Mrs. Woodfield has brought to life yet another collection of wonderful, but somewhat lesser-known, saints through beautiful stories, study questions and other projects that help older children grow to love and better understand these beautiful saints. This collection covers the lives of three canonized Saints and one very holy man who has been declared Venerable: Saint Katherine Drexel, Venerable Matt Talbot, St. Josephine Bakhita and Pope St. Pius X.

Saint Katherine Drexel, just canonized in the year 2000, is the first American born, Catholic-born saint. A wealthy Philadelphia heiress of the late 19th century, she used her fortune to found an order of sisters to run schools, convents and universities for the needy Indians of the West and the Blacks in the South. Saint Katherine is a remarkable American saint who should be known and loved widely in the United States. Surely her example will inspire young children of today to be the heroes of tomorrow.

Venerable Matt Talbot was a simple Irishman who struggled back from the darkness of serious alcoholism to lead a very holy life - in the world, but not of the world. Dublin in the latter 19th century was a difficult place for simple Irish workingmen. The oppression of the English caused great poverty and the British customs further plagued the Irish by having their salaries paid to them at the local tavern, where they were likely to spend a great deal of it for drink. By the grace of God, Matt managed to pull himself out of this oppressive lifestyle, pledging to never drink again and spending many, many hours at Church in order to avoid the deadly temptations.

St. Josephine Bakhita was born in the Sudan, Africa, in 1869. She had a very happy childhood in a loving "noble pagan" family until she was kidnapped by slave traders when she was nine. She suffered horribly but patiently from her cruel masters in Africa until she came into the possession of the Italian Consul to the Sudan. There she lived a relatively happy life caring for the daughter of the Consul until she traveled with the child and mother to Italy. In Italy she attended a Catholic school with the little girl and fell in love with Jesus. Eventually she was permitted to join an order of sisters where she led an extraordinarily holy life and inspired countless numbers of people to a deeper love for God. She spoke gratefully of her enslavement because it eventually led her to Jesus.

Pope St. Pius X was a humble Italian farm boy who went on to do great things for the church as priest, bishop, cardinal, and finally Pope. He is well-known for reforming Church music (especially by encouraging a return to the use of Gregorian Chant), exhorting people to the frequent reception of Holy Communion despite imperfections (at the time, it was common for people to receive Holy Communion only once a year because of a sort of false piety) and especially lowering the common age at which children could receive First Holy Communion. Although an understanding of the faith is certainly important for children, he saw a child's need for the grace received in Holy Communion as even more important in getting them off to a good start in their faith.

The stories are approximately twenty full-size pages each, and are illustrated with nice black and white photos and sketches. After each story is an extensive (4-5 pages each) "Lesson Activities" section designed to further analyze the story, provide vocabulary and comprehension exercises and learn more about the saint and the time in which he/she lived through geography, history and biography projects. Segments include a vocabulary list, terms to know, Comprehension Questions, "Analyze This" (Questions drawn out of the story that require additional thought and reflection on the part of the student), Essay Questions, Quotes (learning a few quotes from the saint), a Geography and History segment (project ideas relating to the saint), "Research and Report" (Possible report topics relating to the saint) and "You, the Biographer" (Contemporary or otherwise related historical figures that could be studied in conjunction with the saint's life). An Answer Key covering the Comprehension Questions is found in the back of the book.

This book would be most appropriate for upper grade school or early high school. These are by no means too mature for this age level, but certain parts of two of the stories in particular - the alcoholism struggled with by Ven. Matt Talbot and the brutality of the slave-owners of St. Josephine Bakhita - would probably not be appropriate for younger children. The text provides a great deal of engaging material relating to History, Religion and Geography as well as Reading Comprehension. Highly Recommended. Great reading for adults too!

This beginning reader set provides young students with small activity booklet/readers that can be read at a very primary level. The author combines simple words that can be read phonetically with one or two sight words in each booklet that the child will learn to recognize (words like: "look", "go" and "the"). I thought the illustrations were more appealing than those found in the Bob Books.

