I wanted to take a moment to tell you about some animal related books we've read lately.   Different themes and ideas presented in each.

Where the Buffalo Begin Oh, I wish I could adequately express how much the lad and I enjoyed this book.  We read it over three nights so we could just enjoy the story.  :)   An excellent story about an Indian lad wanting to see if a story is true...and finding himself becoming part of the legend by the end of the book.   Just a neat story.  A book we picked up in a large assortment of books that I almost tossed out and am so glad we took the time to just read it.     Has made me want to get more book by Olaf Baker. If you are doing a study on Native Americans or First Nations people, pick it up for sure

The last book I want to talk about came in a review package from Raincoast books.   Feathered Dinosaurs  is a book about.. well obviously dinosaurs that are feathered.   It was a great read with excellent pictures, done up be Brenda Z Guiberson

My 10 year old snatched this book up almost as soon as I opened the package and quickly looked through and read it.   He brought me this page to show me.  "Look at its tail mom!   Would you want to be swatted by it?   And this bird can BITE mom.. can you see it's teeth!!!!!!"      Well illustrated, with just enough information to intrigue a lad and draw out questions from a mom.    At the close of the book there was a two page spread talking about the advantages these avian dinosaurs would have over the rest of the dinosaur population, it was a great conversation starter.

If you have a child that likes dinosaurs, or is just fascinated by the multitude of beasts that the Lord created, check out this book.   You can find it HERE.

Tales of those that have gone on before, inspire one to keep moving on in the journey.   I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed reading this book "bearing witness" on behalf of FlyBy Promotions.  Edited by Charlies E. Moore and Timothy Keiderling, this is a book containing snippets of the stories of saints who have gone on before, bearing persecution and they trust in the Lord God himself.   The full name is Bearing Witness: Stories of Martyrdom and Costly Discipleship. 

From the book cover
What does it cost to follow Jesus?   For these men and women, the answer was: everything.   They were ready to give witness to Christ in the face of intense persecution, even if it cost them their lives.

What do you get?
36 stories of saints from early Christian time through to modern witnesses.   36 stories of men and women who suffered for their faith in God.   Many died, others lived, all suffered for their faith.

Why is this important?
Our brothers and sisters, suffering for their faith should be remembered.   Doesn't mean they need to be made important than anyone else, but they should be remembered, they should be prayed for (the ones currently suffering) and they should be held up as an example to keep going on, to hold fast to one's faith in the Lord REGARDLESS of what happens to oneself.   Keep steadfast and sure is what they lives of these men and women call us to.     It's a reminder to us who have their life of faith relatively unchallenged what it means to HAVE faith, to know that it will be challenged, and that we should hold fast to God and his promises.

What did I think?
Thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I called me to mind my faith a bit more than I do sometimes.
Different people, men, women and youth... called by God to be his own, and suffering, sometimes horribly, as a result of that deep love for God and holding fast... it's a heart call to not mind the skepticism that can be thrown one's way for having faith.  To hold fast despite the "uh, that's not important" comments that one hears at times.

If you want to know more of those who have gone on before, those that are standing for God RIGHT NOW, this book will help you do that.  :)  Not always an easy read, but a good and necessary one.

AND wonderfully I am allowed to host a giveaway so that YOU TOO can own a copy of this book and learn to stand with those gone on before.

You can find more books on faith, society and the spiritual life at Plough Books and on Facebook.

Check out the details below

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

Three quirky children.   A museum robbery.   Murder, escape, history RUN!!!!!   All woven into a middle school chapter book for your students.   Brian Wells has written a book the just might intrigue your children "The League and the Lantern".

