Good Friday

I wanted to share this article with you for Good Friday: Can we believe in love? Easter's essential role. May you have a blessed Easter.  

Books for Holy Week

Thank you to everyone who chimed in on the eReader discussion. I found all of your points very interesting and insightful. 

We are currently in the middle of Holy Week and as Christians, this is a week of anticipation, reflection, and meditation. We look to Good Friday with its sorrow and promise of redemption and anticipate the joy of Easter as we celebrate the resurrection. All around the world Christians in Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant traditions have ways of marking this special week. I am currently enrolled in a class where there are people of all sorts of faith traditions and nationalities and it has been so interesting to learn about the different celebrations of Holy Week. In Greek villages, Orthodox Christians, dressed as though they were attending a funeral, gather together the Saturday night before Easter. The feeling is somber and quiet. And then, at midnight, the bells toll and everyone throws off their veils of sadness and shouts "He is risen" and everyone embraces, kisses, hugs, and a celebration ensues. Wouldn't it be amazing to see that? In Paris, Catholics will take part in processions on Good Friday marking the Stations of the Cross set up along some of the most famous streets. I love learning about these traditions as they enrich my understanding of my faith and allow me a view of the vast history and scope of Christianity. 

To mark this week, I wanted to share a couple books that helped shape my understanding of the traditions of the Christian faith. These are not theological books, they're historical and fictional, but they were important in developing an appreciation for the debt our cultural heritage owes to Christianity.

The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola introduces readers to medieval celebrations of Christ. This book is based on an ancient French legend and teaches some wonderful lessons about gifts, generosity and sacrifice. The story is lovingly retold by Tomie dePaola who charmingly illustrated the book in such a way that conveys the tenderness of the story as well as the joy.

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare was one of my favorites as a teen. It opened my eyes to the  complex world of Palestine at the time of Jesus. One of the things I really appreciate about this book is that it manages to convey an idea of how Jesus would have been seen by his contemporaries. The young zealot sees him as a savior, but is disappointed when Jesus refuses to take up the sword and fight the Roman occupiers. Others see him as a gentle healer, one who inspires them, urges them to be kind, meek, gentle hearted. And others see him as the Messiah, the one who has been anticipated by the Jews for millennia. 

Quo Vadis by Henryk Seinkeiwicz is a Christian and literary classic. It tells of the persecution of the Christians under Nero and their tenacity and courage in holding on to their faith. It shows how the early Church began to form into a movement, gathering followers in spite of great hardship. In the final days of the dwindling Roman Empire, the early Christians stood out from the lavish and indulgent Romans. Marked by humility, service, compassion, charity, and grace, these early bearers of the faith stood strong despite being vastly outnumbered, powerless, and vulnerable. 

While all of these books are a part of the Christian tradition and have important significance to believers, they are also books that are essential to understanding our cultural heritage. Living in Europe has given me a greater appreciation for the fact that the history of western culture cannot be divorced from the history of Christianity. This holy week I will be able to take part in traditions that stretch back hundreds of years, events that have shaped people's understanding of their faith and therefore influenced the cultural traditions they were forming.

What sorts of traditions do you observe? Do you have recommendations for Holy Week reading? I would love to hear about them! 

To e-read or not to e-read

Credit: Grant Snider, The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/03/30/books/review/snider01.html?nl=books&emc=edit_bk_20120330  

I got a chuckle out of this comic strip because I can relate. Having been an avid collector of books since I was nine years old, I've had to put a damper on my book buying since moving overseas nearly five years ago. A semi-nomadic lifestyle and a collection of two thousand books are not mutually compatible. In four years of trekking back and forth between Europe and the US, I've lugged more than my fair share of 40-50 pound carry-ons. Baggage weight restrictions meant all those heavy books were not checked into the cargo area. No, they were strapped to my back where I wouldn't be charged excess baggage fees. I mean, that's money that can go to buying more books! Once I had boarded and successfully stashed my literary burdens I will admit to feeling a bit panicky at times as I imagined someone innocently opening the overhead locker and being concussed when my overstuffed backpack tumbled out. Thankfully, my carry-ons were always too heavy to "shift during landing". And so my two loves, travel and reading, stood in opposition to one another until I was gifted a Kindle last September.


