The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

by Jacqueline Kelly
illustrated by NA

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Religious/Secular Content	:	It talks about Darwin's theory of evolution and makes no arguments about it; mentions religion, church, Bible but not God. Fairly secular.
Adult Content	:	Does talk a bit about courting, crushes, kissing.
Mature Topics	:	Instance of referring to photographs from the Civil War, describes a bit; one girl has a brother that is 'addled', describes him briefly in one part of the book; amputation is described (the experience, not the procedure) as well as burning the appendages later. Calpurnia wonders about seeing a dead body.
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	There are a few words, 'darn' and pi**.
Magic/Witchcraft	:	No
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	Yes; Calpurnia backtalks a few times. She also meddles where she shouldn't in her brother's affairs and it causes some strife in the family.
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	Yes; Calpurnia's grandfather drinks a few times and is trying to make pecan alcohol; he gives it to Calpurnia, who is 11 at the time, as well as offers it to her again later. Calpurnia's mother also drinks a tonic that is 20% alcohol for headaches. There is wine at the holidays.
Violence/Abuse	:	The piano teacher thwacks Calpurnia's knuckles. Two brothers have a scuffle over a girl. One of Calpurnia's brothers pinches her to try to get her in trouble.
Educational Value	:	Yes; many scientific names and descriptions.
Positive/Negative Message	:	Neutral. More positive.

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This is a great book. Those who are interested in nature study will enjoy the theme throughout this book. 


It takes place in 1899 to the New Year of 1900 in a smallish Texas town. Calpurnia, or Callie Vee to most of her family and friends, is 11 3/4 years old and the only girl. Her oldest brother, Harry, dotes on her and she is his 'own pet'. He starts her love of science (and nature) by giving her a nature journal to write down all she sees. 


At first she writes down very little but through the book she progresses to more detail descriptions. We are only given a glimpse into what she wrote a few times and later it is only the questions she is pondering that we know she writes in her journal. When she comes upon a strange occurrence, she asks anyone she can what it means. No one knows and really no one seems to care. 


Someone either tells her to go as Granddaddy or she decides to ask him herself. He is someone that most of the kids are afraid of. He doesn't talk much and when he does most of the adults just humor him because he is old. Calpurnia is just afraid. When she finally does get the nerve to ask him, he tells her to figure it out. Not much help, huh? 


But it is! After that, she starts asking the real questions that will help her find the answers. When she comes to the answer herself, she tells Granddaddy- and their relationship blooms from there.


There is a lot of humor in this but some may be 'naughty' humor, I suppose. Granddaddy gives Calpurnia some pecan alcohol that he is trying to perfect and although it's a shock, I'll bet Calpurnia never drank again! He also teaches her the words to pirate and sea chanteys with 'naughty' words. 


In Calpurnia's time, women were to stay home and had to know how to cook, sew, knit, etc. Calpurnia doesn't want to do that but is torn between what is expected of her and her gender and what she actually wants to do. 


Very good book that I think kids and parents will enjoy. If it were a read-aloud it would quite easy to skip the few parts that are possibly 'objectionable'.

Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile

by Gloria Houston
illustrated by Susan Condie Lamb

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Religious/Secular Content	:	-no
Adult Content	:	-no
Mature Topics	:	-no
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	-no
Magic/Witchcraft	:	-no
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	-no
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	-no
Violence/Abuse	:	-no
Educational Value	:	-yes
Positive/Negative Message	:	-Teaches the history of a library.

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Oh, another great picture book!! This one is written by the same author that wrote My Great-Aunt Arizona...look into it, it's a good one as well!!

I think I'm partial to this book because it takes place in North Carolina-our home!

The book opens and you meet Dorothy, a little girl who loves books and loves people. She loves to loan out her books to her friends so that they too can find the treasures in them. Dorothy then determines that when she grows up she will become the librarian of the fine brick library in the center of the town square in her hometown of Massachusetts.

We find out however that even after attending college; preparing herself to be the best educated librarian that she can be; her plans don't happen like she thought.

The story then takes readers to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina where Miss Dorothy's librarian dreams take a route that she didn't quite expect.

Oh, this is a lovely book!! It displays how one person's love of books can permeate her surroundings and affect the lives of those she comes in contact with. It teaches that although things may not turn out exactly as we had planned that doesn't mean that our dreams won't be fulfilled. Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile also inspires a love and respect for libraries and librarians alike.

If you are a book lover-and you probably wouldn't be reading this blog if you weren't-then you need to check out this and other books by Gloria Houston. You won't be disappointed.