Book Synopsis:
AFTER A DISASTROUS SIXTH GRADE, Jake Herndon is anxiously awaiting his Big Do-Over, starting with his new school's notorious seventh grade sleepover. Awkward team-building games and forced fun quickly become the least of his problems, however, when a dangerous organization invades and the night takes a shocking turn. Jake and two new classmates, Lucy and TJ, barely escape, only to find themselves in a fight for survival on the streets of Chicago. Over the next 48 hours they unravel a mystery dating back to the Civil War and an incredible secret about Jake s family.Full of unforgettable characters and unexpected twists, The League and the Lantern is a jaw-dropping ride of mind-bending revelations and laugh-out-loud humor. If Jake and his new friends can make it through this weekend, they just might have a shot at seventh grade.

My Thoughts:

I have to tell you something.. I am not a middle school student.   :)   I am not in the 9-14 year old range. 

As such my thoughts in this book may be some what different than a middle school student.  :)

I am not sure if my son would like this book or not.  He might, he likes a mystery with interesting characters.  And the three main characters are quirky - Jake, Lucy and TJ.    Lucy being a homeschooled student who grew up in Nepal.  

As an adult I found the book to be very chatty, in a manner, that for me, detracted from the story.   It was the type of conversation I can imagine my son engaging in, which made it realistic, but for me took away from the storyline.

One of the things that I liked, was the weaving of historical facts into the book.  I learned alot about Lincoln and his tomb, but I expect books that delive into history to provide me with good facts, but an added bonus to this book is this... Brian wells provides a website with "bonus stuff."   Enter your email address and age, you gain admittance.   It has a section for children to learn what is fact and a fiction in the book , as well as a section for parents.  In the parental section you'll find a list of vocabulary words, and items such as this:

All in all, Brian Wells set out to create a book that middle schoolers should both enjoy and learn from, and I think he has accomplished that task handily.

Below you will find a giveaway!   You can get your own copy and see what you think of it yourself.  Pretty cool eh?   Open to the USA and Canada only though. 

Giveway open to USA and Canada.  On behalf of FlyBy Promotions.

While my son was in hospital for his ear surgery I was able to read a couple of chapter books I had sitting in my review pile.   They are Pete Milano's Guide to being a Movie Star and The Extincts.

I found them both to be interesting books.

These books were somewhat different from each other, particularly in their style of writing, but they had some similarities as well.

Both books had boys as the main characters, with a female counterpart.
Both boys met strong, but "odd" women who proved pivotal to their lives.
Both boys grew and changed by all they experienced in their lives.

Pete Milano's Guide to Being a Movie Star made me laugh.   This book is part of the Charlie Joe Jackson series, as i read it i kept thinking.. my boy needs to read this book, it's funny!   Pete Milano is a funny lad who has trouble happen ... sometimes as a result of his own boyness and other times well.. let's just say he's in the wrong place at the right time.  :)

Anyways, Pete lives his life, meets Iris while he's escaping one of his antics, and finds himself auditioning for a movie.   He acts in a movie.. learning a lot about himself and other people at the same time, and figuring out what is truly important for himself.

Throughout the book are scattered images of Pete at the movies, at home and pages of the script he was working through.  I am hoping my lad will pick up this book to read for himself soon.   I think most older elementary aged boys would like this book, and probably some girls too!

The Extincts explores the "what ifs".  What if dinosaurs are still around?   What if those monsters of lore are true?   Could there really be dragons living among us?   Who is going to care for them?   Could they really be there after all?

All George needed was a job.  A job so he could replace his bike that got stolen.   And ad read as follows:

Of course he went to apply and met the intriguing Mrs. Lind and the curious boy Lo.  He was deemed the Right Person and so commenced his duties.... life became ever so interesting it did...not only for George but for the folks surrounding him as well.

This book adds an element you don't find in the Pete Milano book... a real villain. She's a bone-chilling, awful person with one nasty sidekick and one well.. rather odd one (well he IS odd!).  :) 

While this book didn't make me laugh as much as the other book did, I wanted to know what happened in the end.  It hooked me in.   Tommy Greenwald did an excellent job with his descriptions, the redeeming of the "odd" sidekick and unique answer to the terribly nasty villain.  (that made me laugh).   Not sure I'd have sensitive readers take a go at this one, but it was an interesting book.

