Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
My kids both love obscure historical facts. They love digging into history and finding out what things mean and how they really work, and so when they heard about The Hidden Message of the Great Seal by The Hidden Seal, LLC., they were crazy excited. A whole book about a single item dating back to our nation’s founding? Perfect!
My Little Man couldn’t wait to read it. He confiscated the book as soon as it arrived, and it wasn’t seen again for quite a while. He loved the inset boxes full of information and neat facts. That’s totally his thing.
My Big Helper loved that those boxes contained so much information! The author uses these to showcase his evidence and to support his claims. There are also charts, graphs, and lots of pictures of documents and artifacts. My Big Helper loved studying these. As we’re a history-competition family, I appreciated the way that the author makes his case. It’s hard to argue with visually-documented evidence, and it also shows how important good research skills are. My kids love to go back to the original source when studying history, and The Hidden Message does this fantastically.
My Big Helper also really liked the quotes that are included in the beginning of each chapter – and the great quotes throughout. She was actually so excited to find a quote from her favorite Founding Father that she called to me from another room! Excerpts of Patrick Henry’s famous speech are included in the book, among others by him, and this incredible to see. Although Henry played a crucial role in the founding of the United States and the creation of our government, too few people know anything about him. That cemented our confidence in the author and his vast stores of knowledge.
My Big Helper’s very favorite element of The Hidden Message was the way that it explains the connections between the symbols and their scriptural meanings. She loved seeing a direct explanation of the faith of our Founding Fathers and the way that they incorporated that into our country’s infancy.
Physically, the book reminds me of a coffee table book. It’s large in size and full of color – it has many pictures, charts, graphs drawings, and more. That’s where the resemblance ends, though. The Hidden Message of the Great Seal is so much more than a coffee table book: it’s a message from the Founding Fathers brought straight to the modern age. Through extensive research and linear structure, the author makes a compelling case for his belief that we live in important times.
In fact, The Hidden Message of the Great Seal is so meaty that I think it’s definitely for older kids, those who would be most likely to have the background knowledge of our country’s founding and the people who created it, as well as the roles they played. That alone is a mighty task, but when you through in the abstract thinking skills and connection to scripture, this isn’t a book for elementary students.
It would a great supplement to a class about the Revolution or Civics, or to walk through as a family, when you can discuss the elements and be sure that everyone is understanding what’s happening between the pages.
The Hidden Message of the Great Seal contains important lessons about the creation of the United States and the Founding Fathers. This information is critical to understanding how our country was designed and is supposed to work, and it’s something all Americans should know – but don’t take my word for it. Click on the image below to read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.
Michael Kanis, the author of The Hidden Message of the Great Seal, wants to help you get your own copy of his book. Although it retails on Amazon for $29.95, you can purchase it for 50% off until May 30, 2020, with the code HOMESCHOOL if you order directly from his website.
