Usborne Illustrated Stories from Dickens {Tuesday's Treasures}

I really love the romance of a Charlotte Mason Education. When I think about Charlotte Mason and the Victorian era the author Charles Dickens spring to mind first. His linguistic style is beautiful to read and grows the imagination by the page. However his books are particularly long for younger students. I recently added this book to my library and Nathaniel and I have been enjoying the illustrated stories.

We have found Usborne Illustrated Stories from Dickens a great introduction to the story a good way to become familiar with the plot and because they are short we have been able to read a story in one sitting.

• Format:  Hardback
• Number of Pages:352
• Publisher:Usborne Publishing Ltd
• Publication Date:11 Apr 2014
• ISBN 10:1409508676
• ISBN 13:9781409508670
• Author  
• Illustrator: Barry Ablett
• For ages 12-17 (this is recommended by the publisher but I would say this book is more for those under 12 )

The books contains:

1. Oliver Twist
2. Bleak House
3. Great Expectations
4. A Tale of Two Cities
5. David Copperfield
6. a short biography of the great author himself. 

You can take a peak within this book on Amazon.

Blessings
Chareen

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The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional {Tuesdays Treasures}

Are you a lover of Shakespeare?  Do you love reading the King James bible?  If you answered YES to both of these questions then I'd like to share with you my new treasure for this week:  The Bard and the Bible : A Shakespeare Devotional by Bob Hostetler.

• Author: Bob Hostetler
• Format: Hardback
• Pages: 384
• Publication date: 09 Aug 2016
• Publisher: Worthy Inspired
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1617957240
• ISBN 13: 9781617957246

I was gifted a copy of The Bard and the Bible : A Shakespeare Devotional for Christmas last year and have been enjoying this devotional for the last month.  It's a beautifully bound book with a dust jacket.  The Bard and the Bible contains 365 daily devotions.

Each day's devotional is presented as follows:

•  begins with a quote from Shakespeare 
• followed by a scripture 
• then the day's devotional thoughts.  
• The bottom of each page contains a section of interest. It contains some interesting snippet.  This information is varied (historical, linguistic, reference etc.) I have found these particularly interesting.  

Sample from The Bard and the Bible

 You can view more samples from this devotional on Amazon.

About Bob Hostetler on Book Depository: "Bob Hostetler is a writer and speaker. His thirty-six books to date include two best-selling devotionals co-authored with Josh McDowell and "Take Time To Be Holy," a one-year devotional drawn from the writings of Samuel Logan Brengle. He has won two Gold Medallion Awards, four Ohio Associated Press awards, and an Amy Foundation Award. He is the founding pastor of Cobblestone Community Church in Oxford, Ohio. He and his wife Robin have two children and five grandchildren."

Do you have a favourite devotional Author?  If so who and why?

Blessings
Chareen

Can You Find It, Too? {Tuesday's Treasures}

One of the most challenging aspects of a Charlotte Mason education is learning how to incorporate the arts in our learning as this is an area of learning that I have very little knowledge and as a result I have not done very much art appreciation with Nathaniel.  Last year I was visiting my friend Beck who is currently home educating her four children and following Ambleside Online told me about some wonderful books she was using from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  She has them on her shelf and has loaned them to us.

Can You Find It, Too?

• Format: Hardback
• Number of Pages:40
• Publisher:The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Publication Date:01 Nov 2004
• ISBN 10:0-8109-5046-4
• ISBN 13:9780810950467
• Illustrator: 20 colour illus

This is the second book in the series featuring paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, three other American museums as well as seven European collections.  The book contains beautifully detailed paintings which cover varying topics from battle scenes, castles, horses, coronations and tall ships.  Accompanying each painting is a list of can you find it items. For example she asks, "In this painting of astronomers can you find 1 bull's head, 2 people writing, 2 yellow feet, 2 winged women, 4 people pointing to the sky, 1 bridge, 2 flaming hats, 3 obelisks?"   At the bottom of the list is a short description of the painting along with dates.

Nathaniel and I have immensely enjoyed these books and hope that if you can find them in your local library or a friends book shelf that you too would enjoy a game of Eye Spy together!

Blessings
Chareen

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The Shadow of the Cross (N Book 2) {Tuesday's Treasures}

I can't think of any better way to start a new year than with a new book by a great author.  Today I would like to share my latest great read The Shadow of the Cross by Joyce Swann.

