This is a great book! Although Stephen Covey is a Mormon, it is amazing how Catholic his underlying principles are. I was particularly struck by this because I happened to be reading it alongside The World's First Love by Bishop Fulton Sheen, which is about Our Lady. Both authors discussed the true meaning of freedom at length and their principles and conclusions were remarkably similar. The book covers seven major ideas, which when incorporated into our lives, can have a profound effect on our ability to accomplish goals and deal well with other people. These seven habits are also addressed in Mr. Covey's earlier book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, but here they are applied to those we have to live with every day and have the greatest responsibility toward. The language used is not highly religious. But if you read between the lines and consider his ideas in light of your Faith, you will find this a very useful book for enhancing your family life on both the natural and spiritual levels. An excellent book to read alongside this book in order to amplify the spiritual considerations is A Map of Life by Frank Sheed. The two books together might make an excellent summer reading and discussion program for the teenagers and adults in your household.

This is a story about a twelve year old boy named Matt who lived in Maine about 250 years ago. Near the beginning of the story, all of Matt's family (besides Matt) went away. One day he was fishing when a bear took a lot of Matt's food. The next day he was going to try to get a spoon of honey from a bee's hive. The spoon wasn't small enough to fit in the hole; neither was his finger. So he pulled a piece of the bark from above the hole and the bees came out and chased him to a river. So he went into the water and later he felt himself coming up because an Indian pulled him out of the water. The Indian had a grandson named Attean. Attean was about 14 years old. Attean's grandfather wanted Matt to teach Attean how to read. The book they started on was Robinson Crusoe. Matt and Attean became friends and they had lots of adventures.

I like the Sign of the Beaver so much that I'd like to listen to it lots more times.

Back in print! It was May 1941 and the British were struggling to hold back the Germans (this is of course before the United States had entered World War II). Since the summer of 1940 the Germans had access to the harbors and airfields of western Europe from Norway to southern France. Their submarines, warships and bombers were wreaking havoc on Britain's supply convoys crossing the Atlantic which was seriously threatening Britain's survival. It was at this time that the British admiralty learned of the imminent release of the new German battleship Bismarck, the most powerful warship afloat in the world. This is the story of the week-long chase by the British who were hoping to prevent further losses to their precious convoys by destroying the battleship. This very accurate account is more exciting and suspenseful than fiction partially because we realize how much is at stake. It is such a game of nerves and logic, but the interesting tales of "luck" and unbelievable human error might make the reader wonder (okay, it made me wonder) whether Divine Providence had a direct hand in the final outcome. Most appropriate for mid-gradeschool through high school (and plenty interesting for adults too!). It's suspenseful, but not too scary or graphic to be read aloud in front of younger siblings.

NOTE (12/3/07): This has recently come back into print as part of the Sterling Point series under the title The Sinking of the Bismarck: The Deadly Hunt.