In a similar manner to The Miracles of Jesus, Tomie de Paola presents seventeen of Jesus' parables. This book makes them very accessible to small children and may even be the start of some interesting little discussions with your children about why Jesus told these stories. Some of the text of the parables is very brief.

My husband and I finally went to see the Passion just last night (Monday of Holy Week). It was a very powerful and thought-provoking movie. There are a few things in particular that I think make it stand out from other movies I've seen about the Life of Christ.

The role of Mary in the story: The thing that struck me most about the Passion is how strong Mary's role is in the story. Rather than a minor character that flits in and out of the story (as occurs in many of these type of movies) this movie is quite Mariocentric. Many of the most moving scenes involve Mary's interaction with her Son. The movie also illuminates the Blessed Mother's role in Redemption, contrasts her role with that of the devil, and helps develop our own relationship with her and her son through her interaction with the Apostles of Jesus. It is difficult to put into words how powerful her role in this movie is. It is certainly worth seeing even if only for this alone.

The way Jesus is portrayed: While a lot of press has been given to the graphic nature of the portrayal of Jesus in this story, the uniqueness of his characterization goes well beyond this. Jesus is portrayed as having a very natural balance of strength and gentleness and appears as very strong and "manly". Flashbacks of Jesus talking to His followers and interacting with His mother particularly highlight this and provide contrast to the drama of His extreme torture. The portrayal of the brutality of Jesus' tormentors is quite graphic and hard to watch. I think it is beneficial, however, in many ways - particularly for modern viewers accustomed to movies with a lot of gore and violence.

Other Catholic symbolism: There was a great deal of beautiful symbolism which I have rarely seen in other movies of a similar nature. The most striking, to me, was the sacredness of the Precious Blood spilt during the scourging and highlighted by Our Lady and Mary Magdalene lovingly wiping it up with linens. There are also strong themes relating to the Eucharist and repentance. The whole movie can make for a great examination of conscience (I believe this is actually aided by the original language and subtitles because it has such a different feel from other movies) and would be excellent to watching during Holy Week.

The Question of Children watching the Passion: While watching the movie, I did focus on whether it would be appropriate for my eldest daughter to watch (she's almost 11). My husband and I agreed that it would be better for her to wait. Not only the graphic nature of Jesus' torture, but also some of the details involving the devil and the children tormenting Judas might be both troubling and confusing to her. We plan on purchasing the movie when it comes out on DVD and letting our children see it a little at a time where we can discuss it and focus on areas most appropriate to their age and maturity levels. Because of the the Passion movie, we have recently bought Jesus of Nazareth and the Robe, which I believe will be helpful at their particular stages. (Even the four and six years olds seem to be getting quite a bit out of these two movies - particularly when we discuss them at the dinner table or when the children chat about them together.) I do know a number of pre-teens and young teenagers who have seen the Passion and were glad they saw it. I think parents need to decide on an individual basis who the movie would be appropriate for. For my part, I think the movie is intended for adults but probably would be managable for most teens 14 or 15 years and older.

This rather ordinary-looking book is a genuine treasure! It is the story of a bored little boy who has a mysterious tollbooth suddenly appear in his bedroom one day. He goes through the tollbooth, mostly because there is nothing better to do at that present moment. Well, a thoroughly entertaining adventure awaits our young friend, Milo. The novel is a romp through the lands of numbers and letters, the former ruled by the Mathemagician, of course! The plot is Milo's quest to rescue the princesses of Rhyme and Reason, but the fun and enjoyment is in reading about Milo's adventures along the way. This book is sure to captivate readers of all ages, from five years old to adult. It is a wonderful family read-aloud. Highly recommended. Look for it at your local library, or consider purchasing a copy of The Phantom Tollbooth. It's a classic that is sure to be re-read.

Each lesson begins with the speaker reading the rule followed by a 15 word list that includes the speaker repeating the rule every three words. After each word is presented, the student is given enough time to write down the word without feeling rushed. The word list is repeated along with the correct spelling. The student writes the correct spelling next to his word as an accuracy check, noting which words he misspelled. He then studies those words and listens to the same list (CD track) on subsequent days until he correctly spells all list words two times.

Upon first listening to the CDs I thought the program moved too slowly and that my children would find it boring. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I was wrong. In retrospect realize that I found it slow and boring because I already knew the words, but for a student just learning the rules and word spelling it moved at just the right pace.

Phonetic Zoo provides different rules from Spelling Power that were quickly learned by our oldest child (who is not naturally a good speller.) At the beginning of eighth grade (after completing Level H in Spelling Power) he worked through the entire Phonetic Zoo high school level in 3 months and was able to apply the spelling rules in his essays. We did a follow up test to the effectiveness of Phonetic Zoo by using the final Spelling Power lists. He missed less then 5% of all words on the last two levels of Spelling Power, and the words missed were rated as being college level. For our family Phonetic Zoo is an ideal program for older students who are yearning for independence and are anxious to "be done" with spelling lessons. This review is of the "Advanced" level of Phonetic Zoo. The IEW website contains an auditory placement test that is accurate in determining which level to purchase.