• Format: Kindle
• Number of Pages: 94
• Publisher: Frontier 2000 Media Group
• Publication Date: 6 November 2016
• ASIN: B01MXGC8UZ
• Author  Joyce Swann
• Available from:AMAZON

About the book
The Shadow of the Cross is the second book in the N Series and follows the story of Petra and the N's who take up refuge on Prayer Mountain. Petra's nemesis Cardin Ritter has ulterior motives for finding Petra and is determined to hand her over to Mandrake the man in charge of social security and eradicating the world of Christian's ...

Enter Quinton who turned his back on his Christian heritage and needs to give Bella a new identity no matter the cost and will use whom ever to accomplish the impossible feet only to find that meeting Petra will bring about a change he did not expect or look for.

My Thoughts
This book was a great read.  It was a real sit on the edge of your seat read. I just could not put it down book. I finished it in less than two evenings. It is an A+ Christian thriller and would fit very well on your book shelf between your Frank Peretti and Left Behind books. The author has done a magnificent job of building a plot of power, justice, mercy, secrecy and suspense with a twist at every corner. It is a vision of the future and possible outcome of the political correctness of our society today.  It ended on a cliff hanger I did not see coming and I am looking forward to the next volume in the N series.

About the Author:
Joyce Swann home schooled her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees. She is a well-known author and speaker on the subject of homeschooling. For nearly a decade she was a popular columnist for Practical Homeschooling Magazine. She now blogs regularly on parenting, homeschooling, and Christian lifestyle issues.

Joyce and her daughter Alexandra have co-authored two other novels, The Fourth Kingdom and The Twelfth Juror, both of which were published in 2010. Joyce shared her personal story of her experiences raising and educating her family and is chronicled in Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother, published in February of 2011. Her novel, The Warrior, which tells the story of one woman’s ten year prayer vigil for a man she has never met, was released in May of 2012. She is also the author of two children’s books, Tales of Pig Isle and A Horse Called Lightning/A House of Clowns (The McAloons), which began as stories that she told to entertain her grandchildren.

Alexandra is author of No Regrets: How Homeschooling Earned me a Master’s Degree at Age Sixteen and Writing for Today. She has been self-employed for over fourteen years and was the 2011 Chairwoman of the Board of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She writes a regular blog, Paying for Protection, about the consequences of over-regulation and over-reaching government. Her novel The Planner, which is the prequel to The Chosen, was published in June of 2012.

You can read  Interview with an Author~Joyce & Alexandra Swann over at Following in His Footsteps.

Connect

• Frontier 2000 Media
• Frontier 2000 Media Facebook Page 
• Frontier 2000 Media Twitter
• Alexandra Swann on Twitter 
• Joyce's Blog
• Alexandra's Blog

Blessings
Chareen

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If You Were Me and Lived in... Series by Carole P.Roman {Review}

I am so excited to tell you about eight new children's history books  brought to you by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com. The books we received to review are:

1. If You Were me and Lived In... Ancient Greece (Volume 1) 
2. If You Were me and Lived In... the Middle Ages (Volume 6)
3. If you were me and lived in... Ancient China 
4. If you were me and lived in... Viking Europe (Volume ) 
5. If you were me and lived in ... Renaissance Italy (Volume 2) 
6. If you were me and lived in ... Elizabethan England (Volume 3) 
7. If you were me and lived in ... Colonial America (Volume 4) 
8. If you were me and lived in ... the American West (Volume 7) 

Nathaniel and I both enjoy books which are twaddle free and beautifully illustrated. This series meets our every expectation of amazing books. We are very thankful to Carol and the Homeschool Review Crew for blessing us with these fabulous books.  We have been traveling through time and discovering how children lived in different times and cultures throughout history.

Inside the books

• The stories invite you the reader to come with a child to the country being explored.  There is a picture of what it looks like now followed by a picture of what it would have looked like in the era you are exploring.   The era is explored from the perspective of a child.
• You find out what sorts of names people had
• The work people did
• Names of people and places are followed by a pronunciation guide in brackets.  If a word had a special meaning this is explained too.
• Interesting facts pertaining to the culture are shared.  
• The money/trading systems used in the era / culture are explained.
• The children are introduced to the accommodation and clothing used by the different classes of people within the culture. 
• Education, government, spiritual beliefs and military are explained.
• The family structure and specific roles of each member within a family are explored.
• Important people from the time period within the culture are introduced
• The book contains a full glossary of terms.

You will find a great list of comprehension questions to copy and print for each of the books on Carole's blog.


