Literature Study Guides

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Our family loves reading. Literature is the foundation of our education, so we always appreciate reviewing products that are based around books. There's something very special about opening a story and getting lost in its pages together as a family.

When we want to take our learning deeper than just simply reading the book, we utilize the help of study guides. These aids enrich the experience and help the reader fully grasp the themes within the pages. One of our favorite companies to use for this purpose is Progeny Press. We've used their products multiple times in the past and were excited to work with them again. This time, we were able to use two of their downloadable resources: A New Coat for Anna Study Guide for elementary and My Side of the Mountain Study Guide for middle school.

Progeny Press is a Christian company owned by Michael and Rebecca Gilleland. It is their mission to "teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature, and to rely on the scripture for truth and values, and enjoy themselves while they do it!" They offer more than 100 study guides for classic, popular, and award-winning books. The guides are designed to help students better understand and enjoy literature by getting them to think through the themes and ideas written in the stories. The study guides are available in three formats: a physical book, a CD with a PDF ebook, and a downloadable PDF file.

The A New Coat for Anna Study Guide is designed for grades K-3. The guide accompanies the book by Harriet Ziefert. A New Coat for Anna is a picture book that is based on a true story. In it, young Anna had outgrown her winter coat. Because of WWII, stores were empty and money was scarce. Anna's mother used her resourcefulness to meet her daughter's needs. Anna learned the art of bartering and the value of hard work as she watched her mother trade her possessions for goods. She learned about sheering sheep, spinning wool to get yarn, using berries to make dye, weaving yarn into cloth, and sewing the bolts into a coat. It is a story of patience, sacrifice, thankfulness, and planning ahead.

The study guide has 30 pages of learning activities. It starts with a synopsis of the book and background information about WWII.  There are a handful of Before-You-Read activities including map work, questions to ask relatives who lived during the war, watching a movie, taking a field trip, and more. The next sections are the As-You-Read activities, Vocabulary, and Looking at the Story exercises. Each portion reviews the story through various means such as short answer, matching, defining, and chart work.

There are Bible verses that complement the lessons in the story in the Dig Deeper sections. The verses are written out in the guide itself, but we chose to pull out our KJV and read directly from the Bible. There are also questions that accompany the verses and reinforce the themes.

The study continues even after the story is finished through the After-You-Read activities. This is our favorite section as it is filled with hands-on learning! There is a recipe for a silver cake (reminds me of my favorite childhood recipe!), a craft idea and template, a writing and art project, and fill-in-the-blank questions which correspond with a word search. The guide ends with suggestions for further reading of other books by the author and those of related interest for the age range. A full answer key is available as a separate download.

My younger boys (ages 5 and 8) completed this study together. We enjoyed reading the story and expounding on the hardships of the war. We took advantage of the editable PDF and filled in the answers together on the computer. The boys learned some new things like how to take clothing measurements, the meaning of various words like garnet and bolt, how to paraphrase, and what the Bible teaches us about patience.

Because we like to learn as a family as much as possible, I chose a second study guide. The My Side of the Mountain Study Guide is for the 5th-8th grade group and has 63 pages. My kids range from preschool-9th grade, but everyone can benefit from spending time together enjoying a good story and hearing rich vocabulary used in context. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George brings to life the dream of many people--running away from the hustle and bustle of city life and responsibility and living secluded off the land. It follows the story of young Sam as he learns to care for himself by finding what he needs to survive on the mountain. Though the story is fictional in nature, it mentions many factual survival skills such as how to find food in the river and on land, using all parts of an animal for various uses, finding necessary nutrients in foraged food, storing and planning ahead for difficult weather, building a fire, finding shelter, and more.  The story will resonate with anyone who loves the wilderness and adventure.

The guide begins with the same type of sections as the other (synopsis, author and background information, and pre-reading activities), but then suggests reading the entire book before delving into the meat of the study. This format worked well for us as the kids got to simply enjoy the story without stopping to work. There were a few times when we had to go back to review parts of the story where they didn't remember exactly, but that's all part of the process.

This guide for middle school includes vocabulary skills and comprehension questions, but they are more difficult than the elementary level. This guide also has an editable PDF so a student can type the answers directly without having to print it out. Because of that option, a separate file with the answer key is given, so a student does not have access to the answers himself. One way that this level is different is that the Bible verses are not written out, encouraging the learner to grab his Bible to look them up himself. There are a lot of "what do you think," "what does this mean,'' "why or why not" questions. The guide is also broken into sections that correspond with chapters of the book.

