A sweet, fully animated, half hour movie for young children, about the apparitions of Our Lady to Saint Bernadette, in Lourdes France in the mid 1800s. The story is told from the point of view of a family with a crippled boy about to visit Lourdes, whose father explains why they are making the trip.

Update:

The DVD edition contains versions  with audio in three languages: English, Spanish, and French. The videos are also available to viewers through Formed and can also be rented (streaming) or purchased directly from CCC.

Described as "a historical fantasy", this story is about the Roman town of Iscium, located in western Britain. As the Roman influence and protection disappears, the town leadership bends over backwards to stay out of the limelight and avoid trouble with the Saxons.

When Falx, a young orphan disillusioned with the prospects of life in his brother's household decides to runaway to Rome (under the influence of a talking raven!) "trouble" becomes unavoidable. He befriends a lost Saxon girl and meets up with a strange but benevolent merchant who plays a significant role in the adventures awaiting the town. I found parts of the book to be exceedingly funny (particularly a scene involving a bishop, some bees and some rather superstitious Saxons), but the more subtle humor would probably be best appreciated by the somewhat "well-read" high schooler, rather than the reluctant reader.

This is an interesting and engaging story for middle-school children – especially 5th to 8th grade. It offers a surprisingly balanced view of the Crusades as well as beautiful themes of faithfulness and forgiveness. While written at an appropriate level for young children, the author is honest about the evil and destruction that came out of the previous crusade (the infamous 4th crusade in which the Christians sacked Constantinople). In the course of discussion, the characters further distinguish between those who come to the Crusades to free Christian prisoners and those who are after glory and material gain. Finally, this subtle running theme about motive and warfare is brought to a climax in the person of St. Francis of Assisi.

While some of the plot comes across as a little predictable (making it less appealing, perhaps to high schoolers), the themes and major events are thoughtful and extremely well-researched. The segment in which Big John crosses paths with St. Francis of Assisi is based on a true incident in which the Saint went into the Saracen camp to preach to the Sultan about Christ.

In its segment on "Experiments that Teach Us About Ourselves: The Amazing Human Body" this book provides 35 experiments about the body (the other segments of the book are about plant and animal life. While certainly not a comprehensive anatomy course, the book does provide interesting and simple experiments (which can easily performed at home with fairly ordinary materials) that would provide a helpful supplement to the study of anatomy.

Approximately one third of this book is devoted to "Experiments for the Beginning Biologist: The World of Plants." In the typical Van Cleave style, this segment provides 35 experiments relating to plant life that are simple and informative (and can easily be done in the home). Most experiments are designed to demonstrate certain properties of plant life (such as osmosis and diffusion, what causes plant stems to wilt, what makes plants burst when over-watered, and how water is transported through plant stems). Other experiments determine certain questions such as how plants take in nutrients and whether it matters which direction seeds face when they are planted. Each experiments concludes with an explanation as to the "why" of the results. I find these simple but very helpful (even for moms!).

Another third or so of this book is devoted to "Experiments in the Animal Kingdom: Introductory Zoology." In the Van Cleave style, this segment provides simple experiments (easily performed at home) involving molds, fungi, mini-organisms, yeast, fireflies, butterflies and moths, spiderwebs, crickets, grasshoppers, flies, goldfish and earthworms. In addition to experiments involving observation and/or manipulation of these small creatures, you will find experiments which "illustrate" properties of creatures (such as a camouflage and suction) without actually working with animals.