The Details

If You Were me and Lived In... Ancient Greece (Volume 1)
Series: An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time
Paperback: 54 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 17, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1523234296
ISBN-13: 978-1523234295
Kindle $ 3.04
Paperback: $14.99


You will be taken back to 350 B.C and learn where Greece is located, it's capital city and a few other interesting cities from the era.  Discover that Greece is "the Cradle of Western Civilization" and the reasons why. Each of the Greek gods are introduced throughout the book (their names, appearance and traits).  Greek clothing (chiton, peplos and the toga) and culture from the ancient times.  You will learn about their governmental system, literature and philosophy.

If you were me and lived in... Ancient China
Paperback: 76 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 18, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 153287524X
ISBN-13: 978-1532875243
Kindle $ 2.03
Paperback: $15.99




Travel back to second century (150 A.D.) China during the Golden Age of China and discover one of the longest dynasty's of the time - the Han dynasty. Travel the Silk Road and learn about important trade. There were four majour professions during this time: Scholar, Doctor, Farmer and Merchant. Your father decided what you would do for a profession. Learn about the discovery of silk and paper and the impact this had on the whole world.

If you were me and lived in... Viking Europe (Volume )
Series: If You Were Me and Lived in...
Paperback: 76 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 27, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1532875304
ISBN-13: 978-1532875304
Kindle $ 3.06
Paperback: $13.59



Travel back to the year 870 AD northern Europe in Norway. Discover a brave exploring people.  You may have been called Knut or Ulf if you were a boy and Sigrid or Hilde if you were a girl. Your second name was your fathers. The only coins used were pennies. These strong well groomed people were known for their bravery, dependability and allegiance to one another.  Woman were well respected.  These people ate very well and looked after anyone in need.

If you were me and lived in ... Renaissance Italy (Volume 2)
Series: An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time
Paperback: 56 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (May 6, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 152323427X
ISBN-13: 978-1523234271
Kindle $ 2.04
Paperback: $14.99



Travel back in time to the year 1483 in Tuscany. Popular names were Lorenzo and Cosimo for boys and Dolce and Lisabetta for girls. This was an important period of rebirth and inspired many famous artists, like Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello. Because Florence was the birthplace of the new movement and became known as "The Athens of the Middle Ages."   Common seasonings during that time were cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, saffron and pepper, along with oranges and lemons. It was a time of sporting events, festivals, and dances. 

If you were me and lived in ... Elizabethan England (Volume 3)
Series: An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time
Paperback: 52 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 21, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1523229365
ISBN-13: 978-1523229369 
Kindle $ 2.02
Paperback: $14.99


Discover what life was like in  1578 during the reign of Elizabeth I. This was the golden age for art and literature and saw an increase in exploration. The narrow, cobblestone streets were filthy as people threw dirt, garbage, and waste out the windows. Houses were half-timbered and made of wattle and daub and the floors were covered in straw. Middle class people ate mutton, sausage, cheese, stew, and bread. No one drank water, but chose ciders and ales instead. The clothing consisted of many layers, and laws stated what color each class of people could wear and your religion was determined by whomever was on the throne.

If You Were me and Lived In... the Middle Ages (Volume 6)
Series: If You Were Me and Lived in...
Paperback: 98 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 9, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1533673241
ISBN-13: 978-1533673244
Kindle $ 3.06
Paperback: $19.99


Travel further back in time to  1072 in a small town in London, England. Discover names, like Geoffrey, Roul, Melisende, and Aalis, and learn about how they determined surnames. It's written as if the reader is the daughter of a knight. It describes life in a castle with wealth, servants, a large family. It mentions the Crusades, the importance of the church, the classes of society and their occupations and how they lived.

If you were me and lived in ... Colonial America (Volume 4)
Series: An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time
Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (April 28, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1523234075
ISBN-13: 978-1523234073 
Kindle $ 3.18
Paperback: $14.99



Travel back to England in 1620 and follow the journey of your family as you move to the Netherlands and from there join other families to travel to a new land upon the Mayflower.  Make a new friend from the Wampanoag tribe who will teach you to hunt and grow your own food.  Celebrate the day you were "breeched" and attend school at home with your mother. 

If you were me and lived in ... the American West (Volume 7)
Series:
Paperback: 58 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 18, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1532877846
ISBN-13: 978-1532877841
Kindle $ 2.04
Paperback: $14.99



The year is 1843 and you are growing up in a homestead in Oregan after moving here during "The Great Migration of 1843". As a young one of 12 you learned many valuable skills on that hard journey but they helped you grow stronger as a family and equipped you for the daily chores which were a part of your new life.  School came over winter and spring break meant working on the farm.  Many men died on the the journey over and the women continued on.  Everyone helped one another to build homes and barns.  

