Grades 6-8

This is a well-written and engaging account of the major events of World War II - military, political, humanitarian, etc. - treated at a level appropriate for children - particularly ages 10-14.

The Singing Tree, sequel to The Good Master, is a much more serious story and takes place during World War I. Sandor, Kate's father, is drafted into the war and eventually, the Good Master, Marton Nagy, must report as well. The majority of the book tells of how the family gets along during the war years without the men of the family. Of course, Jancsi the young master steps up and, aided by a journal his father left for him, manages the farm quite well.

The Good Master by Kate Seredy is a timeless tale of the goodness of the land and of the Faith. Set in Hungary before World War I, a young impish girl, Kate, is sent to the country because her father, a widower, cannot control her anymore. When she arrives she is a world class brat but she is tamed by her uncle through discipline and love. She is somewhat fearless and zealous to try everything the farm life has to offer and this leads her and her cousin Jancsi on many humorous farm adventures.

The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow is a remarkable tale told in the style of an old Norse saga. It is the story of the Soursop family who live right on the western coast of newly Christianized Iceland around 1010 AD. Rolf, the son, is fine in all the ways a father could desire: courageous, agile, thoughtful, loyal and strong. He is also very good with a bow and arrows. His father, Hiarandi, is named the Unlucky because his fortunes have dwindled and he has lost numerous legal battles with his neighbors.

While I believe that textbooks are useful tools in the study of history, they tend to quickly lose the interest of the student if used alone. "Living books" work well when read alongside history textbooks because they bring to life the characters and events related - engaging the imagination and helping the student to more fully understand the signifiance of the people and events being studied. Beorn the Proud is such a story - an exciting, dramatic tale, full of real characters and accurate historical information.

It is the late twelfth century and Christendom is threatened from within by the Albigensian heresy - a belief that the world is so evil that it must have been created by the devil. The consequences of this are more serious than one might at first think.

In the tradition of the Vision Series, this book is a very readable and even enjoyable story of one of the most popular saints whom no one seems to know very much about. Although he is commonly known as Saint Anthony of Padua (Italy) and Finder of Lost Things, Saint Anthony actually hails from Portugal. The beginning of the story, the author admits, is somewhat fictional as very little is known about Saint Anthony's early life.

This was the book that got our family "hooked" on the Vision Series. I happened to find it at a Used Book store (Ignatius Press books are fairly easy to spot because of the contrasting color around the author's name on the spine of the book). I didn't expect my children to be interested in full-length books at such a young age (my oldest had just turned five). Somehow we got started and they loved it. This is a particularly good Saint story to start with because St. John Bosco is a special patron of children and especially boys.

This is such a beautiful story of a simple, humble nun who was chosen by Jesus to spread devotion to his most Sacred Heart. I especially like how the author presents God's plan and how He had specially prepared Sr. Alocoque and Father de la Columbiere for this important mission. As Ignatius Press is reprinting many books from the Vision series, I hope this will be back in print sometime soon.

(Additional Review) "Essentials and Accidentals"

Once Saint Thomas Aquinas was in a class that Saint Albert the Great taught. One day St. Albert asked why this was silly: "I am a human being and I have a high pitched voice; therefore all human beings have high-pitched voices."