Other activities include discussing safety protocols and choosing a family safe word; measuring rooms in your house and calculating square footage; determining flashbacks and foreshadowing in stories; creating a shelter in your home using blankets and furniture; creating a journal and learning to record daily entries; making a wooden slide whistle; learning about skunk spray through videos and articles; following recipes for candied nuts, mock frog soup, and more; making snow dough with common household supplies, and more. There are multiple ideas for research topics, field trips, art ideas, and writing assignments. The study could easily take 8-10 weeks to complete by incorporating many of the learning exercises.

As always, my kids enjoyed these studies from Progeny Press. We had many thoughtful conversations about life of the past and how blessed we are now, about utilizing the resources that God has given us, and being content with what we have. The books were a good reminder that we could live a simpler lifestyle with many fewer possessions and that we take too much for granted. We make family read aloud part of our regular schooling, but it's good to take our learning deeper. I appreciate that these guides incorporate Bible lessons to help kids see a deeper meaning behind the stories.Whenever you can apply a lesson, rather than just hear about it, it's much more likely to make a lasting difference.

We reviewed an elementary guide and a middle school guide, but Progeny Press offers many different study guides ranging from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade and cover many popular books. There truly is something for everyone. If you have older students, make sure to check out the upper level guides, as well. Their resources are greatly enjoyed in our home.

You can connect with Progeny Press on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

YouTube

You can read more reviews of these study guides along with additional choices reviewed by my Crewmates on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

LitWits

Many people know that literature is near and dear to our hearts. Our family reviews books quite often, but it's always fun when we receive resources that help us enhance our study of classic books. Even though my kids spend a large portion of their school day quietly lost in a story, I still work to incorporate read-aloud selections as a family. Quite often, the kids will be building with Legos, sketching, or crafting as they listen to me read. If they keep their hands busy, it help their minds to focus on my words. We've spent many, many hours together in this way. 

Sometimes we read simply to enjoy both the story and our time together, but other times, we like to dwell on themes and principles through enrichment activities. We've used many different resources over the years to deepen our learning, but recently we were introduced to LitWits. Even though this was a new company for us, I was immediately drawn to their style of education. Their LitWits Kits start with great books and then engage students in fun, hands-on, and meaningful activities.

LitWits was founded in 2010 by two sisters, Becky and Jenny. The pair have backgrounds in literature and journalism, and both have experience with teaching. Growing up, they thrived on good books and spent their days reading and reenacting the stories. They got older and wanted to share their love of books with others. At LitWits Workshops, they conduct experiential literature classes for ages 7 and older in Santa Cruz. Obviously, not everyone can make a trip to California, so the sisters have adapted their classes for classroom and homeschool teaching in the LitWit Kits.

Over 100 books have been brought to life through the LitWits workshop through the years. Nearly half of those have been converted into downloadable kits. We had the opportunity to choose 4 titles to use in our home. For a literature-loving family, this was no easy task! I eventually settled on the following kits:

A Wrinkle in Time
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Maybe it's because we just finished a biography read aloud or because I'm personally reading a heavy historical account on my own, but I realized all the books I had chosen were fantastical and whimsical. I knew they would be the perfect books to bring to life with my kids.

I had recently purchased A Wrinkle in Time to read with my kiddos since I had surprisingly never read it myself. That was an obvious choice and the perfect first kit for us to use. Since you read the story in its entirety before starting the activities, I grabbed the book and a cup of tea while the kids gathered some toys, and we spent a few days traveling the universe. Once we returned, we delved right into the kit.

Each LitWit Kit includes the following:

• sensory prop ideas -- see, hear, and smell what the characters did
• bookbites ideas -- taste what the characters ate
• creative project ideas & instructions/templates -- make something a character made
• kinetic activity ideas & instructions/prompts -- do what a character did or should have done
• academic handouts -- learn the story's narrative, vocabulary, setting, and more
• creative writing handouts -- write what a character wrote or felt
• takeaway topics -- know what the characters knew
• learning links -- learn more about the characters' world
• audiovisual links -- see and hear the characters' world

You can access all of the materials on their site (either by scrolling or clicking the section title) or download it directly to your device. All of the activities list supplies and directions along with the application to the story. There are also pictures included from the student workshops.

