My kids LOVE to read. It can be difficult to plan school lessons sometimes, because they ‘read ahead’ and spoil the surprise of the books I was planning to use with them. I decided to go with it, though, and now I just look for great books to place strategically around the house, and they quickly get devoured.
That’s why we rarely use entire formal curriculums – we love to create our own out of books and pieces and parts, and that’s also why we’re happy for the opportunity to review Library and Educational Services LLC.
Library and Educational Services LLC sent three kinds of resources for review, and we were able to choose from a huge selection for each type. My kids loved being able to choose from so many books!
The first one they selected was from the “Who Was” series. These books are everywhere, and my kids love them! They chose “Who Was Robert Ripley,” and My Little Man gave it a thumbs-up review. We enjoyed the detailed information, smooth storytelling, and multitude of sketches throughout the book. There are a huge number of these available, so whether you want to learn about scientists, writers, places, or events, there’s sure to be a title to grab your interest. (They’re even on sale right now!)
My Little Man chose a bundle of science books about predators for his pick. He loves reading science books and will read all kinds, and he retains random science trivia like Robert Ripley himself. He really liked reading about all of the animals in these books, but they were perhaps a little young for him. The animals aren’t your most commonly known species, but, science guy that he is, he would have enjoyed even more detail and the inclusion of related animals to the ones mentioned. That’s picky, but science facts are his thing. If your child is younger, or doesn’t have the memory of a Jeopardy champion, or is just learning about the variety of animals around the world, then this would be a great series for you.
We chose one CD from the Lifehouse Theater CDs. It was called Hiding in Plain Sight and was about slaves in the American South escaping to Philadelphia. We love listening to audiobooks, and while we’ve only listened to a few audio dramas, we’ve enjoyed them. This one was right up there with the best.
When the drama began, I thought it was going to be cheesy – but I was wrong. The backstory was creatively given, and the conflict was presented that way, too. I like the way that the characters logically worked through their problem, but their courage and bravery were highlighted, as well.
In fact, the main characters were fighting injustice, but as obstacles kept arising, at one point I was tempted to leave the room because the whole situation was making me angry! Not because I didn’t like the story, but the evil in the historic plot was plain frustrating. I’m glad I stayed put, though, because it had a rousing ending with a very positive resolution. It was a great story, with much to discuss, and I love that it was based on a true story.
This series, from the Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction Books line, though, was far and away my favorite. Because we base so much of our learning off of quality books, it’s wonderful to find resources that help you delve deeper into literature, It’s even better when those books help keep the wonder and excitement of the original piece alive.
That’s what this series does. It combines information about the author’s life with the setting and real history of the piece of literature. It’s the size of a picturebook but divided into chapters for easy use, and the pages are full of information, both text and pictures, including primary sources. For this history-loving family, that’s important.
This particular book, called ‘Johnny Tremain’ and the American Revolution, was full of information about the Sons of Liberty and historical references to the Revolution that can still be seen in Boston today. As we visited Boston a few years ago, and saw some of the artifacts mentioned in the book, this was doubly exciting for us.
In fact, the same thing bugged both My Big Helper and I, and it’s really a good thing: the text continues from page to page, smoothly, without page breaks and with few subheadings. That’s great, except when the sidebars appear with primary documents and extra information, it was hard to find a good place to pause from the primary text to read that – and we both wanted to read every word.
We both love Johnny Tremain, and the extra information in this book added lots of depth to the story. I’m excited to use these with her American Literature class this upcoming school year.
In fact, while surfing through the Library and Educational Services LLC website, I found a lot of books I’d really love to use for school. There’s lots that I could use, either back in my public school classroom or now for our homeschool. I love the wealth of science readers, the primary source biographies and history books, and the Christian resources, too. As an educational wholesaler, this company primarily stocks materials for children – and they have a lot to choose from.
What’s really cool, though, is that while there’s a huge selection, and you get real, library-quality books, the prices are good. Really good. Many resources are only a few dollars each, and that’s way better than you’d pay for this kind of quality resource anywhere else.
I’m definitely adding Library and Educational Services LLC to my resource arsenal. I bet you’ll want to, too – so go and check it out. Don’t take my word for it, though – you can read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew by clicking on the graphic below.
