This book offers thirty-six stories about God's amazing world that very nicely brings science back to its creator and helps children make connections between faith and reason. We've had the earlier edition of this book for a number of years and I have found many tidbits about nature that were new and very interesting to me - especially information about why God made things the way that he did and what is good and useful about his creation.

This new edition includes many new stories and looks more like a grade school workbook - in size and appearance as well as having space for the students to answer the chapter questions right in the book. In addition to the Catholic content I really like this book because 1. it is loaded with interesting content, 2. it is written in an appealing story-like format, 3. it is not "dumbed-down" or written in a condescending tone like so many textbooks. Here's a brief excerpt to give you a sense of the style and content:

"God has a similar system for supplying water to places that don't get much rain in the summer. Instead of a freezer, God uses tall, snow-covered mountains to store up icy snow. In some mountain ranges, like the Rocky Mountains that stretch north and south across Canada and the United States, peaks often receive thirty or forty feet of snow each year. That is nearly enough snow to bury a Ferris wheel! Even after winter has passed, the cool mountain air allows the snow to melt very slowly. Melting snow slips into creeks and rivers that carry needed water to farms and cities far away. Some of those farms and cities don't get much rain in the summer. Some of them don't even have snow in the winter. But the people who live there are happy to drink and swim in the water that came from God's faraway frozen mountains." (from "Merciful Rain" pgs. 59-61)

This book can be used as a science supplement or as a non-fiction reading comprehension workbook.