About the Author

We really enjoy all of the If You Were Me and Lived In ... book series by Carole P. Roman and I am pretty sure you will, too.  Carole is an award-winning author and mom who started writing because she was dared to by one of her sons and we are so pleased that she did! Her books are some of our favourites on the shelf. She's a former Social Studies teacher who fell in love with adventure and exploration and desires to share that love with us. You know that your children are getting factual information as they read for personal enjoyment when they pick up any of these books. She has been awarded numerous book awards and her entire cultural non-fiction series If You Were Me and Lived in... was named Best Series by Shelf Unbound.

You can connect with Carole on Social media here:

• Facebook,
• Pinterest,
• Good Reads
• Twitter.

We love all of these books and are looking forward to using them throughout our chronological history studies.

I'd also love for you to visit my earlier reviews of the cultural books in the original series. You can see what we thought of Mexico, France, South Korea and Norway AND check out the fun we had with Australia too.

Blessings
Chareen

The Remedy {Tuesday's Treasure}

Have you ever wondered how we came to live in such a healthy society ?  Do you ever stop to think about how in the space of less than 100 years we have gone from an average life span of 35 - 50 years to 70-100?  Did you ever wonder how society became germ-o-phobic?  I must confess I had never considered these things until recently when I read the book:  The Remedy. This is one of those books that will change your perspective on life.  Thomas Goetz takes you on an incredible biographical journey through the founding fathers of modern medicine and the scientific method. 

The Details

• Title: The Remedy : Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle and the Quest to Cure Tuberculosis
• Format: Paperback
• Number of Pages: 298
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Publication Date: 09 Apr 2015
• ISBN 10: 1592409172
• ISBN 13: 9781592409174
• Author: Thomas Goetz

About the book: "The riveting history of tuberculosis, the world’s most lethal disease, the two men whose lives it tragically intertwined, and the birth of medical science.

In 1875, tuberculosis was the deadliest disease in the world, accountable for a third of all deaths. A diagnosis of TB—often called consumption—was a death sentence. Then, in a triumph of medical science, a German doctor named Robert Koch deployed an unprecedented scientific rigor to discover the bacteria that caused TB. Koch soon embarked on a remedy—a remedy that would be his undoing.

When Koch announced his cure for consumption, Arthur Conan Doyle, then a small-town doctor in England and sometime writer, went to Berlin to cover the event. Touring the ward of reportedly cured patients, he was horrified. Koch’s “remedy” was either sloppy science or outright fraud.

But to a world desperate for relief, Koch’s remedy wasn’t so easily dismissed. As Europe’s consumptives descended upon Berlin, Koch urgently tried to prove his case. Conan Doyle, meanwhile, returned to England determined to abandon medicine in favor of writing. In particular, he turned to a character inspired by the very scientific methods that Koch had formulated: Sherlock Holmes.

Capturing the moment when mystery and magic began to yield to science, The Remedy chronicles the stunning story of how the germ theory of disease became a true fact, how two men of ambition were emboldened to reach for something more, and how scientific discoveries evolve into social truths." - Penguin Random House

To be honest had I seen this book on the library shelf I would have passed it by.  However on the recommendation of a good friend I started reading and discovered a very well written book. In fact I enjoyed it so much I sincerely hope the BBC take this book and make a docudrama out of it!

If you have high school students who are aiming to have a career in the medical field I highly recommend they read this book. This book will change the way you view life.  Thomas introduces you to some of the amazing scientists/Doctors who pursued knowledge in order to make life better and prevent death among the many who were dying daily.  These men set the stage on which modern medicine plays out today.  This book chronicles the very birth of modern medical science as we know it today.   Follow the lives of Robert Koch and Arthur Conan Doyle. You will be surprised to learn how the worlds favourite detective sleuth (Sherlock Holmes) is pivotal to our current understanding of the scientific method and why as a society we are so very preoccupied with chemical disinfectants!

If you have read The Remedy I would love to hear your thoughts on this interesting book.

Blessings
Chareen

Get Into Art Animals {Tuesday's Treasures}

One of the things I enjoy about our library visits is discovering new books to bring home and explore. Upon a recent visit to our local library I discovered a new book with plenty of hands on step by step projects. Get into Art Animals is not a typical art projects book. 

This book is two fold in it's approach.  Firstly it introduces the reader to a famous art piece and the artist who created it, then it gives a step by step hands on project for you to create your own version of the art work you have just learned about.

Susie encourages us to know that art is not only something we observe but rather something that we can all do, she does a wonderful job encouraging the reader to try new mediums to create their own masterpieces of art.

