This is quite simply a great story. Even at almost 300 pages, it's surprisingly quick, enjoyable and a worthwhile read.

It is the year 1200, and England is ruled by the wicked and greedy King John (of Robin Hood fame). When the baron Eric disppears from his castle under mysterious circumstances and is presumed dead, his wife and daughter must learn to live with the baron's legal heir and distant relative - the new baron, Basil - who is gloomy and unpleasant.

Secret passages, surprising chase scenes, loyal peasants and the sting of a guilty conscience make for an engrossing tale that presents an accurate picture of feudal life and the duties of the nobility with beautiful undertones involving character, forgiveness and the triumph of good over evil. Suitable reading for fifth grade and up or as a family read-aloud.

In this series, 8 year old Jack and his 7 year old sister Annie travel to a different time period in each installment. The series begins with Dinosaurs Before Dark in which Jack and Annie find a tree house that has mysteriously appeared near their home in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. In the tree are lots of books. In one particular book, Jack and Annie see scenes of various places and time periods. At the page of the dinosaurs, they say they wish they could go there. Then, presto-magic, the tree house plops down in the middle of dinosaur time. They explore the dangerous land are helped to return to the tree house by a friendly pterodactyl. The whole experience is completely mysterious to them (how did we get there, who owns the tree house), but they have one clue: a medallion with an "M" on it that they find on the grass.

In subsequent installments they find out that the tree house is owned by Morgan LeFay of King Arthur lore. She is a librarian for Camelot and travels about collecting books. Each time the children enter the tree house they take off on another adventure. Every four books in the series deals with a theme or problem that the children have to solve.

• Books 1-4: meeting Morgan and finding out what she is all about.
• Books 5-8: finding clues and artifacts that will release Morgan from a spell cast by Merlin that turned her into a mouse.
• Books 9-12: solving riddles to pass the test to become Master Librarians.
• Books 13-16: saving books from four ancient time periods that would otherwise be lost forever.
• Books 17-20: rescuing a mysterious dog that is under a magic spell.
• Books 21-24: finding 4 special kinds of writing for Morgan's library in order to save Camelot (something to follow, something to send, something to learn, something to lend).

Jack and Annie are good foils for each other in the stories. Jack is cautious and reflective, always taking notes about the things he sees, or reading about them. Annie is more adventurous, jumping right into the action of the time period. For a few of the books, Mrs. Pope's husband collaborated with her to write non-fiction companions. The books are short enough to not be intimidating for new readers and interesting enough to keep them wanting to read more. My boys love them and read the new titles that come out even though they are much below their reading level now. They are intrigued by figuring out the kid-sized mysteries.

Some Christian groups have banned these books because they deal with magic. I did not find the use of magic offensive. There is no spell cast in the stories; we just hear that Merlin cast a spell. In fact, I thought it was kind of quaint and cute that Morgan LeFay is cast as a librarian.

In some of the stories, Jack and Annie have to learn about the religious or spiritual aspects of the time they have landed in. So, in Night of the Ninjas, they have to act out the Ninja way in order to make it through the forest without being caught by the bad guys (use nature, be nature, follow nature). In Buffalo Before Breakfast they have to imitate the ways of the Indian. This may cause some people some concern, but my children thought of it as merely historically interesting. The stories incorporate some vital historical information about the time period in which they travel, which Jack is always stopping to write down. This includes the religious beliefs of the people. When they travel to Pompeii to rescue a book, Jack reads from a research book about Ancient Roman times, including gladiators, the forum, public bathes, and myths of the gods and goddesses.

One thing I was concerned about was that occasionally in the stories Jack says about Annie's lack of caution, "I'm going to kill her." I was hoping my children wouldn't start saying that! And they haven't. One thing I wish they would imitate, though, is Jack taking notes or looking things up all the time.

These books are a good 2nd grade level reading bridge between just learning to read and harder books that can be tackled in 3rd grade. They are purely for pleasure reading!

This little booklet is a colorfully illustrated and simply written explanation of what happens during the Mass and why. It is broken up into seven main sections: "The Mass Begins!", "The Introductory Rite", "The Penitential Rite", "The Liturgy of the Word", "The Profession of Faith", "The Liturgy of the Eucharist", and "The Concluding Rite". Rather than a missal for children, this is intended to be used outside of Church in preparation to understand the Mass better. (It would be particularly effective when used with the Miniature Mass Kit. Each page of text is highlighted with an appropriate quote from the Bible.

Here is a little sample:

Everyone, get on your knees!

The consecration is about to happen!

This is the most solemn part of the Mass, so we pay close attention.

Father prays over the bread and wine and asks all the angels and saints to join us in our prayer to God.

Father asks the Holy Spirit to come and change this bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus!

Watch carefully. Father takes the bread in his hands and, lifting it up to God, he uses Jesus' own words:

Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you."

Father holds the bread become Jesus up very high, showing it to all of us.

At that moment, all the angels in heaven are rejoicing! We bow our heads and offer a prayer to our great God.

(pg. 30, emphasis in original) This is a very child-friendly, orthodox introduction to the Holy Mass for young children - especially preschool through second grade.

The Medicine of God is an audio drama (on one cassette) in the style of old-time radio shows - with full cast, music and sound effects. This is the biblical story of Tobit, an upright man who trusted in God and the adventures of his son, Tobias, who was led by a stranger - who turned out to be St. Raphael the Archangel - to a new city and a new life. There is a theme of Divine Providence and the need to trust in God that runs throughout the story. This story is a particularly important one to Catholics as it is one of only a few books that are included in Catholic bibles, but not Protestant ones. Your whole family will be edified and entertained by this production. This particular story is a favorite with my children.