What's New

Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin

Book cover: Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin
Author(s): 
Leo F. Stelten

All Latin students will benefit from ready access to a Latin dictionary, but Catholic Latin students using a Catholic textbook, or reading from Church documents and the Vulgate Bible in their original Latin, will especially benefit from access to a Catholic Latin dictionary. The Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin has been written to help both seminary students and laypeople as they advance beyond their introductory Latin studies. The hardback binding, clear typeface, and non-shiny paper combine to make this book a pleasure to use.

Art 4 for Young Catholics

Book cover: 'Art 4 for Young Catholics'
Author(s): 
Reed & Roxolana Armstrong
Mary Rakow

What could be better than a well-planned and well-organized Catholic art textbook written by internationally-known Catholic artists who are also art historians and professors? This is the textbook! From the introduction by the authors: "The rules used here have been the time-tested tools used by artists for centuries and are based on natural law and common sense. Once acquired, these skills are not only transferable to other disciplines but also foster genuine appreciation and discernment in the field of art and of beauty in creation."

Saintly Solutions to Life's Common Problems

Book cover: Saintly Solutions to Life's Common Problems
Author(s): 
Fr. Joseph Esper

For more than twenty years, Fr. Esper has been a priest as well as an author, conference speaker, and authority on the lives of the saints. He has written this book to serve as a guide to perfecting our own weaknesses through the examples and experiences of the Communion of the Saints. This book isn't intended to be read straight through from cover to cover, but rather to be picked up and studied in short segments, so it is especially appealing to a busy, homeschooling family.

Miserly Meals

Book cover: Miserly Meals -- Healthy, Tasty Recipes Under 75¢ Per Serving
Author(s): 
Jonni McCoy

The author of the popular Miserly Moms, a guide for frugal family living, has done it again! Jonni McCoy has written a stand-alone but complementary book that helps families to enjoy well-prepared, nutritious meals while keeping their grocery expenditures under control. Most homeschooling families live on one income, and we need all the help that we can get in controlling our expenses; this cookbook can help us to do just that.

The Good Bad Boy

Author(s): 
Father Gerald Brennan
Neumann Press has reprinted another delightful novel by Father Brennan in one of its lovely hardbound editions (they also offer it in a quality softcover edition). This short, easy-to-read novel was a wonderful addition to a rainy afternoon for our family. Although aimed at an 8th-grade boy typical of the 1940s, the diary format and "everyday" charm appealed to my entire family. It would be an especially good book for a reluctant or struggling reader to tackle successfully on their own.

A Year With God

Book cover: 'A Year With God: Celebrating the Liturgical Year'
A Year With God is simply THE purchase of the year! Completely original, inspiring, and unique, the abundance of fresh ideas and activities will re-energize your religion class and re-motivate you to make your homeschool a truly Catholic school in every sense of the word. Spanning the liturgical year, A Year With God contains hundreds of carefully detailed and illustrated projects and activities. Nearly all of these can be extended into several other projects, giving you many, many years of exciting projects to work on with your students.

Blue Willow

Book cover: 'Blue Willow'
Author(s): 
Doris Gates
Blue Willow is the sweet story of ten-year-old Janey Larkin, whose family is struggling to make ends meet in California's Central Valley during the Great Depression. Janey and her family have a few treasured possessions which they've dragged along with them from place to place because of the difficulties in finding work. Janey's beautiful blue willow plate is her greatest treasure, but when tough times get worse, she decides to offer it as payment for her family's rent...

Survival in the Storm

Book cover: 'Survival in the Storm: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards'
Author(s): 
Katelan Janke
My ten year old daughter has been enjoying the Dear America series from Scholastic. I believe that they've had a positive effect on her character (particular in the "complaint" department) as the stories focus on girls about her age living in difficult times. As they're written by a number of different authors, please don't take this review as an endorsement of all of the titles.