Some of the sections have questions and prompts to get your kids thinking more about the story and deeper about other things in life. For instance, while we were scaling the solar system with objects from around the house, we talked about how to remember the planets in order, just how far we are from the sun in light years, and tried to fathom how large the universe truly is. We even got a view of the basketball sun from the marble planet of Pluto.

My kids had a lot of fun making origami cubes and transporting themselves into scenes from the story, dressing up their little brother as Mrs. Whatsit, creating their own odd characters in a writing prompt, eating "alien eyeballs" while listening to space music in the dark, and more.

Along with the hands-on activities and worksheet handouts, there are many learning links to take your study deeper. There are links about the book and author, including a biography, videos, reviews, an obituary, and others. There are nearly two dozen links to supplement ideas in the story from learning about the Kennedy Space Center to study about the Theory of Relativity and irrational numbers to viewing images of the brain. We even learned the difference between hot chocolate and hot cocoa!

You can take your study even deeper by learning about specific warriors against the Black Thing (think Jesus, Einstein, Shakespeare, Bach, etc.) There is an entire Beyond the Book section and many audiovisual resources. There is also a Pinterest board dedicated to A Wrinkle in Time with additional ideas.

There are so many learning opportunities included in this one kit that we might choose to study it for weeks still! Even though we're still very much involved in the A Wrinkle in Time activities, I'm eager to get started with the other kits, too.

We'll send Alice tumbling down an interactive rabbit hole and eat delicious little cakes in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, become the characters while determining their responses and actions and invent magical candy prototypes in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and create tiny Kansas tornadoes in jars and learn about perspective and clarity while transforming our world through DIY green spectacles in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The possibilities are endless once we add in all the supplemental links, too!

The LitWits kits are the perfect combination of literature and intentional learning. They are filled with both worksheets and hands-on activities along with additional links for further study. Because there are many opportunities for learning, it is easy to adapt the plans to fit your needs. You can do a quick review adding in a few projects or lengthen the study by incorporating additional subtopics and ideas from the book.

If you love good literature and expounding on its aspects like we do, LitWits might have the perfect resource for you.

You can connect with LitWits on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Pinterest

You can learn more about additional LitWit Kits by reading the reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Progeny Press Study Guides

Our family loves reading. Literature is the foundation of our education, so we always appreciate reviewing products that are based around books. There's something very special about opening a story and getting lost in its pages together as a family.

When we want to take our learning deeper than just simply reading the book, we utilize the help of study guides. These aids enrich the experience and help the reader fully grasp the themes within the pages. One of our favorite companies to use for this purpose is Progeny Press. We've used their products multiple times in the past and were excited to work with them again. This time, we were able to use two of their downloadable resources: The Long Way to a New Land Study Guide and the Little House on the Prairie Study Guide.

Progeny Press is a Christian company owned by Michael and Rebecca Gilleland. It is their mission to "teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature, and to rely on the scripture for truth and values, and enjoy themselves while they do it!" They offer more than 100 study guides for classic, popular, and award-winning books. The guides are designed to help students better understand and enjoy literature by getting them to think through the themes and ideas written in the stories. The study guides are available in three formats: a physical book, a CD with a PDF ebook, and a downloadable PDF file.

The Long Way to a New Land Study Guide is designed for grades K-3. The guide accompanies the book by Joan Sandin. The Long Way to a New Land is a short chapter book for young readers and has roughly 65 pages with pictures on each page or spread and a large font. The story takes place in 1868 as Carl Erik and his family faced starvation during the "hunger years" in Sweden. When all the grass and crops dried up and the cows could no longer give milk, the family realized it was hopeless to stay in their homeland. They packed needed belongings and sold what they could in order to purchase boat tickets for America. The story follows their journey as they dealt with crowded spaces, smelly living quarters, sickness, and the unknown--all for the hope that this new land offered.

The study guide has 50 pages of learning activities. It starts with a synopsis of the book, background information, and details about the author. There are a handful of Before-You-Read activities including vocabulary words, a family tree, map work, the history of steamships, and more. The guide is then broken into sections that correspond with the chapters of the book. Each chapter highlights vocabulary using matching, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, synonyms, and more. There are also things to teach cause and effect, early grammar skills, emotions, inventions, and questions to make the reader think, along with some fun pages like a crossword puzzle and word search.