The Details

• Title: Get into Art Animals
• Format: Hardback
• Number of Pages:31 
• Publisher: Pan MacMillan  
• Publication Date:20 Aug 2013 
• ISBN 10: 0753470586 
• ISBN 13:9780753470589 
• Author  Susie Brooks 
• Illustrator: 

There are 12 art pieces and artists:

1. The Snail - Henri matisse
2. Suspense - Sir Edwin Landseer
3. Crinkly Giraffe - Alexander Calder
4. The Bird - Georges Braque
5. Peacock and Magpie - Edward Bawden
6. Fish - MC Escher
7. Carnival of Harlequin - Joan Miro
8. Totem Poles - Wayne Alfred, Beau Dick and Ellen Neel
9. Yellow Cow - Franz Marc
10. Dragon Dish - Chinese Artist
11. Portrait of Maurice - Andy Warhol
12. Jockeys in the Rain - Edgar Dagas

Other Books in the Series

• Get Into Art People
• Get into Art: Stories
• Get Into Art: Places

Blessings
Chareen

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Reflections - More Beautiful Bible Verses for Colouring {Review}

One of the most popular trends to happen in the last six months has been the adult colouring craze.  I used to enjoy colouring as a child and wondered if I'd enjoy this new craze ? I began looking for a resource and was overwhelmed by what was available.  So my quest continued until I saw a friends beautifully illustrated scripture page she had just completed.  After a little more research I discovered the artist behind the beautiful illustration was Lorien Atwood. I found her website and emailed Lorien to find out more about her latest publication titled Reflections. She blessed me with a copy of Reflections - More Beautiful Bible Verses for Colouring.

About the Book

• Title: Reflections - More Beautiful Bible Verses for Colouring
• ISBN: 9780994497536
• Cover: Card stock
• Pages: Each picture is printed on heavy duty paper to prevent bleed through.  The pages are also perforated to make it easier to remove from the book to gift to someone.
• Illustrations: There are 18 illustrations/scripture meditation pages
• Group Licensing is available over at Firewheel Press.

• Page 1 starts with a welcome note from Lorien and an encouragement on how to proceed with the book.
• Page 2 - Four tips on how to get more from meditating on God's word and how not to sink into mindless colouring but rather focusing on God.
• Page 3 - 18 different scriptures. Each one has been uniquely illustrated.
• Last page - A beautiful easy step by step tutorial on how to design and make your own scriptural colouring pages
• Back page - Each of Lorien's books come with a link to a FREE copy of the illustrations to download and print.  This is so that you can print more pages to colour and gift to someone.

Purchasing Information
Lorien has designed postcards, books marks and published two colouring books for purchase.

• For more information US residents: Coloring In Truth USA.
•  the Australian site is: Lorien Illustrations
• Book Depository 
• Reflections Colouring Book
• Meditations Colouring Book
• Bookmarks: Oh Give Thanks and  Everlasting Rock
• Postcards: 
  
  • Peace and Courage(Set of 4 or Set of 10 Mixed) 
  • Peace (Set of 10 or Set of 4) 
  • Courage ( Mixed 4 Pack  or Mixed 10 pack)

Connect with Lorien on Social Media

• Follow Lorien on Facebook: Lorien Illustrations
• To see more of Lorien's beautiful illustrations visit her blog.
•  Lorien has some FREE pages for you to download and print in the File section of her group page.  Be sure to see who the author of each picture is as Lorien encourages us to draw our own pictures and share them with the group.
• For colouring inspiration take a look at the Photo's of completed works on Facebook.
• Join the Colouring In Truth group on Facebook.
• Follow Lorien on Instagram @lorien_illustrations
• Share your completed works using the hashtags:#colouringintruth and #lorienillustrations, plus #meditations or #reflections depending on the book you are colouring from.

Reflections - More Beautiful Bible Verses for Colouring is a beautiful book. I am impressed with the quality of the paper and I've really enjoyed colouring each design.  Lorien has thoughtfully designed each picture to reflect the truth of each scripture.  I love that each page is a unique design and reflects the truth of each scripture illustrated.

"I have loved using art to reflect on Gods word for ages, and I really like how scripture colouring pages take all the anxiety out of producing something ‘beautiful’ from scratch – that terrifying blank page moment and frees up people’s brain space to actually meditate on the scripture. As people occupy their hands and engage their senses with the colours and the repetitive movement of colouring, they can find a small stillness that is quite hard to come by in everyday life. In this quiet space, they can listen more intently to God and hear what he has to say to them through the words of the Bible... " - Lorien Atwood Read more about the back story of how the books were birthed.

If you are looking for a beautiful scriptural colouring experience I highly recommend the books and cards from Lorien Illustrations.

Blessings
Chareen 

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