What's New

Herodotus and the Road to History

Author(s): 
Jeanne Bendick

This is a brief, engaging and heavily illustrated biography of the world's first historian. Herodotus lived in the Greek city of Halicarnassus in the Persian empire during the 5th century BC. His situation and personality put him an ideal place to tell the fascinating stories of the Persian Wars (think Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis) and to travel extensively and collect stories from all over. His original writings are a fascinating read for upper high school or college.

Advent in the Home

Author(s): 
Ellen C. Becker
Mary T. Barnes

My first impression when I opened Advent in the Home was, “Wow, it’s all here.” Normally in October I start filling my calendar with meaningful Advent activities; jotting down ideas on scraps of paper which I promptly lose and printing out coloring sheets until I run out of ink. This seems to be fairly common in homeschooling families. Aspiring to create a more spiritual tone to what has become an oppressively secular time of year can be quite overwhelming. There are just so many ideas spread out in books, periodicals, and on the Iinternet.

Spring's Gift of Hope

Author(s): 
Monique Niemaszyk
Illustrator(s): 
Rosemary McAvoy

"Spring's Gift of Hope" is the first book by Moniqe Niemaszyk I read. I understand it is the second of a series and I look forward to the upcoming ones. Although you may want your child to read the first one ("Birthday Snow") of the series first, this volume read very independently.

A New England Catholic family of five children deals with the care and death of an older aunt, and protagonist 18 yr old Gina gets ready for college and a possible romantic relationship. Lessons are learned, hearts are touched, and an example of healthy family and prayer life is gently portrayed.

The Saving Name of God the Son

Author(s): 
Jean Ann Sharpe

Bethlehem Books has just released the first in a set of three new board books on the Blessed Trinity. This first one is about God the Son and it's gorgeous! Each page has a lovely painting by early Renaissance artist Fra Angelico, illustrating a scene from the Life of Christ. The paintings are accompanied by short, rich text that speaks of who Jesus is. It's a very quick read, just a few lines per page, but thoughtfully put together and one that can be reflected on over and over again.

Saints of the Bible

Author(s): 
Theresa Doyle-Nelson

There are so many wonderful saints book out there-- our homeschool shelves are filled with them, and we read and re-read them! This one will be an unique addition to our collection as the saints highlighted within all come from the pages of Holy Scripture!

Language of God Level E

Author(s): 
Christine Schintgen

We love CHC English workbooks, this one is no exception. From details such as being spiralbound and nice, white paper, an uncluttered layout, to the pictures and Catholic content, these books offer a superior choice!

Nurture Shock

Author(s): 
Po Bronson
Ashley Merryman

NurtureShock is a parenting book with a strong scientific foundation that's designed to have a big impact on breaking some of society's misguided conventions regarding parenting and education; which looks to be an exceptionally good thing. It focuses on a number of issues relating to parenting and education in which good science shows us a different view from current cultural assumptions.

Here's a small sampling from the Introduction which will give you a little sense of what the authors' intentions and attitudes are:

Around the Year Once Upon a Time Saints

Author(s): 
Ethel Pochocki
Illustrator(s): 
Ben Hatke

This is a lovely gem of a book, covering about thirty saints, organized according to the calendar year, by their feast day. Like her previous publications from Bethlehem Books (Once Upon a Time Saints and More Once Upon a Time Saints), these stories are intended to capture the essence of holy men and women through the sometimes fantastical stories that are likely to capture the imagination of young children. Here is what the author wrote about her own stories:

The Fathers of the Church, expanded edition

Author(s): 
Mike Aquilina

This past year my Lit class in our Tutoring Center read the biography of Saint Athanasius. We were all equally amazed at the tempestuous life of the important Church father: I confess I had never read a Church Father biography until then. As the importance and relevance of reading the early Fathers became evident, I read Mike Aquilina's "The Fathers of the Church" very happily to prepare for this review.

Light to the Nations

Author(s): 
Catholic Schools Textbook Project

Most Catholic homeschoolers today are familiar with the high quality level of the Catholic Textbook Projects volumes, and this one, Light to the Nations is no exception. (Note that I write this review based on the CD format of the book). Attractive, user-friendly layout, beautiful reproductions and helpful maps are found throughout the chapters.