The chapters also have Bible verses that complement the lessons in the story in the Dig Deeper sections. The verses are written out in the guide itself, but we chose to pull out our KJV and read directly from the Bible. There are also questions that accompany the verses and reinforce the themes.

The study continues even after the story is finished by learning from the illustrations, looking at the story, and After-You-Read activities. The guide ends with suggestions for further reading of other books by the author and those of related interest for the age range. A full answer key is at the end.

My younger boys (ages 9, 7, 4) and I completed this study together. They especially enjoyed the story because their great-grandfather emigrated from Sweden, just like Carl Erik and his family. This account helped them to understand the difficulties their ancestors experienced and appreciate their sacrifices. The book explains the hardships in a way that perfect for this age group. The boys and I would read a chapter and then complete a page or two each day from the guide. We printed out some pages for them to complete, but we answered the majority of the questions together aloud.

 
Because we like to learn as a family as much as possible, I chose a second study guide. The Little House on the Prairie Study Guide is for the 4th-6th grade group and has 62 pages. My kids range from preschool-9th grade, but everyone can benefit from spending time together getting lost in the pages of a book. Many people are familiar with the beloved Little House on the Prairie books. This one, the third in the series, follows the Ingalls family as they leave their little house in the big woods and travel from Wisconsin to the prairie of Kansas. The account greatly details how they built their life--from cutting the trees to carrying river rocks to pegging doors and making a rocking chair with only sticks. Everything they had was found in the land around them. The story is one of hard work and determination, but also one of hope, brotherly love, and acceptance. 

The guide begins with the same type of sections as the other (synopsis, author and background information, and pre-reading activities), but then suggests reading the entire book before delving into the meat of the study. This format worked well for us as the kids got to simply enjoy the story without stopping to work. There were a few times when we had to go back to review parts of the story where they didn't remember exactly, but that's all part of the process.

This guide for the upper elementary includes vocabulary skills and comprehension questions, but they are more difficult than the lower level. Also, this guide has an editable PDF so a student can type the answers directly without having to print it out. Because of that option, a separate file with the answer key is given, so a student does not have access to the answers himself. Another way that this level is different is that the Bible verses are not written out, encouraging the learner to grab his Bible to look them up himself. There are a lot of "what do you think," "what does this mean,'' "why or why not" questions.

Other activities include making cornbread (which my 11-year-old daughter made by herself) and molasses milk, watching some Little House episodes (now a new favorite show for the kids!), learning about fire drills, visiting a farmer's market, creating an inside-out Christmas list (a great tradition to start), cutting out paper dolls, and listening to fiddle music. The study covers art, music, writing, science, dramatic story-telling, history, games, fun, and more. This unit study type of approach assures that there's something for each kind of learner.

As always, my kids enjoyed these studies from Progeny Press. We had many thoughtful conversations about life of the past and how blessed we are now. The books were a good reminder that we could live a simpler lifestyle with many fewer possessions and that we take too much for granted. We make family read aloud part of of regular schooling, but it's good to take our learning deeper. I appreciate that these guides incorporate Bible lessons to help kids see a deeper meaning behind the stories.Whenever you can apply a lesson, rather than just hear about it, it's much more likely to make a lasting difference.

Even though we reviewed elementary guides, Progeny Press offers many study guides ranging from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade and cover many popular books. There truly is something for everyone. If you have older students, make sure to check out the upper level guides, as well. Their resources are greatly enjoyed in our home.

You can connect with Progeny Press on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Be sure to head to the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews of these study guides and more offered by Progeny Press.

Middle School Lightning Literature

I am excited every time we get to review things that focus on reading. The foundation of our schooling is literature based, so the kids spend a large portion of their school day lost in a book. While I do appreciate the need for some fluff in their reading, we rely on quality writings most of the time. That's why when the Homeschool Review Crew had the opportunity to choose one of many products offered by Hewitt Homeschooling Resources, I was immediately drawn to the Gr 8 Lightning Lit Set. Not only does their Lightning Literature & Composition series focus on whole books and classical literature, but it also teaches deep reading and writing skills.

Hewitt Homeschooling offers a balanced, flexible, and complete approach to home education. They believe that the best option is home school, not school at home, by providing hands-on activities and great literature. Their goals are to combine excellent academics with character development, to instill a strong work ethic, and to cultivate a spirit of community service.

