reading time and they were really excited! The writing style of these books is very personable and perfect for today’s generation of kids. They are sprinkled with humor and because the characters time-travel lots of references to modern technology and current trends.

I would say this series is written in a way that a typical 4th grade reader would enjoy them although they engaged all of my girls (and me) while reading! Even if your kids are not old enough to enjoy reading them on their own this series would make a great read-aloud series for your family. I appreciate that the authors spent time researching and really working to understand the time periods represented in the books.

There are many wonderful illustrations scattered throughout the book. Some are cartoon-ish renderings of the characters, some are photographs, some are copies of historical documents, and some are paintings. The pages are beautifully created with a vintage feel and glossy finish. They are sturdy and will hold up well to many readings year after year. Here is what my girls had to say…

Rose likes that the characters can time travel back in history. It was easy for her to read and they were good stories.

Beth likes that the books are funny and that the horse, Liberty, can talk. She also likes that Liberty clogs because she does that as well! She likes that some of the historical expectations which we have but aren’t always right were corrected, like the colors of the Pilgrims clothes.

Grace, my outdoor reader, likes that the pictures are in color because a lot chapter books don’t have pictures or they aren’t in color. She really likes the horse and that she read the book about George Washington. He is one of her favorite people to learn about from history. While I am not personally fan of the style of radio one of the authors is known for, I was incredibly pleased with just how well written and accurate these books are. I am an advocate for accuracy in history. Although presenting all the facts of the events must be tempered with discernment for the age of the audience, I do not want to teach my girls falsehoods or glossy versions of history. These titles are truthful and presents the facts that are appropriate for all ages. I highly recommend them to supplement your American history curriculum and encourage you to take a look at the website. There are many wonderfully fun and engaging things to see and do there! Take a look at why my Crewmates had to say!