In this modern age of all things techie, you'll find that a majority of kids and teens walk around with their face buried in a smart phone. When we moved to our current city a few years ago, my daughters were astounded that NOT ONE neighborhood kid that they met (and there were a dozen) enjoyed reading a book, let alone visiting the library. That makes me sad. We love books, and promising my teens a trip to the library is as good as going to the mall - no, seriously, I'm not exaggerating. The librarians laugh when they see my girls haul their towering stacks of books to the check out counter. On occasion, either a desired book may be unavailable for whatever reason, or we might love it so much that we want to own it. In those cases, we hope to purchase a copy for the best price available. I'm here today to share an excellent site to find all sorts of books and resources to stock your shelves. For our review, Library and Educational Services LLC was beyond generous in providing us with a book of our choice from their Who Was...? series, one CD of our choice from their Lifehouse Theater CDs series, and our choice of books from their Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction books . What a delight! I was like a kid in a candy store!
We chose the following gems:
- From the Who Was..? series - Who Was Beatrix Potter?
- From the Lifehouse CD series - Rikki Tikki Tavi
- From the Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction books:
* The Reformation
* Writers and their Times- a collection of famous authors
* Great Life Stories - J.R.R. Tollkien, Marie Curie, Clara Barton
I'm going to back up for a moment and tell you a bit about Library and Educational Services LLC . This company is a treasure! Putting it simply, they are a wholesale company for Christian schools, churches, resellers, and specialty stores. All of their items, that is, books, CDs, and DVDs, are carefully vetted to make sure that they stay true to Biblical values. With materials that focus on children, they offer prices that are 30% to 70% off of the publisher list prices. Homeschoolers receive the same discount that the schools have.
Extra pages offer bonus details.
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| Potter actually wanted to be a scientist, and studied mushrooms. |
Over the past few years, we've enjoyed various titles from the Who Was...? series, and Who Was Beatrix Potter? has now been added to that collection. These are small paperback books written for ages 8-12 years, or Grades 2-6, if that helps more. My teens and I enjoy them just as much though. With 112 pages, we read this book in about 30 minutes, give or take. These books are great as a stand alone read, or you can use them with your current curriculum or unit study. Kids will appreciate the conversational style used in presenting the biography, as well as the generous amount of black and white illustrations throughout the books. Scattered here and there, are pages that provide extra information that pertains to either the subject of the book, or of events pertinent to the time period. There is also a timeline of the life of the featured person at the end of the book. I chose Beatrix Potter because she has always been a favorite author of mine. I love to learn about a person's history, and what life events brought them to their occupation. When my 13 year old read this, her first thoughts to me were, "This is so sad." After reading the book myself, I agreed that this author did face her share of challenges in life, whether lost love, lost opportunities because she was a woman, health issues, and controlling parents. But it was a success story too, because she persevered through the storms, and achieved more than many could hope to in a lifetime. I wonder if we have become so accustomed to seeking comfort above all else, that we miss out on more opportunities to grow. That's why I love this series. It makes us think. You need these in your personal library!
The audio CD that we chose was an absolute favorite of mine in my childhood. Rikki Tikki Tavi is the story of a mongoose that lives in India. After a heavy rain, he washes up in the yard of an English missionary couple, who take him in. He enchants them with his sweet nature, and quickly proves to be a fierce defender of the family. After hearing the English mother say to her family that Rikki Tikki Tavi is a "providence from God", he decides that he will be their protector. His opportunity comes immediately as two cobras that live in the family's garden threaten not only their safety, but their very lives. The story is 33 minutes long, and fully dramatized. All ages will enjoy this classic tale.
It was difficult to choose from so many wonderful options in the Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction books. That was a mouthful! Eventuallly, I settled on a 2 different sets, and a stand alone book. Every one of these books is gorgeous. They are hardcover, and as stated, have the reinforced library binding. I geek out every time I pick one up. There is just nothing like a brand new, well made book to make me happy.
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| Introduction. |
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| Offers history up into modern times. |
The stand alone book is Events and Outcomes of the Reformation. It is divided into 3 parts, with 78 pages. This is written for middle school to high school. The pages are sturdy and colorful, and the book offers a ton of information surrounding the Reformation. It begins by explaining Christianity, and then sets the scene for the events that surround this great time period. There are notes on the sides of the pages, a glossary, timeline of events, and extra pages of resources. It's a marvelous resource.
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| The books provide characters that were the author's. |
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| Plenty of historical information. |
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| So many interesting photos of the authors in their time. |
Next, I present the Great Life Stories series, featuring J.R.R. Tolkien, Marie Curie, and Clara Barton. These also feature beautiful, sturdy, colorful pages. Each of these titles provides a closer glimpse into the featured subject. Students and adults alike will learn about the hopes, dreams, and challenges that these icons faced. The chapters delve into the history of the time with interesting sidebars, timelines, and extra resources to pursue. This is also written for middle school to high school. The writing style is personal enough not to be stuffy, and we certainly found them engaging.
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| More photos. |
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| Events that relate to the author's time period. |
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| Excerpts from author's books. |
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| Timelines. |
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| Real life inspiration. |
Our last set is Writers and their Times. This set features 5 famous authors:
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
- John Steinbeck
- Ernest Hemingway
- Willa Cather
- Ray Bradbury
Again, these are meant for the middle to upper grades. As with the others, the pages are of excellent quality, with a mix of black and white, and color photos. You'll read about the pertinent events of the author's time, the history, and of course, the trajectory of each author's life, good and bad. There are glossaries, lists of the author's works, timelines, and extra resources. We're still working through these, and I love them. These are great just to have on your shelf, but work great in conjunction with history, language arts, or other school assignments. Every resource that we received has been stellar in content and quality. I'll be keeping their website in my favorites tab, as we prepare for this upcoming school year. With options from the youngest learners to high schoolers, there is something for everyone for your educational needs. Do visit their site, I'll bet that you love it too.
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