Elementary

Abraham Lincoln

Book cover: Abraham Lincoln
Author(s): 
Ingri & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
Rea Berg (Editor)

Our family has almost worn out our copy of this well-loved book. Abraham Lincoln the boy comes alive in the story and illustrations. We see him grow to a young man and take several adventurous trips "down river" and learn that a fortune-teller from New Orleans predicted that he would be president some day. The authors indicate his empathy for the slaves during this trip and show how his honesty and integrity eventually win the respect of many, although they don't make for an easy life.

Farmer Boy

Book cover: 'Farmer Boy'
Author(s): 
Laura Ingalls Wilder
This mouthwatering book isn't about Laura. It is about her future husband, Almanzo Wilder, and told through his eyes. He works (hard) on his father's sucessful farm in upstate New York. As would be expected from the perspective of a hardworking young boy the book lingers on FOOD. They ate pretty well too! They have fresh fruits and vegatables, they make their own butter (some of which they sell for - about a buck a pound! - imagine that). The pies, the meat etc. etc. etc. Each is described just well enough that you want to make some for yourself.

What Makes Day and Night?

Book cover: What Makes Day and Night?
Author(s): 
Franklyn M. Branley
Illustrator(s): 
Arthur Dorros

The clearly written text is combined with simple, colorful pictures to make the concepts of day and night and the rotation of the earth in relation to the sun very understandable for both young children and their parents. : ) Included is a very simple hands-on "experiment" requiring only your child and a desk lamp. Some information about the moon is also covered. Like other books in this series, this book is a great solution for satisfying some of those "why" questions that young children constantly ask.

Faith and Life Religion Series

Book cover: 'Faith and Life Religion Series, Book 1'

This is a very popular religion series for Catholic homeschoolers. There are probably many reasons for this: they're reasonably priced, they're filled with beautiful selections of fine religious art, and they're unquestionably orthodox. The series incorporates questions from The Baltimore Catechism for memorization. Some homeschoolers don't like the brief content (the text contains approximately one lesson per week - although there is also a work book, teacher's manual and extensive resource guide available for each grade).

The Prince of Egypt

Book cover: 'The Prince of Egypt'
Three Other Reasons to See Prince of Egypt: racially truthful, stealthily pro-life, realistic portrayal of sin
I admit, our family went to see The Prince of Egypt because of William Donahoe's recommendation. The Catholic League plugged the newly-released animated picture on the story of Moses in its newsletter as well as in an Internet message. So we joined my family at Christmas in a rare trip to the theater, along with my dad (who was going to see it because Chuck Colson had recommended it).

Once Upon a Time Saints

Book cover: 'Once Upon a Time Saints'
Author(s): 
Ethel Pochocki
In the Bethlehem Books catalog, this book is recommended for ages 5 - 10, but I think many of the stories will be appealing even for preschoolers. The stories have been carefully chosen to be interesting to children at the "fairy tale age". Many of the saints chosen are knights and princesses with adventures and lessons to share with your children. Some parents may not like the informality of her story-telling style, but I think most will appreciate using this book to foster an interest in the Saints at a very young age.

Science 4 for Young Catholics

Book cover: 'Science 4 for Young Catholics'
Author(s): 
Dr. Gregory Townsend

This 4th grade science textbook is nicely laid out and easy to use. Each chapter begins with a brief biography of a famous Catholic scientist, like Copernicus, Mendel and Pasteur, followed by four literal comprehension questions. The goals of the chapter and an outline are also provided at the beginning of each chapter. Interspersed among the text of the chapters are experiments, activities, and review questions. There are also review study pages at the end of the chapter.

Everybody Cooks Rice

Book cover: 'Everybody Cooks Rice'
Author(s): 
Norah Dooley
A small illustrated children's book about two children who visit a number of their neighbors of different ethnic backgrounds and discover that each of their cultures uses rice in their cooking. Includes recipes in the back. A good way to introduce children to our country's ethnic diversity without getting "politically correct." (Warning: We get hungry every time we read this book.)

New Catholic Picture Bible

Book cover: 'New Catholic Picture Bible'
Author(s): 
Fr. Lawrence Lovasik, S.V.D.

Father Lovasik includes many more stories in this work than Tomie de Paola's work. The pictures are more traditional (although not fine art), yet the stories are still short enough to make this a good choice for preschoolers as well. He explains parts of the Bible in light of our Catholic tradition within the story. For example, in the story "Jesus Appears to the Apostles" Fr. Lovasik explains what Jesus said to the apostles with the following quote:

Noble Heroine of Charity

This is the story of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, the little Italian nun who came as a missionary to help the Italian immigrants, orphans and many others in America. She was the first American citizen to be canonized. This audio drama is very nicely performed with a full cast and narrator, music and sound effects. My daughter especially enjoyed this story since we had recently read Joan Stromberg's, The Orphans Find a Home: A St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Story.

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