There is a Lightning Literature & Composition level for every student from grades 1-12. For the elementary and junior high years, the curriculum is grade-specific; for the high school years, it is based on a time, place, topic, or author per semester. The early levels focus on a variety of books to instill a love of reading and gently incorporate grammar skills. By the advanced levels, the students will be introduced to exciting authors, strengthen their comprehension skills, and concentrate on strong writing exercises. 

I chose the Gr 8 Lightning Lit Set by Elizabeth Kamath for our oldest child. Even though he will be starting high school classes in the fall, this is his first experience with the Lightning Lit courses. I knew this would be a good challenge for him, because while he reads a lot, we haven't spent too much time on his writing abilities. 

The course utilizes 6 classic books with an additional collection of short stories and poems.

• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• A Day of Pleasure by Isaac Bashevis Singer
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children (various authors) by Harold Bloom 

The books, written between the early 1800s through the mid 1900s, cover both fiction and nonfiction and take the reader on a journey from a Greek Island to Middle Earth to the high seas to a home in Poland to a small town in Alabama and more. The stories were chosen to combine both fun and enlightening works as they introduce the student to a world beyond his immediate experience. 

The complete set includes the curriculum and all necessary reading materials, but for the purpose of this review, we received only the following curriculum books:

• Student's Guide
• Workbook
• Teacher's Guide

The Student's Guide is the textbook of the course. It contains all the teaching materials as the lessons are written directly to the student. The chapters of the Student's Guide alternate between a classic book from the list and a portion of the Stories and Poems book. Each chapter follows the same format:

• Introduction -- a brief biography of the author(s) in the lesson; an explanation of the lesson
• While You Read -- questions or aspects to consider while reading 
• Vocabulary List -- various words from the story divided by chapters and a brief definition of each
• Comprehension Questions -- questions to help discern the student's attention to and understand of the reading material 
• Literary Lesson -- "the heart and soul" of the curriculum; teaches concepts such as figurative language, character, symbolism, imagery, and more
• Mini-Lesson -- one per chapter; can relate to the reading or introduce a composition skill; most chapters involve writing a research report
• Writing Exercises -- may pertain to the literary lesson, research paper, or essay; students should complete one or more of the suggestions listed

The Workbook is a 277-page, consumable book that complements the Student's Guide. The pages should be completed after the reading has been done but before the writing assignments. There are 7 types of exercises: relating to the literary lessons, relating to the mini-lessons, thinking skills, grammar and mechanics, literary analysis, puzzles, and extra-challenge. There can be more than one type in a chapter or none of one type at all. The first ones are required, but the last two exercises (puzzles and extra-challenge) are optional. The elective exercises include word searches, crossword puzzles, and various language arts topics. The number of exercises varies per chapter, but there is a total of over 100 exercises throughout the course. 

The Teacher's Guide is a must-have addition to the curriculum. Not only does it contain all of the answers to the workbook pages, but has additional teaching helps and valuable tips to aid struggling students.

The format is identical to the Student's Guide, making it simple to follow along. The beginning of the book gives and explanation of the course and its components, explains the importance of both reading and writing, and lists a weekly schedule for the curriculum with check boxes.

In the 6 weeks that my son has been using this curriculum, he has read "A Crazy Tale" from Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children and Treasure Island. He has learned about an author's purpose in writing, taking notes, setting, and rewriting in his own words. He has practiced capitalization and apostrophes; described sights, sound, touch, smell, and taste for various settings in the house; identified bias, analyzed literature; determined fact or opinion; and more. In the coming weeks, he will learn about free verse and ballad, sharing culture through nonfiction, citing sources, character development, narration, figurative language, sentence structure, and much more.

There is a great variety of exercises throughout the book that include short answer, multiple choice, underlining, and markings along with the longer assignments. It's a good combination that teaches the concepts without making my son feel overwhelmed. I've already seen an improvement in not only his writing abilities but his confidence, as well. I'm excited about the possibilities as we progress through the materials.

I have been thoroughly impressed with the Gr 8 Lightning Lit Set. I appreciate the combination of strong, classical literature with a thorough teaching of composition and writing. I feel confident that Hewitt Homeschooling Resources will benefit my son as he enters his high school years.