This book would also be a good addition to any study on libraries that you may be doing in your homeschool!  

The Firehouse Light

by Janet Nolan
illustrated by Marie Lafrance

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Religious/Secular Content	:	-no
Adult Content	:	-no
Mature Topics	:	-no
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	-no
Magic/Witchcraft	:	-no
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	-no
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	-no
Violence/Abuse	:	-no
Educational Value	:	-yes
Positive/Negative Message	:	-no

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We recently ended our 2010/2011 school year with a trip to a local fire department. It was a pretty last minute deal but I am so glad that we went. The fireman was extremely detailed and the kids (especially my son who went clad in his very own fireman outfit) loved it! Afterward we took a trip to the library and like all other Mom's out there I decided to look for a book that would compliment what we had just learned.

I happened across The Firehouse Light book by accident and immediately fell in love with the illustrations. (What can I say, I am visual...pictures attract me!!) They were done using acrylics and are a feast for the eyes!!


Anyway, the book! It's story starts out with this line, "A long time ago, when horse-drawn buggies delivered ice to keep food cold, and laundry dried on ropes in the sun, fires were fought with buckets, axes, and hand-pulled carts with water hoses." As the story unfolds, we find out that these poor firefighters had to fiddle with with lanterns in pitch-dark sheds to quickly find the equipment they needed. Then, one day, and elderly citizen brings to the firefighters a gift of a single lightbulb.


The book then skips ahead 10 years with every turn of the page and the readers learn what life was like in that little town for its citizens and its firefighters after 10 years of having the light, 20 years, 30 years on up to 100 years. And that lightbulb, well, it stays lit.

At the 100 year mark the townspeople throw a long deserved celebration for their faithful lightbulb. And ya know what, in the afterward at the end of the story we learn that the bulb-the same lightbulb-is still hanging from a single cord twenty feet above the ground in the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department's Station #6. It even has its own backup generator (to keep it going), webcam and website: http://www.centennialbulb.org/.

It's an amazingly sweet story that teaches so much! First of all it teaches history; the evolution of fighting fires, the evolution of a town and the evolution of it's people. It teaches math; counting by 10's up to 100. And it teaches, although quite subtly, how important faithfulness and dedication are to our society.

This is a great book! I highly recommend it for all of your firefighting enthusiasts!!

The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari

by Donita K. Paul and Evangeline Denmark
illustrated by Vincent Nguyen

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Religious/Secular Content	:	- Mostly secular but does have one Bible verse
Adult Content	:	- None
Mature Topics	:	- None
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	- None
Magic/Witchcraft	:	- None
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	- None
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	- None
Violence/Abuse	:	- None
Educational Value	:	- Teaches about overcoming fear; friendship
Positive/Negative Message	:	- Positive messages of overcoming fear and friendships

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The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari
Authors: Donia K. Paul and Evangeline Denmark
Illustrated by Vincent Nguyen
Hardback, 36 pages
ISBN: 978-0-307-44645-9
Retail: $11.99

We had the opportunity to review this cute little book and we really enjoyed it!  The illustrations are very good and the story is interesting.  DS3 really liked it...he wanted me to read it to him several times!

The story is about Roger, the turtle, and Padraig, the dragon, who are best friends.  They decide to spend the night out in the woods together but end up being very afraid of every sound they hear.  They do eventually overcome their fear to save a baby "leopard".  The story is written in a very unique manner that is incredibly fun to read.

The very last page of the book (glued to the back cover) is also something very nice - it is a Bible verse (Deuteronomy 31:6; of which this book is based off) along with some discussion starters.  Nice addition!

We would definately recommend this book to others.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Blogging 4 Books in exchange for my honest review. No compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

Little Star by Anthony DeStefano

by Anthony DeStefano
illustrated by Mark Elliott

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Religious/Secular Content	:	- Religions
Adult Content	:	- None
Mature Topics	:	- None
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	- None
Magic/Witchcraft	:	- None
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	- None
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	- None
Violence/Abuse	:	- None
Educational Value	:	- Teaches the story of Jesus
Positive/Negative Message	:	- Teaches that Jesus came to save all

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Publisher: Multnomah Books
Hardback, 40 pages
Recommended Ages: 4 - 8
ISBN 978-0-307-45805-6
Retail Price: $12.9

This is a childrens book that tells the story of Jesus in a way that I have never even thought of - from that of the little shining star.

There are two parts to this story - the story of the star and the story of Jesus.