Anyways, if you like interesting books, these two will fit the bill.   Pete Milano because he seems like such a real boy with a humour that is trouble-making needing to live a real life and doing so well.  Extincts because it's good to explore those "what ifs" of life AND to see villains stop being villainous!

I was given the opportunity to read those books via Raincoast Books.
You can learn more about them here:

Usually when I read book with my lad, I read above his reading level, but lately we've been reading from a reader called "Paths to Adventure".   It's part of the A Beka reading program.  I picked it up somewhere cause I like readers.  :)

The stories were simple (expected that).
What I didn't expect was my lad's interest.

It caught me off-guard how interested he was in these simple stories and the questions...oh my! 

"MOM!   is that story true?"
"Mom, why do you think he did that?"
"Mom that was a nice story, I liked that one.  Did you like it mom?"

As I sat down tonight I pondered this whole thing, about my boys' interest and all his questions.

I have to wonder.
1. if the lower level meant he could really focus on the basics of the story and therefore they caught his attention more.
2. if the lower level stories don't have all vocabulary and bigger words, which broke the story down into more easily understood pieces.
3. if the simplicity of the story conveyed truths in a more straight-forward fashion.

I don't know.  

I do know that was completely caught off-guard with his interest in the stories and the poems found within the pages of this reader.  It was a good thing.

So the upshot of all this is ...... Don't pass up those below level books.  
You just might be surprised how interesting they are.

After two weeks of not getting much done in the way of schooling due to cold/flu running through the house, WOOT WOOT.. today I woke up with energy!     (granted that energy ran away quickly and by 1 p.m. I was barely function and by 330 was shivering in a warm house).  :)  BUT HEY!!!   Got some schooling done so YEAH!!!!!

Anyways, what did we get done?

The lad worked his way through Veritas Press History and Bible.
Then attacked his A+ Interactive Math.. he loves the short lessons.   As long as he gets 80% or higher I don't require extra work.

After this we worked on our Homeschool Copywork.  Took a bit of figure out what was wrong with my printer (hubby needed to help) but finally printed off enough sheets for the next bit.   The lad is really enjoying the copywork for the Dragons in the Bible book.

Math, reading, science all done.  YEAH!!!  
To end our time as I was running out of brain power we did some reading.

The Natural World book had us reading about eels today, so we looked up garden eels on Youtube.   They made us laugh.

Isn't God amazing with some of the creatures he has made???   Just amazing.  :)

Superheroes Don't Eat Veggie Burgers was a total hit with my 10 year old son.  He was SO disappointed when this novel by Gretchen Kelley was finished.   "Mom," he asked, "is she going to write another book with Charlie in it?"

Charlie is a regular kid who has just started middle school along with his best friend Frankie.    His sister Stella warns him that grade six will change both him and Frankie but he just doesn't see it.  

Enter Mr. P and the notebook assignment.
Confusion, change, what to do, what to do ???   Gramma Pickle tells him his grandpa had a journal too...and how important it was to him.  

I don't want to give away too much of the story, but it was a captivating book.  I didn't expect the ending.... it was a definite cause for conversation between the lad and myself as he worked to understand this difficult topic.    Dealing with bullies of all different sorts can be a very hard one to figure out.... and Charlie discovers a braveness that he didn't really he had...and that was TOTALLY cool to see.   

For me as a mom seeing the wheels turning in my boy's head was wonderful. 

Book Synopsis:
Middle school may be tough, but Charlie Burger has a plan for how he'll get through it: mind his own business and stay out of the limelight. But the sixth grade has other plans for Charlie. His best friend Franki starts acting weird-since when does she like to dance?-and everyone from his mom to his soccer coach is on his case all the time. Worst of all? The school bully, Boomer Bodbreath, seems to think Charlie has a bull's-eye on his back.