I love the convenience of a Kindle. It's perfect for travel. It is easy to use, has a nice feel, and I can take it anywhere. Aside from that, I do miss the feel of a book. I miss turning pages. I find it annoying that I can't flip around to different spots in the books I'm reading. I also miss the smell of books. But most importantly to me, I miss the knowledge that when I open a book, I am either entering into a history of previous readers sharing this same experience, or I'm beginning that history when I crease the cover of a new book for the first time. Flick on the screen of an e-reader and it's an individual experience. You cannot lend your library to other people. You are reading words on a screen that only you see. For some reason, I'm less apt to read interesting parts of books aloud to my husband when I'm reading my Kindle. Give me a real book, and I'm probably a bit annoying with my "Hey love, listen to this" barrage. Additionally, I wish I could purchase my books from independent bookstores. Having grown up in a publishing family, this is important to me. The Kindle is purely a convenience to me for a phase in my life. I know I will be buying hardcopies again in the future, possibly even copies of books I've read on my Kindle and really enjoyed. There is just something about a book that makes it irreplaceable to me. But I may be an anomaly in this age of electronic gadgets, tablets and smart phones. I thought it would be interesting to hear from you. Do you have an e-reader? Do you enjoy using it? What are the benefits and drawbacks for you? Do you wish there were more books available in electronic format? What about children's books? Do you use eReaders for educational purposes? Do your kids read books on a computer, Kindle, or iPad? Do you find you end up buying hardcopies of e-books you've read? Are e-books the future? Or will we always have books?


We would love to hear what you think about e-books and the future of reading. 

Announcing the winner and a special offer!

The Library at the Hotel de Ville, Paris

Thank you to everyone who took part in our giveaway! We had a great response and will be doing more in the future. Be sure to "Follow" the blog and "Like" our Facebook page so that you don't miss any future giveaways or promotions.

For everyone who entered and didn't win, we would like to offer you a free study guide download with a $75.00 purchase! The offer is good for the next two weeks (expiration date: April 13). To get your free download, simply place an order on our website and be sure to include a downloadable study guide. At checkout enter this promotion code: blogpro. The price of the study guide download will be subtracted from your order!

And, now for the winner:
StacyMar 27, 2012 09:21 AM

Would be blessed to win anything! We are doing Early American History next year so that would be great!!!

Congratulations Stacy! Send me an email at rebeccaATbfbooksDOTcom and we'll make sure you get your prize. 

Thanks again, everyone! We really enjoyed this and hope that you did as well. Have a wonderful weekend, and as always, happy reading.

Joan of Arc, Six Hundred Years Later

2012 marks the 600th anniversary of the birth of Joan of Arc! This fascinating young woman captured the passions and imaginations of people in her own day and continues to do so. As someone so young, she was a mere 17 years old when she first led the troops of France against England, her legacy has long outlived her and continues to grow. Both fervently admired and coldly ridiculed, Joan's life continues to be documented, commented upon, written about, and even diagnosed. On one side she's deemed a hero, others see her as deluded but inspiring, film versions have given us a character who is bizarre and out-of-touch, paintings often portray a dreamy looking pale-faced girl gazing towards the heavens while others show a strong military leader rushing into battle. It seems her place in history will always stir up controversy and speculations, but to millions of boys and girls, she is one of those historical figures that inspires.