A number of the stories include a blank to insert the reader's name and a few family names into the story. I thought this was a clever idea since many children to learn to write and recognize their own name even before they are reading. There are also little puzzles, word-and-picture matching and writing practice.

The "Ready for Reading" booklets are very appealing to little children (who always seem to love little books, especially when they come in a neat package), and I'm sure there are many four and five year olds who would delight in having these little workbook sets for their special schooltime. Even as I write, my almost-five-year-old has been asking and asking for me to finish reviewing these books so that she can use them and color them in.

Using "Angela" as an example of the reader's name (that the reader or parent can fill in), these are the titles of the booklets - "The Angela Book", "Angela Can", "Angela's Family Book", "The Pig is in the Mud", "The Big Hat", "Little Christina" (younger sibling name to be filled in), "Is it a Cat?", "Yes-No Workbook", "Go to Bed", "Treasure Hunt", "Dog is Fed", "Angela can Bat".

The booklets have glossy, color covers and black and white illustrations that could be colored in by the child. The text includes teaching suggestions in small print right alongside the student work! These include helps for common problems that children run into.

Elizabeth Foss, mother of seven homeschooled children (ranging in age from 16 down to toddler), has done a great job synthesizing her approach to "educating a child in the heart of the family given to that child by his Creator" in her book, Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home.

The book mixes Charlotte Mason's educational philosophy (lots of living books, short lessons and "masterly inactivity") with pithy quotes from Edith Stein, Pope John Paul II and other Catholic thinkers and educators. She points out that although Charlotte Mason and Edith Stein never met or read each other's writings both emphasize the "absolute necessity of engaging the whole child - heart, soul and mind - in order to educate him".

For the first third of her book, Foss explains her philosophy of educating in the home. It is a different way of looking at how to homeschool. She explains that no subject should be an entity unto itself but instead, all courses should feed off each other. Learning becomes then such a part of the student's world that learning is a "24/7" activity. I especially like that teaching the Catholic faith to our children is not taught in a vacuum. Liturgical celebrations - the cycle of feasts and famines - enliven the school year. The Catholic Church's actions and her many heroes illustrate different periods of history. Liturgical music (classical, chant or contemporary) defines different music styles. Art takes off by incorporating the study of various forms of religious art - iconography, renaissance, church architecture and others. Religion passes from textbook memorization into the heart and soul of the student, to carry them through to adulthood. The Catholic faith is lived in the heart of the home.

Mrs. Foss points out this is not a "how-to" book, but rather a "fly on the wall" perspective of real learning in the Foss (and other) household. Each home will develop its own curriculum. She has detailed quotes from other homeschooling veterans who also use their own form of Charlotte Mason education.

Suggestions for reading books, a sample unit study for Advent, and quotes from other "real learning" homeschoolers make Real Learning a very usable, practical guide to develop your own "real learning" curriculum. I read it at the beginning of my journey with my little ones and again about halfway through. Each time I took away so much more. I'll read it again this summer to refresh my teaching "in the heart of the home".

When I first read aloud Mary Daly's First Timeline to the children, it was the first time I had ever heard of the story of the young Chinese Princess and the cup of tea where the silk strands first unravel revealing themselves... such a captivating story. Then Mary asked me to illustrate it for wider publication... and I just loved doing the Chinese teacup! Well, last week at the library, browsing as I always do through the new picture books, I found a Chinese princess and the tale of the discovery of silk! I knew it as soon as I glanced at the cover. Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk out of China doesn't quite tell the same story as Mary's First Timeline-- but Mary's story, an old Chinese legend, is included in the Author's Note at the of the beautifully illustrated hardcover. The story of the book, also based on an old Chinese legend, happens later--when silk was part of Chinese life and had yet to be known to the rest of the world. The Princess, about to leave her homeland to be married to a foreign prince, decides to secretly take with her something that will always remind her of home. A darling picture book, to be enjoyed by kids of all ages, and bringing forth life in a different culture, a long time ago, and how materials things such as silk are easily taken for granted today.