What's New

The Art of Construction

Book cover: The Art of Construction
Author(s): 
Mario George Salvadori
Illustrator(s): 
Saralinda Hooker
Christopher Ragus

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

The Art of Construction (originally published in 1979 under the title Building: The Fight Against Gravity) is one of the finest examples of books that help children understand principles of science as applied to real life situations – in particular buildings and making sure that they stay up in spite of gravity and natural disasters.

Building Big with David Macaulay

Book cover: 'Building Big with David Macaulay'

This set of five DVDs by artist/architect David Macaulay provides many hours of insightful entertainment and a great introduction to science and technology on a practical level. Each themed film - Bridges, Skyscrapers, Tunnels, Domes and Dams - provides an in-depth historical treatment of the particular structure, interesting stories and overviews from famous structures, and basic scientific principles involved in each project.

Engineering the City

Book cover: Engineering the City
Author(s): 
Matthys Levy
Richard Panchyk

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

I must admit that this is not a topic in which I am particularly interested. I'm very secure knowing that the water will be available when I turn on a tap or that the bridge I'm driving over will hold me. I'm not sure if I want to know what happens after I flush a toilet or where the garbage goes. That being said, this book helped me to understand these mundane things using terms that are easily understandable, describing activities that encourage further learning, and showing pictures that are clean and clear and make their point.

America's Great (and not so great) Catholic Moments: A Perpetual Calendar

Book cover: 'America's Great (and not so great) Catholic Moments: A Perpetual Calendar'
Author(s): 
Thomas J. Craughwell
This interesting, informative and often light-hearted perpetual calendar offers an event from Catholic history that took place on each date of the year. A brief paragraph explains the event (highlighting many great Catholics people and events from American History) with a "For More Information" bar offering the source of the information (and further reading).

Young Faces of Holiness

Book cover: 'Young Faces of Holiness, Modern Saints in Photos and Words'
Author(s): 
Ann Ball

If you want to go to sleep, don't read Young Faces of Holiness by Ann Ball. The stories are absolutely fascinating. The thirty-five stories include young people from all walks of life and countries of the world who are either Blessed, Venerable, or candidates for canonization.

Language of God for Little Folks (Level A)

Book cover: 'Language of God for Little Folks (Level A)'
Author(s): 
Nancy Nicholson

This is a simple and charming, Catholic grammar workbook designed for use in the second grade. It reinforces very basic grammar concepts such as - what constitutes a sentence, nouns and verbs, past and present tense (choosing the correct verb), singular and plural, opposites, simple synonyms, and capitalizing words such as - the days of the week, the months of the year, special titles and the names of God.

Exploring the Sky

Book cover: Exploring the Sky
Author(s): 
Richard Moeschl
Roger Gleason

As your student begins to look skyward and ask questions, take them in one hand and this book in the other! With this book, an assortment of ordinary household things, binoculars or a telescope, and lots of time you can teach a fascinating, hands-on course in beginning astronomy for an entire year. Exploring the Sky is not a textbook. It isn't a storybook. It IS a living book guide to exploring the heavens with an interesting mix of history, biography, folklore, legend, science facts and science fiction, and even some mathematics and art.