A woman of fervent faith and grand vision her life story captures young minds–it doesn't get much better than an illiterate girl turning the tide of a bloody, century-long war. As a child, I remember first reading about Joan and being fascinated by every aspect of her life; her visions, the passion, her ability to inspire courage in the men she led into battle. I could just imagine her charging into the fray atop her brave horse, armour gleaming. It struck me that her simple view of what was right cut through all the intrigue and politicking and lobbying that took place in the Dauphin's court, paralyzing the young, weak ruler. Joan had seen firsthand the effects of this horrific war. She was a peasant's daughter and lived through frequent raids on her village. She saw her hometown burned to the ground by English soldiers eager for booty. Guided by her visions and voices, she was determined to bring this injustice to an end. The leaders of France, concerned mainly with their own well being, were continually switching sides, vying for power, and undermining the Dauphin, a character who failed to inspire anyone. They were not bearing the brunt of the war like the people in Joan's village. When Joan comes on the scene she is not acting out of selfish ambition, she simply wants what is right and just.

If you want to learn more about Joan, there are several fantastic biographies on her life available at BFB. Each of these books goes beyond the popular portrayals that have been handed down through history and give us a picture of a very complex young woman. My personal favorite is Joan of Arc by Mark Twain. It is difficult to imagine the author known for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer tackling the biography of this a girl living six hundred years ago, but Twain accomplished the feat with grace and heart. He spent twelve years of his life in research and writing and it is said that he considered Joan of Arc to be his greatest work. At 452 pages this is an undertaking, but it is well-worth ones time. A great family read-aloud if you have older children, teens also love this book. And we've known a few moms and dads who have mysteriously disappeared for hours when they picked up this tome.

For junior high readers, Beyond the Myth takes young readers deep into the details of Joan's life. As alluded to in the title, there is a lot of mythology that surrounds Joan but this book rebuilds Joan's life story with remarkable research and is based on first hand accounts. Readers will learn about the young heroine's struggles with convincing the Dauphin of her worthiness, they'll read about her visions, battles, capture and interrogation. Well-written, historically accurate, Brooks shows respect for Joan by fleshing out the details of a young woman who can often be portrayed as flat and peculiar.

And for readers in 4th-7th grade, check out Joan of Arc, Warrior Saint by Jay Williams. This biography is a great choice for introducing your middle school students to Joan. It provides a well-rounded historical biography without the fluff so common Joan of Arc biographies written at this level. Readers will begin in her little village of Domrémy, France and follow Joan as her life takes her far beyond the small world of her birth.

What better way to celebrate the sexcentenary of Joan's birth that learning more about her fascinating life? And, if you haven't already, be sure to enter our giveaway where you'll have a chance to win two free downloads of our study guides! 

Homeschooling as an Equalizer

There is a graphic that has been floating around on the internet recently and I've found it fascinating. As the homeschooling movement grows in size and multiple generations of people can now state that they are either homeschool grads or were homeschooled for a portion of their education, it's getting easier and easier to measure their achievements, academic records, and even adjustment to post college life.

According to the data, homeschoolers are more successful than their public school peers when it comes to performance on standardized tests in all subjects. They are also more likely to graduate from college and have higher post-secondary GPAs. As a disclaimer, this entry is not meant to be an indictment of those who choose to send their children to public schools. Multiple studies have also shown that students in public schools with highly involved parents are much more successful than those whose parents are not involved. I am also not going to address issues of poverty and education. I just want to talk through some of the data on this graphic.