You can connect with Hewitt Homeschooling Resources on the following social media sites:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
YouTube
Instagram

My crewmates and I had many options to review including other levels of Lightning Lit, a few My First Reports, and various high school courses. You can read those reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Hamelin Stoop Book Series

Reading is a huge deal in our house. The kids go through many books in a week, so they are always eager to review new ones. Not only is reading the foundation of our education, but it is also a passion of my 11-year-old. She will spend hours a day poring every the pages of a good story. Though she enjoys many juvenile options still, she's reached an age and reading level that is longing for something deeper. The problem with young adult fiction, the next step up, is that the majority of it contains themes that we are not wanting to encourage in her young mind.  

That is where Dr. Robert B. Sloan and 12 Gates Publishing comes in. Dr. Sloan--university president, public speaker, educator, writer, and leader--can now add fiction author to his long list of accomplishments. He believes in the importance of fiction because it transports the reader into the minds of characters and new places, broadens experiences, and showcases the clash of good and evil. His first fiction work, The Hamelin Stoop Series, has been a labor of love over many years. He wanted to offer a fantasy series for the young adult crowd that will shape their minds "morally, intellectually, and emotionally."  These books sounded like they would be perfect for my girl.

Hamelin Stoop: The Eagle, The Cave, and the Footbridge (Book 1) is the first in the series. At 5.5 x 8.2 inches and nearly an inch thick with 325+ pages, this is no small, read-in-an-afternoon book, even for my bibliophile daughter. While we often enjoy family read-alouds, we chose to use these for individual reading. I asked my daughter to explain the plot to me. I should have known better, because I was the same way as a child when I would relate books to my own mother. My girl began retelling the story detail by tiny detail. I was afraid we were going to post a rewrite, ha. Here is her (greatly condensed) version:

Simon, Johnnie, and their baby were being chased by trackers from a different world. The parents decide to split up to escape. The mom took the baby and ran to the children's home where she grew up. She left a note and the baby in a tomato crate. The dad took a bundle of blankets and ran to a waterfall. He threw the blankets over the edge to make the trackers think the baby was dead. Both parents were caught by the trackers, transported into the other world, and taken to a man named Ren'dal. He imprisoned them to force them to have another child to fulfill an evil plan. 

Meanwhile, the cook at the orphanage found the baby and named him Hamelin Stoop, because of the note and where they found him. Even though they didn't normally keep infants, they allowed him to stay. As he got older, he enjoyed making friends and listening to others read. Life was filled with sadness though, as those friends moved away and staff members left. When everyone forgot his 8th birthday, he decided to run away. He found a cave to stay in for the night, but he hit his head and passed out. He woke to noises and saw a huge eagle who told Hamelin to follow him through the cave. The two of them came to a footbridge. Hamelin tried to cross it, lost his balance, and nearly fell over the edge. The eagle saved him and brought him back to the beginning of the bridge. The eagle told Hamelin to return to the children's home if he couldn't cross the bridge, so he did.

During this time, his parents had a baby girl. Because Ren'dal needed a boy born from both worlds, he took this baby and wanted them to try again. Heartbroken, the parents ran away. They met a strange woman who convinced them to go back and wait for a better time.

A couple years passed before Hamlein tried to find the footbridge again. He went back to the same spot, but couldn't find the cave entrance. The eagle appeared and told him to leave because it wasn't the right time. Life continued at the children's home. One day while searching the attic, Hamelin found his old backpack with gloves the eagle had given him the first time they met. He wore them to school. He got into a fight with a bully and realized that the gloves gave him super strength. He then realized it was time to head back to the cave. There was a boulder covering the entrance, so he used the gloves to push it away. The eagle led him to the footbridge and he was able to cross and pass the test. 

The story continues in Hamelin Stoop: The Lost Princess and the Jewel of Periluna (Book 2).  Hamelin was able to pass the test to cross the footbridge, but realized that his quest to find his parents and learn of his true identity was greater than he had imagined. The eagle lead him through the first part of his mission in this dangerous new realm, but he had to rely on the help of new friends to finish it. He traveled through the Waters of Death and Life, the Land of Gloaming, the Forest of Fears, and the city of Osmethan. He saw frightening creatures, escaped death, helped rescue a princess, reclaimed stolen jewels, stopped the magic waters, and learned some surprising things. The friends received special gifts--a scarf of sight, shoes of speed, and a sword of death--to help them in their quest. All the while, Simon and Johnnie were still captives of Ren'dal and shared their secret about their baby to escape torture. Hamelin returned to the children's home in his realm and prepared to learn how his story connected to those around him as he understood more about his heritage.

