Survival in the Storm Author(s): Katelan Janke My ten year old daughter has been enjoying the Dear America series from Scholastic. I believe that they've had a positive effect on her character (particular in the "complaint" department) as the stories focus on girls about her age living in difficult times. As they're written by a number of different authors, please don't take this review as an endorsement of all of the titles. Read more about Survival in the Storm
Jane's Historic Military Aircraft: Recognition Guide Author(s): Tony HolmesBernard Ireland There are a wealth of good and interesting books about the two World Wars: The Winged Watchman by Hilda Van Stockum, Enemy Brothers by Constance Savery, Flying Aces of World War I by Gene Gurney and many others. After reading a number of these, I began to wish for a book with pictures of the various types of airplanes in order to understand and appreciate the stories better. Read more about Jane's Historic Military Aircraft: Recognition Guide
Escape from Warsaw Author(s): Ian Serraillier Escape from Warsaw, also known as the Silver Sword, is a very historically accurate account (based on a conglomeration of many true stories) of a Polish family who are separated by war and struggle and find each other again through many hardships. An interesting and likeable story beloved by many, it's a great read for ages ten and up. Read more about Escape from Warsaw
Callirobics Author(s): Liora Laufer Callirobics will significantly and quickly improve your child's penmanship, even though he'll never form a single letter while using it. If your child has difficulty with consistency in formation, slant, and spacing, thinks he "just can't do it", has a bad attitude toward penmanship, or simply benefits from auditory and kinesthetic modes of learning, this may help. Read more about Callirobics
Saint Thomas More of London Author(s): Elizabeth Ince An interesting and readable life of Thomas More (1477-1535): the great saint, scholar, father, lawyer, statesman, author, patriot and lover of the Church. The author, a descendant of Thomas More, has included many interesting details and anecdotes that bring this great man to life and help us better understand who he was. Even as an adult who became interested in St. Thomas More from the movie A Man for All Seasons, I found many tidbits that helped fill in the details not present in the movie – particularly regarding More's life before he became Chancellor of England. Read more about Saint Thomas More of London
From Sea to Shining Sea Author(s): Christopher Zehnder We just finished a great history year, my two middle-schoolers and I. We tackled American History and used as our textbook Catholic School Textbook Project's From Sea to Shining Sea. I divide our school year into four quarters, so we had exactly five chapters per quarter. Every Wednesday afternoon we sat down in the sunny, bright living room and I would begin reading a chapter aloud. My two middle-schoolers would then each a take turn reading and we would have the chapter read in just over an hour. Read more about From Sea to Shining Sea
Brave Buffalo Fighter Author(s): John D. Fitzgerald This story is told in the style of a journal written by a ten year old girl who travels by wagon train with her parents and her twelve year old brother from St. Joseph, Missouri to Fort Laramie (Wyoming) in 1860. The author relates a very detailed account of how life was lived on a highly organized wagon train (and some comparisons with one that was slopped together and suffered great difficulties from it). We also see the growth of character in the family (particularly the mother) who must accustom themselves to hard labor and ignoring their previous station in society. Read more about Brave Buffalo Fighter
Giant of the Western Trail Author(s): Rev. Michael McHugh, S.J. Pierre-Jean De Smet (1801-1873) was a beloved missionary in the American West who brought the Gospels and the Catholic Faith to many Indians as well as fighting for peace and justice for the Indians and those suffering from the Civil War. A substantial figure in American history, many may remember from the Little House Books that the city in South Dakota that the Ingalls settled in was named after this renowned priest. Read more about Giant of the Western Trail
Downright Dencey Author(s): Caroline Dale Snedeker This charming story, a Newbery Honor Book for 1928, has just been reprinted by Bethlehem Books. Set on the Island of Nantucket, off of Cape Cod in Massachusetts in the 1810s and 1820s, the story follows the Coffyn family in the largely Quaker community of Nantucket, and especially their daughter Dionis "Dencey". Dencey is a young girl from a proper Quaker family with a temper and a heart of gold. She befriends an outcast boy and teaches him to read in order to make up for hurting him in a fit of temper. Read more about Downright Dencey
The Mystery of the Periodic Table Author(s): Benjamin D. Wiker This new title from Bethlehem Books follows the tradition of Jeanne Bendick with her books on Archimedes and Galen by making scientific concepts accessible to ordinary people. Read more about The Mystery of the Periodic Table
