What's New

A Map of Life

Book cover: A Map of Life
Author(s): 
Frank Sheed

This is a really beautiful little book about morality and the Catholic Faith. It would make a great supplement for high school age or excellent reading for an adult. It's not too difficult to understand, but also interesting and really makes you think.

The author has this to say about the purpose of this book:

New Catholic Picture Bible

Book cover: 'New Catholic Picture Bible'
Author(s): 
Fr. Lawrence Lovasik, S.V.D.

Father Lovasik includes many more stories in this work than Tomie de Paola's work. The pictures are more traditional (although not fine art), yet the stories are still short enough to make this a good choice for preschoolers as well. He explains parts of the Bible in light of our Catholic tradition within the story. For example, in the story "Jesus Appears to the Apostles" Fr. Lovasik explains what Jesus said to the apostles with the following quote:

Golden Children's Bible

Book cover: Golden Children's Bible
Author(s): 
Golden Books
Illustrator(s): 
Jose Miralles

I've come to understand why Laura Berquist recommends this bible for Kindergarten age children. It is quite faithful to the original stories and attempts nothing beyond telling the story. The colorful pictures are very intriguing to children and it provides a good means for familiarizing children with the Bible's basic stories. The full color pictures throughout are very nicely done and make it easier for young children to find particular stories on their own.

God's Will Be Done/The Wall

Book cover: 'God's Will Be Done/The Wall'
Author(s): 
Kim Hohman
Bruce Carroll
God's Will Be Done is the story of Jonah and the Whale and The Wall is the story of the Fall of Jericho. Both Bible stories are presented as audio dramas, performed with full casts, music and sound effects. The shorter length and simpler dialogue of these in particular make them especially appealing to younger children.

Mara, Daughter of the Nile

Book cover: Mara, Daughter of the Nile
Author(s): 
Eloise Jarvis McGraw

This book tells the story of a young Egyptian slave girl whose yearning for freedom places her in the middle of a tangled web of intrigue and deception. Mara, Daughter of the Nile is a marvelous piece of historical fiction, giving detailed descriptions of ancient Egypt in the time of pyramids, temples, battles, and pharaohs. The plot is fast-paced and the characters are exciting, brave, and adventurous .

Map Puzzles

Book cover: 'Map Puzzles'
We found an old wooden U.S. map puzzle at a garage sale but they're also readily available at Teacher Supply stores and even warehouse stores. I prefer ones that have each state as one puzzle piece, but usually they'll at least group Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut together. When my son was 2 1/2 he really enjoyed playing with it, so we left it out on the coffee table. He'll bring me a few pieces at a time and ask me the name.

Archimedes and the Door of Science

Book cover: Archimedes and the Door of Science
Author(s): 
Jeanne Bendick

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).

History Links: Unit Six – Ancient Greece

Author(s): 
Jennifer Alles
Barbara Little
Kim Staggenborg
Unit Studies, or integrated curriculum, present a wonderful opportunity to study one topic in depth while taking side-trips to study related topics. The History Links units have been prepared to help Catholic families study a broad range of subjects, over all grade levels, organized by historical time period, from a Catholic point of view. That doesn't sound too easy to do, but the authors have made it so.

The Children's Homer

Book cover: 'The Children's Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy'
Author(s): 
Padraic Colum

The Children's Homer is an epic adventure about the Trojan War and the homecoming of Odysseus. The two famous tales, The Iliad and The Odyssey, were originally written by Homer, a renowned poet in Ancient Greece. Mr. Colum retells these stories for us. My family used this book as a read-aloud, and enjoyed it immensely. We were all thrilled by the gripping stories and the detailed pictures. It's an excellent book to use when studying Ancient Greece. I would give it five ***** rating.

The Legend of Odysseus

Book cover: The Legend of Odysseus
Author(s): 
Peter Connolly
The Legend of Odysseus, by British author Peter Connolly, was first published in 1986. It tells the legend of the Trojan War and of the homecoming of Odysseus. The Legend of Odysseus is a wonderful recounting of Homer's classic tales, The Iliad and The Odyessey. The most outstanding feature is the vivid, full-color drawings in every page. This book is suitable for most children, ages 10-16. There are additonal informative pages telling about life in Ancient Greece. My only caution is that it has some questionable pictures in it.