Sophia Institute Press has reprinted another gem! In an easy conversational manner, Marigold Hunt tells the story of the Life of Christ. She begins by spending one chapter on the time before Christ, the promise, and the prophets. Then she tells of his birth and young life, his preaching and miracles, and his death and resurrection. The last chapter, His Kingdom is the Church, tells of the Pentecost.

The pictures make this edition really special. There are thirty, done in an almost icon-like style. I have two favorites. The first is of the storm on the Sea of Galilee while Jesus sleeps and the apostles panic. The view is from above. The second is a picture that has a small drawing of each apostle with some symbol to represent who he is. The spot for Judas is darkened. My children had a fun time deciding the name of each apostle based on the symbols. Another interesting detail is that the artist is a homeschooling dad!

When I first saw the book, I wondered at the need of it. If you wanted your children to know the story of Christ, I thought, why not read the Bible. But as I read it I saw that the way Mrs. Hunt tells the story makes a big difference. She claims that she is not telling everything that is in the bible, but a little, so that the children understand and can someday read the bible themselves. It is almost like a conversation she is having, with stops for explaining things, just as I would tell my children about something. For example when she talks about the coming of the Messiah, she explains why He is called the Messiah and the Christ and the King. I thought the storytelling fashion, the second person manner of writing, must be what it was like in the early days of the Church when the story of Christ passed to people by word of mouth, or like in later ages when not everyone read, but yet knew the story of Christ. For this reason I think it would make a great read aloud.

This is a VERY well-done rendition of the story of St. Thomas More. Thomas More was a well-respected lawyer who was named Chancellor of England under King Henry VIII. He is a model statesman – modest, intelligent, and principled. He was martyred for not condoning the actions of the King toward the Catholic Church and his first wife. (Quite a refreshing contrast to modern-day politics!) I would suggest this for high school students as younger students – unless they are familiar with the story and accustomed to somewhat complex dialogue – may find it "boring". We were very pleased to find this movie at our local library.

Our family has almost worn out our copy of this well-loved book. Abraham Lincoln the boy comes alive in the story and illustrations. We see him grow to a young man and take several adventurous trips "down river" and learn that a fortune-teller from New Orleans predicted that he would be president some day. The authors indicate his empathy for the slaves during this trip and show how his honesty and integrity eventually win the respect of many, although they don't make for an easy life. The book includes information and anecdotes from the Civil War, but avoids the topic of his assassination.

Archimedes, the reknowned ancient Greek Scientist and Mathematician, had an enormous impact on all science and math since his time. This is his story, simply and even humorously told. The reader is introduced to many important concepts discovered and used by Archimedes including the lever, the pulley and his famous discoveries involving water displacement. (Numerous black and white drawings aid immensely in understanding these concepts). I love books which take concepts that have been made over-complex by modern textbooks and show how they are simple enough to be understood by children. Particularly interesting is the chapter entitled "The War Machines of Archimedes" which relates the story of his defense of Sicily by the use of Science: machines which hurled stones at the enemy and carefully designed mirrors which reflected sunlight on the enemy ships so intensely that they caught fire.

Homeschoolers will appreciate Laura Berquist's helpful hints (in the introduction) for incorporating this book into your own curriculum. Keep in mind that this isn't just a Science book – it's an appropriate addition to the study of Ancient Greece and a Math Supplement as well. The complete index is useful for referring to particular topics