The story of the star talks about how no one likes him, how he is too small and how everyone ignores him.

The second part of the story is about Jesus, about how He came to serve and save "the little people".

Although I think the author was trying to tie the story of the star to how Jesus came to save the ones no one likes - I didn't really like how it was tied together (or wasn't really tied together).  I did appreciate  the part of the little star story where even though he was the littlest - he was the only one who saw Jesus as the King through the poverty and circumstances.

If you are looking for a book that tells the story of Jesus in an entirely new way...this is the book for you!

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Blogging 4 Books in exchange for my honest review. No compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

Soldier Fritz and The Enemies He Fought

by Emma Leslie
illustrated by C.A. Ferrier

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Religious/Secular Content	:	- Christian
Adult Content	:	- No
Mature Topics	:	- No
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	- No
Magic/Witchcraft	:	- No
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	- Fritz struggles with obedience, but after he learns of the bible, he starts learning to control his temper.
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	- No, but beer was mentioned once, but not as in anyone actually drinking it.
Violence/Abuse	:	- Yes, Fritz hit his sister, and she fell down the stairs, and was really injured. This really turned hi life around however, and he never mistreated his sister again.
Educational Value	:	- Yes
Positive/Negative Message	:	- Yes, really builds your faith, and teaches your children how to learn self- control

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The reformation is my favorite time period in history, and this book was a very exciting to read.  
This book is about a family that all they have ever known is what the preists have taught them. 
One day a peddler comes to visit, and he has a bag of gifts, and Fritz chooses the Bible. 
He starts to read the Bible, and he hears of Luther and all that he is doing, and he want to be a good soldier like Luther. 
He learns from the scriptures, and what it takes to be a soldier of God. 
His mother notices a difference in Fritz's behavior, and she starts to read the Bible herself. She realizes that what the priests are teaching does not line up with Scripture, and vows, never to pray to anyone but the Lord himself again, and to put her faith in Christ only, and not a man.
As they learn more about Jesus, and how He died for them, they begin to separate themselves from the church. 
The priest is very upset about this, and actually tries to take them prisoner for their beliefs, so they have to flee to the forest to live. 
While there, they are able to teach the "Charcoal Burners" all about Jesus, and how He died for their sins too. 
This book is so amazing in the fact that it teaches the Gospel, and is not afraid to teach against the Roman Church. 
It is an inspiring book, that builds your faith and gives you an understanding of what others had to go through for their faith. 
This is now a household favorite in our home.

Listen to Jesus! (God Rocks! Bibletoons)

by Bruce W. Stacey

illustrated by Phillip Williams

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Religious/Secular Content	:	Religious
Adult Content	:	No
Mature Topics	:	No
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	No
Magic/Witchcraft	:	No
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	No
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	No
Violence/Abuse	:	No
Educational Value	:	Yes your child will get educated in the Word of God
Positive/Negative Messages	:	Positive

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This book is based on the series that comes on Smile of A Child Network. Reading level for this book is ages 4-8. This book helps teach your children to walk in love at all times. Even when someone is not treating them right to always respond in love. My children love watching this show and now since I purchased the books they're enjoying reading the books as well!!

Little Scraggly Hair: A Dog on Noah's Ark

by Lynn Cullen

illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers

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Religious/Secular Content	:	Yes. The Noah's Ark theme is common to nearly all cultures on earth including Christianity, Judaism and Moslem. However, this is a fantastical, fictional tale with little regard for historical accuracy.
Adult Content	:	No; unless you count the implied reference to all life drowning in the flood waters.
Mature Topics	:	Rejection. The dog is an outcast among outcasts. Noah's neighbors ridicule him for building a boat and for keeping a dog.
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	No
Magic/Witchcraft	:	No
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	Noah's children are ashamed of him and lazy, refusing to do the work assigned to them. Noah's wife is angry with him. All of them are disrespectful complainers. Even Noah guiltily takes the dog in the house when he knows his wife will not like it and pacifies her objections with a false promise.
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	No
Violence/Abuse	:	Reference to people being mean to each other, but no specifics. And again, the implied notion that all people on earth parish by the flood.
Educational Value	:	An excellent example of a tall tale; would fit well into a literary study of this genre. The hick accent in which it is told is quite well written.  There are many opportunities for discussing the fruits of the spirit, how they are violated and how they could be applied.
Positive/Negative Messages	:	The lonely, rejected dog endears itself to Noah and eventually to his daughter, where he finds a family to love him and a forever home.

