History

Set in approximately 1590 B.C. in Ancient Egypt and Nubia, this historical novel tells of Rahotep, an Egyptian nobleman who commands a small but capable force of Nubian archers. He and his archers offer their services to the Pharaoh Sekenenre, who wishes to finally throw off the rule of the Hyksos invaders and restore Egypt to its former glory. The young and sometimes rash Rahotep finds himself in the middle of a complex web of traditional court protocol, scheming temple priests and treacherous plots to take the life of the Pharaoh. He is finally caught in the web himself, falsely accused of an attack on the Pharoah's life. Escaping, he must choose between rescuing the Pharaoh from another plot and proving his innocence or simply making his escape to safety elsewhere - having a strong excuse after the false accusations. He chooses to help the Pharaoh and becomes involved in several impressive battles with the goal of an all-important first great victory against the Hyksos - necessary to rally Egypt's confidence and support.

This dramatic story makes you feel like you've been dropped right into Ancient Egypt to experience life among soldiers and courtiers in dangerous times. The plot rivals the great adventure novels - secret plots overheard, dangerous undercover missions, daring military campaigns - and offers more besides. The characters are well-portrayed, not overly-simplified or stereotyped. The noble characters fight with courage and honor, and the author shows death and killing as an unfortunate consequence of a just war, not something to be gloried in or dwelt upon in a crude fashion (a remarkable departure from so many books and movies made today).The treacherous plottings in the court and the temples vividly and accurately portray those insidious evils that mix truth and lie into a complex deception. This sort of literature helps children to develop a strong moral sense of right and wrong and the intellectual skills necessary to distinguish the two. Suitable for upper grade school or high school.

Mike Aquilina's newest book, Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols is a great read and a great reference book in one.

It's also an exquisite piece of art, thanks to the illustrations by Lea Marie Ravotti. (Do yourself a favor and click through to her site. Her work is gorgeous.)

It's so easy to take illustrators for granted, isn't it? But one cannot do so with this book. The illustrations are integral; the book is, after all, about looking more closely at symbols, visual representations of the life of faith. It won't do merely to talk about them. We need to see them. And see them we do, beautifully rendered by a gifted artist.

But the other thing we can't take for granted is the explication of these powerful, enduring symbols, and the importance of a knowledgeable guide. We need a guide who can gently but firmly impress upon us the power that is present in the visual language we're touring:

These symbols are, in one sense, quite ordinary; they are commonplace items from everyday life in the ancient world. And so we might take them for granted, overlook them. But they're there for a reason ...

When we see these signs, how can we help sensing we have received an urgent message, telegraphic, cryptic, from a distant family member?

If it would be an injustice to merely talk about the symbols without illustrating them, it would be an equal injustice to focus only on the visuals. Signs and Mysteries takes us on a pilgrimage of sorts, delivering those urgent messages from our ancient brothers and sisters in Christ, because, as the author tells us of these symbols:

The first Christians traced those lines because they wanted them to stand forever as a perpetual prayer, for remembrance of the dead, for the perseverance of the living, and for deliverance in times of trial.

Exploring these ancient (but still relevant) symbols is far more than an archaeological exercise. Signs and Mysteries may be a fascinating read and a valuable reference, as well as a visual feast, but it is also about connections to our Christian family. It is a personal book in the best sense of the word -- a book that connects us, through a shared and vital language, to the person of Jesus Christ.

This is the exciting story of the heroic children of Norway who secretly smuggled their country's wealth in gold on sleds past Nazi occupiers so that it could be shipped to America and kept out of the hands of the Nazis. The story is exciting and involves great dangers, but is carefully crafted within a setting that is not too intense for children. Written in the early years of World War II, it includes interesting details that our modern history books seem to forget. In particular, some noteworthy details include the secretive ways in which the Nazis prepared to conquer a country and some specifics of the persecution of the Catholic Church in Poland. The author writes with a great sense of honesty and purpose in illustrating the tactics of evil and the virtues necessary to overcome them without any kind of preachiness or insincerity. Recommended in Catholic Authors 4-Sight Edition

The subtitle of this work is: A Catholic Activity Guide That Blends History, Geography and Composition for Grades 1-8. The book includes directions for a student to put together a book over the course of the school year, which really becomes a story of the study he made of history. This requirement "to produce" is one of the best ways for students to internalize their study.

The directions, written directly to the student, are broken down into three parts: Early American History for grades 1-3, American History - Discovery through Westward Expansion for Grades 4-6, and World History -Ancient Civilizations through Modern Times for Grades 7-8. The student is directed to compile a book which will include maps, illustrations and compositions that he creates while studying the particular time period. Extensive lists of maps and illustrations to be made are included. But the lists of suggested writing activities are the best parts of the book.

Here are a few samples from each section:

Grades 1-3 - Write a prayer to St. Isaac Jogues; pretend you are George Washington at Valley Forge, write a speech to give to your soldiers to encourage them not to give up; make a chart showing three parts of our government and what they do.

Grades 4-6 - Write a newspaper article about the Louisiana purchase; write a two page expository essay comparing the French and Indian War with the Revolutionary War; pretend you are a soldier in the Civil War and write a three page letter to family at home.

Grades 7-8 - Write an expository essay describing Greek government and how it functioned; write a diamante (poem) about the early Christians just after Jesus was buried and before He had risen.

The second best thing about this book are the definitions of literary terms in the appendix. Each kind of essay required in the book is explained, many different kinds of pattern poems are demonstrated, and common literary terms, such as metaphor and personification, are defined. Your child would learn a lot about writing techniques and constructions by using this guide. The bonus is that the types of writing learned by making the history book can be applied in other learning situations.

The author includes samples of student work from each of the grade level sections. These can be valuable especially if a student is "stuck," or doesn't understand the assignment.

The student keeps the maps, illustrations and compositions he creates in a safe place until it is time to put the book together. The student can choose from several suggested methods for binding the book.

Some of the writing activities for Grades 1-3 would be difficult for a 1st grader and some 2nd graders, but they could easily be adapted. A child could dictate his work, or be required to write shorter versions of the assignment. The program is flexible and designed so that you can pick and choose the activities that best fit the child.

This kind of activity is good on many levels. It gives the student practice in needed skills while doing something meaningful (e.g. learning about metaphor by writing it instead of filling in a workbook). It requires the student to extend his thoughts about the facts he learns, moving him to a higher level of thinking. Best of all, he has a record at the end of the year of all that was learned and accomplished. That is very satisfying for a student of any age.