The second book is identical in size to the first one, but has just under 300 pages. Both stories have 41 short chapters, so it's easy to fit in some reading even when you don't have much time to commit to a large portion. The writing is rich and engaging, and even though I didn't read the stories myself, I did read several bits of both books and found myself wanting to know more. I think this series would be a perfect read-aloud for our family, and with a projected total of 6-7 books, the adventure would last us a long time. The company is also working on discussion guides to accompany each book, making them great talking points for family time and helping kids to understand the deeper elements and themes of the story.

I do feel confident in allowing my children to read this series, knowing that the books are written at a "PG" level by a christian, however, there are a few things I will point out. There is an instance of a bully calling the protagonist Hamlein Stoopid, a few instances of characters saying "omigosh" (which we consider to be a slang version of taking the Lord's name in vain), and people calling others idiots at one point. These certainly wouldn't hinder me from purchasing additional books, but something to be aware of if reading to the younger crowd.

My daughter enjoyed these books and can't wait to see the next part of Hamelin's story. My oldest boys (13 yr, 9 yr) are reading through the books now and love the adventure and excitement in them.

The Hamelin Stoop Series is a wonderful bridge from children's books to adults' without having to worry about content that is too mature for young minds. The reader is taken on a fantastical journey as a boy searches for truth, gains courage, and endures tests. There are many exciting parts along the way, and we can't wait to learn the whole story.

"Fantasy shapes the mind through imaginative people, creatures, and events. 

It stirs the heart. It raises questions of good and evil, and it forces the reader 

to think and engage with big issues." ~ Robert B. Sloan

You can connect with 12 Gates Publishing and Dr. Robert B. Sloan on the following social  media sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

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Instagram

You can read more reviews of this book series on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

For The Temple

We are so excited to be starting another year with the Homeschool Review Crew with a review of one of our favorite vendors! Heirloom Audio produces some of the best audio dramas we have ever heard. Our schooling is literature-based, so we're often reading quality writings together that teach life lessons and new vocabulary. We are drawn to living books that bring the stories to life and teach valuable lessons. Instead of sitting and writing facts in a workbook, we choose to learn history through these stories. For those times though when I can't sit and read to the kiddos, we like to utilize audio books and incorporate them into our schooling and daily life.

We couldn't wait to listen to For The Temple. 

Heirloom Audio has converted multiple historical adventure novels by G.A. Henty into theater-quality audio dramas. Our main curriculum lists many Henty books in the reading list, because they are known for their deep history, rich literature, and exciting plots. So far, because my kiddos are still pretty young, they aren't drawn to the novels themselves, but they are truly captivated by these adaptations. If you close your eyes, you feel as if you're there in the story. The music, the actors, the sound effects--they all make the story come to life. You hear arrows flying through the air, torches flaming, a battering ram thumping, wood splitting, and fire crackling, and you feel as if you are there as one of the characters of the story. The narrator, Brian Blessed, has a rich, powerful voice that makes the drama exciting to listen to. We were immediately pulled into the plot.

The story begins in AD 67 when Nero was in power and the Jews revolted against Rome's authority. It follows the life of a young man named John as he was pulled into the fight of rebellion. He was trained by Josephus, survived a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee, and used his cunning skills to be one of the few survivors of the Battle of Jotapata. Using his experience and proficient abilities, he recruited a band of young men to harass the Roman armies. News of his feats traveled throughout the land as he continued to best the enemy. He fought the general Titus, won the one-on-one battle, earned his respect, and received a promise from him. Over time, John and his men continued in the fight and earned the trust of other Jews. They were crucial participants during the siege of Jerusalem as they gave the men resolve, offered strategic plans, and helped to feed starving people. John had made it his mission to defend the Temple at all costs. He watched the walls crumble, the gate burn, and men fall. He learned valuable lessons about God's character and His judgment. Through these experiences and the influence of others, John learned about Yeshua and what it meant to be a follower of His and that changed his life forever.

There is a downloadable Study Guide & Discussion Starter that accompanies the story. This complete guide is used to enhance your learning and complement your study. Each section, which correlates to the tracks on the CDs, is  filled with review questions (Listening Well), ideas to get you thinking deeper (Thinking Further), and vocabulary words (Defining Words). There is information about the biblical and historical background of the story, multiple Bible studies that coordinate with the story (No Other Savior, Proper Worship, Christ Our Temple), and many pictures from the times. There are boxes throughout the study that are filled with snippets of information that relate to the period. A recommended reading list about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 is also included.  

