The Oracle of Life by Katherine Graham

What a great debut novel to a series that will surely become a favourite of readers. Excellent world-building and character development. A story of struggle between classes in a time and place where magic is equally feared and loved at the same time. The main character faces struggles once she is deemed a "doomsayer" and is ostracized by many.

The Dark Prince of Lazaro by Rachel Croxton

A fairy tale of epic proportions that draws the reader in. Although character development could have been better I still enjoyed this book. Maybe because, like the main character, as a child I used books as an escape - an opportunity to be in a different life, a different world and different circumstances. Like all good fairy tales, or fairy tale-type stories this one holds a lesson to be gleaned. Rachel Croxton has done an excellent job at creating a story that will both entertain you and leave you thinking.

My Story K

My Story I was excited to see this newest addition to the Kindergarten curriculum! This curriculum is set up to be used two days a week. This set up allows for 5 days of Kindergarten instruction with the other subjects being M/W/F and this on being T/Th. My only complaint, if it is one, is that I prefer to have the weekly schedule easily laid out as it is in the Math and other subjects. I find planning for multiple grades easier if I don’t have to physically go through the book and locate daily page numbers. Curriculum is easily laid out and gives a basic introduction to Social studies with topics like “where we live” and “holidays”. Lessons are short enough to keep a little one’s attention but long enough to give instruction and inspire questions and discussion. It is easy to do extended activities with the lessons.

Where Faith Grows

Where Faith Grows Meet Abby and Miah and begin a journey of faith that will build a great foundation for little ones. This fun and interactive curriculum introduces the basics of faith. Each week begins with a memory verse for the week and a lesson. I really appreciate that Masterbooks has developed a Bible curriculum that incorporates the Little Thinkers Series. These sweet books introduce the tenets of faith that and answer questions that little ones often have regarding the Gospel, The Trinity, Scripture, and Missions.

A Divided Nation - KEN HAM

A DIVIDED NATION The book opens with this: “America is a divided nation…./The culture is becoming more secularized and anti-Christian. Church attendance has already dropped significantly. But what has happened to the Church? Why have the younger generations been leaving? Why is the Christian message no impacting the culture like it used to?” (pg 8). The following pages answer these pressing questions beginning with the sobering fact that, “it only takes one generation to a lose a culture” (pg.9) and the truth that the “change in the [current] culture is devastating and catastrophic from a Christian perspective” (pg9). The call is to Christian to take responsibility and take a stand, to right what we have been negligent in, to hold our leaders and ourselves accountable and to above all understand that there “is no neutrality – no neutral position” (page 13); You are either for God or against God, but “scripture makes it clear there is not neutral position” (pg. 14). As I read this I could not help but hear Nehemiah’s call in Nehemiah 4:14 “Remember the LORD, who is great and glorious, and FIGHT for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes”. This has long been my battle cry when it comes to educating my children, when I stand firm on the Word, when I make what this world would say is a politically incorrect stand. I will stand on the firm foundation because this is a fight for the next generation. Ken Ham lays out five areas he believes has been neglected then goes into detail about why and how they have been neglected and what the answer is. Each chapter ends with a section on what parents should and can do and what leaders should and can do. He is unapologetic in placing the blame and responsibility of this on the shoulders first of the parents of children and second on the church and its leaders. It is time to stand firm, to preach and live truth and to lay a foundation. I am in my 40’s and Ken points out that my generation and those before me were raised in a largely “Christianized” culture, where Christian morals and views permeated all areas, including the school system. I was in the generation when they began to remove the Bible and Prayer from school. I remember my Latin teacher making the statement that we cannot study an ancient language or the history of that time and neglect the influence of Christ upon that time. He was a highly educated man who held a doctorate in Linguistics and Masters in the field of archeology and ancient history (why he was in a highschool was beyond my understanding at the time, though now I know it was to lay the foundation for students in an area that was becoming highly secularized). He translated the New Testament into Latin and we spent the next four years as a class translating it back into English – imagine the impact that had! We discussed the history in light of Scripture and he did all this stating the Bible was just another text used to support the historical documents of the time. More than once he was called on to defend his use of the Bible in a classroom setting. I look back on this and am thankful he held to his faith and taught it – always pointing that every passage of the Bible was reliable and if we wanted historical or scientific evidence we never had to look to far. In fact many students stayed to pose questions and to debate topics - he was great at apologetics, with a compassion for teaching truth. This! This is what we need to get back to and is precisely what Ken Ham says – apologetics is KEY! Understanding the why to what we believe is utterly important.

Meet the Chief, published by Masterbooks

Meet the Chief The opening pages introduce kids to the office of president. I love the following paragraph: “Each president is unique in their faith and beliefs. As you learn more about the presidents of the United States, you may find that not all of them followed godly or biblical principles; they made mistakes, as well as accomplished great things. We hope as you learn about each president, you will be inspired to learn more about them and America, and will think of ways you might contribute to this great nation. Maybe one day you will become the president of the United States of America!” (page5) It is important to understand that beyond party lines that “they made mistakes, as well as accomplished great things.” And that there are godly and ungodly leaders are both sides of the fence. A party line does not define religious, moral or ethical beliefs. This book is chock full of amazing little tid bits of information. Children will learn when a president was born/died, took office, party they were a part of and how many terms they served. Then the book goes into the history of each president; where they were born, who they married, their education, and how they entered politics. I was so excited to get this book and be able to review it with my kids. It’s a wonderful book to invest in and have on hand as a resource that will enrich your studies of U.S. government and history.

The Big Book

The Big Book Yes! I love this! It’s a counterpart to the book entitled “The Tiny Book” and takes an engaging and poetic look at God’s “big things” in creation. A great way to teach children to recognize and appreciate the wonders that are all around them. I highly recommend purchasing the other book, The Tiny Book with this one.