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In the spirit of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories comes this delightful, fantastical tale of how dogs got wet noses.

If you can stand the melding of a true story with the inaccuracies of a tall tale, this is a darling story that I would recommend for all ages. If you are sensitive to your children getting inaccurate ideas in their heads about biblical stories, this is one to avoid, for there are many biblical inaccuracies.

BIBLICAL INACCURACIES

1. The bible says Noah had three sons and no daughters who board the ark as adults who are already married. In this book, Noah has two sons and two daughters who board the ark as children.
   
   
2. The bible says Noah took 2 or 7 pairs of each kind of animal, depending on the type of animal. The book says Noah took two of every critter, plus the dog, who did not have a mate when he got on the ark.
   
   
3. The bible says that when the ark was completely loaded and Noah was on board, the LORD shut the door and THEN it began to rain. In the book, it starts to rain before everyone is on the ark and the dog keeps working in the rain.
   
   
4. In the biblical account, the ark is well prepared to meet the needs of its inhabitants. In this book, there is insufficient space and insufficient food.
   
   
5. In the biblical account, Noah sends the dove out after 150 days and watches for its return. In this story, Noah's daughter discovers the dove on the dog's nose on the 40th day.

Ginger Pye

Written and Illustrated by Eleanor Estes

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Religious/Secular Content	:	Secular
Adult Content	:	No
Mature Topics	:	No
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	No
Magic/Witchcraft	:	No
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	No
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	No
Violence/Abuse	:	No
Educational Value	:	Great read aloud for all ages, great mystery that creates many opportunities for critical thinking.
Positive/Negative Message	:	No

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Can I tell you that we have been reading this book FOREVER!! I think it's because of the author's writing style. Let me explain.

This is a very child friendly book. A great read-aloud for all ages. All three of my older children ages 5, 6 and 8 have enjoyed this book. Even hubby enjoyed it when he sat in on it a few times. The author is funny and engaging. However, she does seem to go off on rabbit trails all the time.

The story is about a young boy named Jerry who works hard to earn the money to purchase a dog (Ginger) of his own only to have him stolen on Thanksgiving Day. He and his sister Rachel work tirelessly to try and find the dog and the "Unsavory Character" whom they believe to have stolen Ginger.I will leave it at that so as not to ruin the climax but I feel that Mrs. Estes could've said in maybe 150 pages what she actually said in over 300. Yeah, it's a big book.

One of our favorite characters was Rachel and Jerry's 3 year old uncle, Uncle Benny. So cute and funny! The Pye parents are sweet but the father is quite absent from the story and the Mom appears, but in short instances here and there.


The children enjoyed this book greatly and there was nothing that I was alarmed at while reading it and I'm pretty picky about what we read over here. However she is very wordy as I stated above so that might make it harder for the reader to want to keep up with this book. I know that I wanted to just stop a few times but the children wouldn't let me-they really, really liked it.

A Porcupine Named Fluffy

by Helen Lester

illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

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Religious/Secular Content	:	Not applicable
Adult Content	:	No
Mature Topics	:	No
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	No
Magic/Witchcraft	:	No
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	No
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	No
Violence/Abuse	:	Threat of bullying. One character threatens to "rough up" another.
Educational Value	:	Preschool Read-Aloud or Elementary Reader; an entertaining tale with a subtle, moral message; opportunity to discuss bullying, defensiveness and judging others on superficial means.
Positive/Negative Messages	:	The two main characters struggle with identity issues and making friends, but conquer both in the end.

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Early Reader

Mr. and Mrs. Porcupine, upon having their first child, know that a name has meaning and want to give their son the best advantage, so they shun names about being, well... prickly.  They name their son Fluffy, which he obviously isn't, without thinking this might cause him embarrassment or difficulties.  As Fluffy grows, he tries in vain to make himself into what his name suggests.  Upon failing in this endeavor, he goes for a depressed walk where he meets a rhinoceros who, unbeknownst to him, is having the very same identity crisis, only he deals with it by defensively pushing people away... bullying them.  When the two discover their joint plight, they realize the ridiculousness of their individual efforts to change what is unchangeable, accept themselves and become fast friends.