When Charlie's eccentric science teacher hands out writing journals instead of beakers and goggles, Charlie is convinced his year can't be saved. That is, until he starts writing stories about Dude Explodius, an awesome, studly superhero-and those stories start coming true.

Can a kid who's used to the sidelines suddenly take a shot at saving the world?

If you read this book with your children, or have them read it for themselves you may wish to discuss the whole matter of bullies with them.   These resources may be helpful

Superteachers anti-bullying.  Stop a bully Teacher Resources.  Education World.

Elijah, God's Mighty Prophet.   A book from the I can Read Adventure Bible series.    Who wouldn't want their children to know more about this mighty man of God?   This book is a good introduction to a part of Elijah's life and how God used him.

Book Synopsis:
Elijah, God’s Mighty Prophet is a level 2 I Can Read, written in the tradition of the bestselling NIV Adventure Bible. In this story, Elijah the prophet has a tough job to do—convince a stubborn king and the Israelites that God is greater than anyone, including the god Baal.

   A level two reader, large print and colourful pictures.   Overall I thought they did a good job on the book THOUGH I am dismayed that they completely skipped part of the story.

I understand that folks think it's important to spare children bloodshed, but sometimes bloodshed is a part of the story.  The prophets of Baal were destroyed.

It's a part of the story, and it's in the bible.  So for a book that says it follows the bible story, to completely miss it seems an intentional part to not tell the WHOLE story.   Children, even young children, do well to have the whole story.   It shows how seriously God takes sin, and ergo we should to.

But the set up and layout of the book is well done.    Oh, I also wish that they had put the scripture reference in the book so that one could turn to the bible to read the whole story that this one was taken from.   This book was a good introduction to Elijah.

Over the past two weeks my son and I have been reading a delightful book about Irenaeus of Lyons.   My sweetheart picked these books up a couple years ago at a Banner of Truth Conference he went to, and we are now making our way through them...I think we have three of them.

What a fascinating man!  

Keen believer.
Writer of books.
Firm love for God and the ability to help others see God clearly.
One who warned believers to stay away from false teachers and teachings.
You could palpably feel his love for God in this book.

I SO want to read more books in this series.
Sinclair Ferguson does a great job of helping children understand who our heroes of faith are.  Easy reading, with focus on what the heroes did best. 

MORE MORE.  :)

Here's a video so you can learn more. 

Over the past couple of weeks my son and I have been learning about Temperate Forests.  We used this book "Temperate Forest Habitats" as our base of study.   We learned that temperate forests include both deciduous and coniferous forests.

Temperate forests are those that experience temperature fluctuations throughout the year.  They have a spring, summer, fall and winter.  

As you can see from this map, they are spread across the world, predominately in the northern hemisphere, but also in the southern hemisphere.

They have an abundance of wildlife which changes dependent upon the season.   Some animals and birds that live in these regions change their behaviour depending on the weather as well, some animals moving to warmer climes, others hibernating, still others change the colour of their coat.

Since it is winter in Canada we were able to look at the pros and cons to deciduous and coniferous trees.   Seeing how easily coniferous trees shed snow as opposed to deciduous trees.   It's been great to talk about how God planned for broad-leafed trees to lose their leaves in the winter to prevent water loss and reduce snow load.    It was interesting to extrapolate the knowledge that due to the shape of tree, if you are caught in a mixed tree forest in the winter, it is easy to build a shelter with snow and the trees branches, to make a hidey hole to wait out the bad weather.   (This brought to life some of the lessons Will learned in the Ranger's Apprentice).

This was an interesting book to read and provoked lots of comments from my boy and random discussions throughout our days.   I love reading non-fiction books with my lad and using the information we learn in informal discussions.    Makes the learning more natural and thus more easily remembered (at least one hopes so).  :)

If you would like to know more, here's a PDF on Temperate Forests.