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After several challenging years of teaching beginning Latin to my elementary-grade children, I have finally found exactly the book that I wish I had had available from the beginning. Not only is this book classical in orientation and Christian in content, but it is also very well-organized and easy to use. This program can be begun as early as third grade by a motivated student with excellent reading fluency and some grammar knowledge, but it will be beneficial for a beginning Latin student of any age.

Schola Latina offers some unique features that make it stand apart from other Latin programs that are available. First, the vocabulary is immediately useful and relevant to the student. In the Preface, the author states, "When a present-day American child learns French (or English, for that matter), she begins by learning the names of the objects around her in the house. But when she starts Latin, she begins by learning military terms she's expected to come across in Caesar four years down the line. ... It was my goal that every word in the vocabulary list could be used in simple, natural sentences as the students learned the rudiments of grammar." Another very motivating feature is the variety of puzzles designed to drill the reading, writing, and spelling of the vocabulary words. This unique, painless spelling emphasis has an immediate benefit in the spelling of English derivatives as well. A third feature is the conversational practice in each lesson. Not only will the student practice the infamous Latin mottoes and lovely biblical phrases, he will also learn to say "Merry Christmas!", and "My head aches!"

Each of the twenty-four lessons includes five teaching sections and five clearly-marked daily assignments. The teaching sections follow this pattern: a famous Latin saying, a practice conversation, new vocabulary words with a few questions that require critical thinking, Latin grammar with English grammar review and comparison, and a history summary keyed to Famous Men of Rome. The Famous Men book is not required to use this course, but it will be a very useful addition to extend the history lesson. The daily assignments vary from day to day and week to week, but they all are very easy to use and work to reinforce the new material while reviewing previous lessons. Activities include oral recitations, written work on derivatives and history, and puzzles and translation practice; each lesson concludes with a reminder for the student's parent to check their work. The student's text also includes a pronunciation guide, a glossary (both English-to-Latin and Latin-to-English), a listing of Latin numbers, and several songs in Latin.

A Teacher's Manual is also available and highly recommended. It includes the full text of the student's pages, with the correct answers included, as well as specific teaching notes. The teaching notes describe potential difficult areas, suggest additional practices, and remind the teacher about the chants and forms to drill.

Further information and sample pages are available at the author's website noted below. I'm very excited about this Latin course, and I'm looking forward to using the second book in the series next year!

Entertaining detective stories are a significant and oft-overlooked segment of children's literature. They are good for sparking the interest of reluctant readers, encouraging analytical thinking skills and good clean fun. Being a professed fan of Donald Sobol's Encyclopedia Brown series since the age of eight, I was eager to read this title, just reprinted by Bethlehem Books. I wasn't disappointed.

Set in 1960s Florida, Secret Agents Four relates the adventures of four teens (V.A.C.U.U.M.) who attempt to help the secret M.O.N.G.O.O.S.E. team fight against the terrorist-style threats of the evil C.O.B.R.A. organization. Reminiscent of the Get Smart television show, V.A.C.U.U.M.'s adventures are filled with plenty of mishaps and quirky humor. Lots of fun for the whole family.

Here's a few paragraphs from the beginning of the story to give you an idea:

We all knew it was going to be an exciting summer because Orv Davy got off to such a fast start.

Orv is Dade City's top boy inventor. His first explosion occurred the very afternoon school let out. The boiler of his snow remover invention blew up.

My name is Ken Mullins. Inventing with Orv is the best way I know to stay in shape for track. You can never be sure when you're going to have to jump, or how far.

When the smoke from the explosion cleared, I saw a strange man standing by Orv's back door.

I hadn't heard him approach. With pieces of concrete hitting garbage cans and trees, and things flying seven ways at once, it's not easy to hear footfalls. Besides, I had a feeling the man could sneak up on a panther. He tickled my curiosity. Usually a person wandering into the Davy back yard for the first time doesn't stay. He takes on look and lights out for home holding his head...

Adapted from the novel by Jane Austen

Though more serious in nature than Emma, Sense and Sensibility portrays life in a more beautiful, if not always more fair, time. Three sisters and their mother are being turned out of their family estate upon their father's death because of the laws of succession to their half-brother, whose scheming wife prevents him from helping them out financially. After they move to a small cottage in the country, the family find friends and happiness in unexpected places.

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.