The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History

by Jane Bingham, Fiona Chandler, Sam Taplin, Jane Chisholm
illustrated by Giacinto Gaudenzi, Ian Jackson, Jeremy Gower, N. J. Hewetson, Lorenzo Cecchi, Justine Torode, David Cuzik, Gary Bines, David Wright

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Religious/Secular Content	:	Secular
Adult Content	:	No
Mature Topics	:	No
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	No
Magic/Witchcraft	:	No
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	No
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	No
Violence/Abuse	:	No
Educational Value	:	Yes
Positive/Negative Message	:	Neutral

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I've marked everything "NO" but this is a history book and there are instances of all of the above mentioned. This book is 'politically correct' however and watches it's word usage. It does have the secular viewpoint of the "Big Bang" theory and is heavy on evolution. 

Being a history text it does talk about the various wars and skirmishes that have taken place through the years but all is done tastefully. This is a very useful book for history. In some parts of the book, the earlier civilizations, there are drawings of statues and idols that may be questionable for some people. On page 109 a clay figure from Catal Huyuk that is thought to be of the Mother Goddess and she is nude but the drawing is a modest one compared to the real life artifacts.

This content guide isn't meant in reference to the links that you can access through Usborne's site because many of those are outside links and may have questionable content.

Chelsea Curtis Fraser: Boys' Book of Battles

1. Religious/ Secular Content: NO
2. Adult Content: NO
3. Mature Topics: YES
4. Strong/ Inappropriate Language: References to race
5. Magic/ Witchcraft/ Fictional Characters: NO
6. Disrespect/ Rebellion: NO
7. Drug/ Alcohol Use: NO
8. Violence/ Abuse: YES
9. Educational Value: YES
10. Positive/ Negative Messages: Positive

Boys' Book of Battles is the story of eleven famous land combats (perhaps some not so well known by today's generation of children...). It includes battles of Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Yorktown, Austerlitz, Waterloo, Gettysburg, Sedan, Ypres, Verdun, Second Marne, and Argonne Meuse. There are inclusions of first person accounts at some of the later battles and this book is graphic in its descriptions.

I marked that there are "Strong/Inappropriate Language" because this book was written in the early 1900's, when some words for certain races were acceptable that today are taboo. Also, for "Disrespect/Rebellion" I marked no, but there are two instances that come to mind of an officer disobeying orders, and the brief account of Benedict Arnold.

Although this book is graphic in its violence, I believe it does have a positive message. Historically this book is very accurate and helpful with learning geography and history during those times. Personally, I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.

Another note, I've tagged it as Elementary but I would really recommend this book for at least 12 years and up.

Betsy Ross: Designer of Our Flag

by Ann Weil

Illustrated by Al Fiorentino

_____________________________________________

1. Religious/ Secular Content: Christian, Quaker          
 2. Adult Content: NO
 3. Mature Topics: YES
 4. Strong/ Inappropriate Language: NO                                             
 5. Magic/ Witchcraft: NO
 6. Disrespect/ Rebellion: YES
 7. Drug/ Alcohol Use: NO
 8. Violence/ Abuse: NO
 9. Educational Value: YES
10. Positive/ Negative Messages: Positive 
________________________________________________________________________

I have to say, I loved this book! I was pre-reading this book for my daughter, and I got hooked. I had to read every word! lol
This book is part of the Childhood of Famous American's series.
This book basically describes Betsy Ross' childhood, and then in the last chapter it describes a little of her adult life, and how she came to make the flag. 
There was so much in this book that I never knew about her life and family.
As I was reading through this book, I thought that if the whole series was this good, I wanted them all!
It is rare to find a good book with nothing inappropriate in it. 
This book is nearly perfect as far as that goes except that there was one thing that bothered me. 
In one part of this book, Betsy and her friend are down at the docks, and a young boy tries to talk to them. 
At first Betsy won't even look at him, and she is thinking  to herself, that her parents told her not to talk to boys she didn't know, and that she should just ignore him. 
She does this for a little while, but then, she eventually talks to him, knowing that her parents would be upset if she did. 
Actually, she even goes with him on a boat, knowing that she should not, and that she would be going against her parents. 
In the book they never say whether or not her parents found out about it, or if she was given any correction.
Now, other than this one thing, this was such a great book! 
For me, I will still let my kids read this book, and use this as a learning tool. I may ask them to point out to me whether or not they found anything in the book that they thought wasn't right, and talk to them about what could happen today, if they went off with a stranger.
In the last chapter, it tells that Betsy's Husband died in a building that exploded.  It does not go into any great detail about it however. It should be OK for most ages, but if you have a younger one that you are reading to, you may just want to skip that sentence. 
This book was very good and I loved how it incorporated other aspects of history into it as well. Your kids will actually remember these history details, the way this book presents them.
Based off of this book, I would definitely check out the rest of the series!