What I find fascinating in these statistics is that homeschooling is a great equalizer. I find this so exciting and inspiring. Study after study has linked student success with family income. For students in public schools, those from lower income levels are consistently outperformed by their wealthier peers. Those whose parents are more educated also perform better. With homeschooling, disparities in family income resulted in virtually no differences in a students' success. Whether parents made under $34K per year or more than $70K per year, the students performance was much higher than their public schooled peers and only 4 percentage points separated the least and most well off homeschooled students. This trend continued despite "per student" expenditures. Home schooled students whose parents spent less than $600 per year per student only performed four percentage points lower than those who spent more than $600. Current public school spending is over $11K per student per year. Obviously, homeschooling is much less expensive (not factoring for lost income for the parent that chooses to stay at home) as you are not paying for full-time teachers, building maintenance, support staff, etc., This entry is not trying to tackle issues of public educational spending. What I am interested in at the moment, is the idea that a good education is not something you can put a specific price tag on. I think these homeschooled students are not benefiting because of what their parents spend on education each year. Instead, they are benefiting from their parents' investment of time, energy, and vision. These parents are affirming the importance of education in their student's minds and this is crucial for a child's academic success. The students are also benefiting from customized educational programs as well as time to read, explore, and create. Unstructured time, as we've seen from previous entries (here and here), is so important to a child's creative development and homeschooling allows students more freedom to pursue their own interests.

Source:http://www.collegeathome.com/homeschool-domination/

This study brings up many interesting issues and I think that homeschooling families will find it an encouraging affirmation of their efforts. The United States faces diverse issues with its educational system and I hope that homeschoolers will be a part of the discussion and effort to seek solutions. I would love to hear your thoughts on this graphic. I also wish that it included more information on people who are homeschooling on very small budgets. Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences. Have a great weekend! And if you've enjoyed this post, feel free to pass it on to your friends.

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Product Feature: The Revised and Expanded Early American History for Grades K-3

We are really excited about the changes in this study guide. A long-time best seller and many people's introduction to teaching history using literature, Early American History, A Literature Approach for grades K-3 was one of our very first study guides! In this new edition we have added two wonderful books, cut out a resource, expanded the lesson content, added helpful and fun links to websites, and more! The guide is also now in full-color with informational pictures, diagrams, poems, historic artwork and illustrations.

Three major changes were the elimination of America's Providential History, a costly resource that many parents did not use and of which only twenty pages were referred to in the study guide. By cutting this out, we simplified the program and ensured that all books were age-appropriate. We were able to add two titles, recently republished by BFB: Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin by Marguerite Henry and The Year of the Horseless Carriage 1801 by Genevieve Foster. We believe the addition of these two titles adds a further richness to the study as well as fills some gaps that existed in the previous version. 

Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin tells the inspiring story of America's first great artist, a young Quaker who comes of age with the young country. As a Quaker youth, Benjamin was prohibited from painting but his parents eventually saw that his talents were a gift. As a painter, West had a unique vantage point from which to record the history of his lifetime. The most powerful people in the world sat and had their portraits done by him. It is from his portraits that we know what Paul Revere, King George, and others looked like. We're sure your children will enjoy the story of West's childhood adventures with Grimalkin!

We have been Genevieve Foster fans for a long time and are thrilled to be able to bring back into print one of her lesser-known titles. The Year of the Horseless Carriage 1801 explores the dynamic events at the turn of the 19th century. Students will read about Napoleon's march across Europe, Jefferson's many pursuits, Dr. Livingston's explorations of Africa, Sacajawea and Lewis and Clark pushing past the known frontiers of the American West, Dolley Madison's feisty personality as she carved a place for herself in the White House. Complete with Foster's lovely illustrations, this book expands the historical and geographical reaches of the previous edition of the study guide. 

With 107 lessons, this guide may be completed in one year if three lessons are completed each week. This is usually appropriate for students in 2nd and 3rd grade but we recommend taking it a bit more slowly with younger students. Feel free to stretch it out and make it last for two years if you have a kindergartener or 1st grader, or are working with students at multiple levels. There are lessons with discussion topics, writing assignments, activity ideas, and much more. As with all of our guides, they're set up to be just that, guides! We know that each family has a different academic approach and each child learns at a different pace and in diverse ways. This information is there for your use, to best serve your students and family. The hardcopy version is available for $17.95 and the instant download is available for $15.95.

Please feel free to leave comments or questions. We'd love to hear from you if you've done the study. What are your thoughts? And if you're enjoying these entries, please share them with your friends. Thanks for reading!