Attention everyone! This is it! I have found my new favorite book series! As a bonus, these are not, like many books, a light read, meant only to distract or entertain, oh no. This biography series is rich with fascinating information pertaining to many historical figures. I love to learn the stories of people, and all of the events that worked together to impact the character and personality of an individual. As it relates to education, they can be a wonderful addition to your studies. We received Heroes of History - Billy Graham - America's Pastor from YWAM Publishing , along with the accompanying Study Guide to review, and wow, is it fantastic! This book is part of the Heroes of History series, where you can find some amazing biographies.
You would have to have been living under a rock not to be familiar with the name Billy Graham. But how much do you really know about this faithful man of God? He really was, as someone described him, America's Pastor. Born on November 7, 1918, Mr. Graham grew up in Mecklenburg County in North Carolina. In his early years, Billy Frank, as he was then known, wasn't necessarily interested in spiritual things. It was his mother, Morrow Graham, who was diligent in presenting the Bible to her children. That began to change when Billy was thirteen. His father had an accident that would leave him in a coma for a time. His father did recover thankfully, although the process was slow. The accident caused his father to turn towards God, and soon he was gathering men for a prayer rally. Billy didn't want to go, but later overheard his father mention a man that had attended named Vernon Patterson, who had prayed and "asked God to raise up out of the Charlotte area someone to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth." How cool is that, and of course, how prophetic!
As you read the Bible , have you ever noticed that after coming face to face with the Lord, their name changes? Abraham, Sarah, Paul...Well, that was also the case with Billy Graham. Prior to his conversion, he was, as you saw above, known as Billy Frank. Just before he turned sixteen, he made the decision to turn his life over to Jesus Christ. After that, he dropped the name Frank, deciding that the name Billy Graham "sounded cleaner".
Oh, I could go on and on about everything in this intriguing biography, but I suppose that would leave you without a reason to read it for yourself. The rest of the book tells of many of the circumstances that lead to his worldwide ministry, including how he met the love of his life at Wheaton College. This is one of my favorite parts of the book, as it happened in my hometown area of Chicago, Illinois. You'll read about how he came to work with George Beverly Shea, his launch of Youth For Christ, his work across the United States, and then throughout the world. It is amazing to me to read about the countries where he traveled, where there was such an opposition to the gospel, and yet he was there to see walls broken down. One account came from a trip to the Soviet Union (as it was called back in the day). There was such tight control from the government that the people could not speak freely about Christianity. When citizens would meet Billy Graham, they would draw a cross in the dirt to identify themselves. As of yet, that is something that is hard to imagine in our free country.
This book is a very easy, and compelling, read. There are 17 chapters, and I was through the first 4 really quickly, as in, under an hour. Obviously, speed isn't the goal, I say that to highlight how engaging the book is for me. Both of my daughters and I agreed that this reads like a story, and really it is, isn't it? We all read it separately, and then discussed it together. That worked well for us, but you may find it works better as a read aloud. I think that for us, we were able to digest the details a little better by reading individually. After completing this one, I have my eye on a few more. Heroes of History - Laura Ingalls Wilder - A Storybook Life , and Heroes of History - Ronald Reagan - Destiny At His Side , are both on my short list.
 |
A photo of Billy Graham and family that we came across while looking up more information about his life.
|
Thoughts from my 14 year old:
"I give this book high praise. Usually, I find biographies dull, but this one feels like I'm reading fiction. The way that the story is presented makes me feel like I'm there. It's easy to read, and very interesting. Unlike other books, I don't find myself dreading it."
Thoughts from my 12 year old:
" I like the way the book is presented. You're sucked in, and cannot stop reading it. I love the fact that they make it feel like a fiction book, like a story. It gave an interesting perspective on Billy Graham's life. I like that not only included dialogue from Billy Graham, but also the people he came in contact with, the people that he lead to Christ, and his friends. I felt like I was there, witnessing the events."
In short, we loved this book, and are ordering other titles shortly. And there's more to this (and the others) story, all found in the accompanying Study Guide . Did you know, that you can use the titles in this series to create an entire history curriculum? How cool is that? In this guide, there are a few guides that detail just how to do this, whether you homeschool or not. It includes the schedule, titles to use, themes to cover, and a lot of activities. It has me considering that option, at least as a part of our history studies, next year.
 |
| Of course, now we have the date of his death- Feb. 21, 2018 |
Another way to use this guide, is as a Unit Study. Like most Unit Studies, this provides activities in the following areas:
* History
* Geography
* Essay Writing
* Creative Writing
* Reading Comprehension
* Public Speaking
* Drama
* Art
The guide is really a great big outline of possible activities to be completed. Big as in, 74 pages of ideas. It's wonderful, because there is something for practically any age. There are ideas to build a display corner, where you gather a variety of objects, books, articles, memorabilia, to create a display of the title that you're reading. "Key Quotes" have been put together to use for memorization, discussion, or display. We used them as handwriting practice, and they also happened to spark a few conversations. Chapter questions provide reading comprehension, and vocabulary practice. There are maps and timelines to fill in. Book and resource lists provide other opportunities to research. Are you beginning to see how many different learning opportunities there are when using this guide along with the book itself? I'm pondering which additional titles that I'm going to use this summer, and which activities we'll use this summer, in between our school years.
This book and its study guide have been a refreshing addition to our schoolwork. The spiritual content has been encouraging and convicting, and a great way to expose my girls to heroes of the faith. we're looking forward to building our library with more books from YWAM Publishing !
Find YWAM Publishing on social media:
BLOG
Read reviews about more titles in the Heroes of History series from other Crew members by clicking the banner below.
No comments:
Post a Comment