While you can learn much simply by listening to the story and incorporating the guide, you can take your study even deeper by joining the Live the Adventure Club. As a member, you'll have access to a community forum, daily motivational quotes and stories, hundreds of articles about parenting and historical learning, a collection of rare textbooks from the 1700-1800s, and hundreds of fun activities. By signing up now, you can even get one of their audio dramas for free (just pay shipping and handling). The Live the Adventure Club makes history exciting.

We used the study guide questions to review the story and tackle difficult topics. The kids and I especially enjoyed the sections teaching about food in ancient Jerusalem, the Flavian Amphitheater, a map of the siege of Jerusalem, and Gideon's army defeating the Midianites (one of my favorite Bible stories). I always appreciate the content included in these guides as it is informative, interesting, and encourages us to really think.

For The Temple provides 2 1/2 hours worth of historical learning. The production is ideal for ages 6+ and was well-loved by my whole family. There are some elements that are more difficult for the young ones to understand, but this is a great way to introduce them to new topics. It's never to early to enjoy quality literature. We are thankful to add this story to our collection and await the next exciting adventure from Heirloom Audio.  

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Be sure to read more reviews of this audio drama on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

The Josefina Story Quilt

Our family loves reading. Literature is the foundation of our education, so we always appreciate reviewing products that are based around books. There's something very special about opening a story and getting lost in its pages together as a family.

When we want to take our learning deeper than just simply reading the book, we utilize the help of study guides. These aids enrich the experience and help the reader fully grasp the themes within the pages. One of our favorite companies to use for this purpose is Progeny Press. We've used their products multiple times in the past and were excited to work with them again using the The Josefina Story Quilt - eGuide.  

Progeny Press is a Christian company owned by Michael and Rebecca Gilleland. It is their mission to "teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature, and to rely on the scripture for truth and values, and enjoy themselves while they do it!" They offer more than 100 study guides for classic, popular, and award-winning books. The guides are designed to help students better understand and enjoy literature by getting them to think through the themes and ideas written in the stories. The study guides are available in three formats: a physical book, a CD with a PDF ebook, and a downloadable PDF file. 

We generally like to do these studies as a family, but since I chose a book from the 1st-3rd grade list, I figured my 8th grader probably wouldn't be interested. My daughter is over the recommended age too, however, since she's a bibliophile I wasn't surprised when she was eager to join it the study with her younger brothers.

The Josefina Story Quilt, written by Eleanor Coerr, is a short chapter book. Only 60+ pages long and large type make the book a quick read. The story takes place in 1850 as it follows Faith, her hen, and her family as they pioneered to California. The story relates their struggles and surprises. It's a story of perseverance, love, and true friendship.

The study eGuide is 33 pages long and contains various activities that are designed to help students understand the story at a deeper level. The beginning includes a synopsis of the story, a short background of the author, and historical facts about wagon trains in the 1800s. The Before-you-read Activities get the student busy with map and encyclopedia skills, a recording of a classic, and discussion questions. There are also many vocabulary words pulled from the story and exercises that teach their definitions.

The story is broken into two sections in the guide. Both parts include questions about the book along with some questions to make the reader think. Within these sections are also Bible verses that complement the lessons in the story. The verses are written out in the guide itself, but we chose to pull out our KJV and read directly from the Bible. There are also questions that accompany the verses and reinforce the themes.

There are some hands-on activities that are included, as well. There is a crossword puzzle, a recipe for golden white bread (which my 10-year-old made completely by herself), and art projects such as creating a wagon wheel poster and sewing quilt squares. The guide ends with suggestions for further reading of other books by the author and those of related interest for the age range.

My kids (10, 8, 6 yr) enjoyed the story. They felt sad for Faith at the end, but were happy that she had put so much care and effort into her quilt. They enjoyed working through the discussion questions with me and completing some of the other activities. I, personally, appreciate that the guide incorporates the Bible and helps the kids see a deeper meaning behind a cute story. Whenever you can apply a lesson, rather than just hear about it, it's much more likely to make a lasting difference.

The Josefina Story Quilt was a quick study for my little ones, but if you're looking for more involved learning, Progeny Press offers study guides from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade. Their resources are greatly enjoyed in our home. 




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You can read more reviews of this eGuide along with the others reviewed by fellow homeschoolers on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.