Sarah's Wish

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I was so very fortunate to receive a complimentary and autographed copy of Sarah's Wish, by Jim Baumgardner to review, as a member of The Homeschool Crew. Sarah's Wish is the first book in a Christian Historical Fiction Series.

Before I tell you about the book, I want to share with you my thoughts about the author Jim Baumgardner. During the review process, we as the crew, often will receive a few emails from the publisher/author/creator of what we are reviewing. Mr. Baumgardner has been a joy! In fact he has been a hoot! LOL!
The emails that he sent us have actually had me giggling right out loud! And the good thing about that, is that his wit is sprinkled throughout the story Sarah's Wish.

Here is how Mr. Baumgardner introduced himself to the crew:

"I am a 62-year-old grandfather of nine grandchildren, all homeschooled by my two daughters and one daughter-in-law. The Sarah Books are authored by me for my grandchildren.  I say that so that you will know these books do n ot have any sex, profanity, or anything that would be offensive to young readers. I would never subject my grandchildren to such writing. "

I have to tell you, I just loved this book!

I'll be honest with you, when I began reading the book, I did not read the back of the book, I just opened it up and read it. At least, that is how I started reading it... you'll have to keep reading to see how I finished the book!  Anyhow, I loved reading the book only knowing the setting, and not the premise. The only bit of information I had  was that it was set in 1858, Ohio.

As I read the book, it reminded me of a Stephen Spielberg film. Think Indiana Jones... when you sit down to watch one of the Indy movies, within the first five minutes of the film, some major action scene unfolds and you are totally immersed in the story.

That is exactly how Sarah's Wish begins. And before you know it, you have a hard time putting the book down, you want to know what is going to happen to sweet Sarah next.  And because I did not read the "sleeve" information, I was reading in anticipation of  what I thought would come next. And I loved that!  However, I feel that it would be a bit of an injustice to not share some of what I found in the story with you.

***Spoiler Alert***
Don't read this section if you do not want to know about the story. Scroll down to the next set of ****.

As I mentioned earlier, the story takes place in 1858, Ohio. Just prior to The Civil War. Sarah is orphaned and left with the

responsibility of delivering 'the packages' that had just arrived at their home. Her mother had always told her that they must not tell anyone about 'the packages'. It must be kept secret. What are these packages??

We quickly learn that 'packages' were runaway slaves traveling along the Underground Railroad. They used this name as to not tip off the slave catchers.

Sarah's Wish is indeed about Sarah's Wish, however this is historical fiction. So, the setting of the Underground  Railroad, and Sarah's heart to help these dear souls to find freedom are throughout the story. Along with the adventures of Sarah and the people in her life.

End of Spoiler!!!************

The characters in the story are vivid indeed, especially Granny Evans. She speaks with sayings that I have heard, or remind me of something that my grandfather from Georgia would say! And I love those colloquialisms. Doc Baum, the town doctor is the great, great grandfather of the author,  Jim Baumgardner. Talk about having a connection.

An aspect that I really like about this book is that it is unabashedly Christian. When you are reading it you know where each of the characters stand.    As Sarah is on her journey, praying for her wish, each time she is feeling low, a butterfly flitters by and lifts her spirits. Reminding her to keep her faith!

This book as been a hit in my house! I now have a wish of my own! The rest of the books in the Sarah series have been placed on my "wish-list"! As I told you at the beginning of this review. I started out reading this book. However, I quickly discovered that my book was not only autographed to me... there is also a link to download an audio version of the book!!! Wahoo!! So I ended up listening to the whole thing ( listened to the parts I already read) on my computer! I was drawn in to the story! It was amazing. Very similar to the old time radio shows! (As mentioned in the beginning of the book!)

As many of you know, I have several special needs in my house. So it is such a blessing to have quality Christian Historical Fiction in audio form, in order to help my struggling readers enjoy this amazing story!

Because this is historical fiction, there are phrases and words that are no longer in our vernacular, so Mr. Baumgardner has included a glossary of terms. While there are terms that are included in this story, that are offensive, we must look at the time frame of our history that we are discussing. And I have to tell you that it was handled very well. I commend Mr. Baumgardner for painting what I think is a good picture of that time period. ( considering I was not alive then )

Sarah's Wish is available at www.sarahbooks.net for $9.99. You, too, can have your copy autographed! You will also find the other books in the Sarah Series available for individual purchase or bundles.

There is also a free monthly email newsletter available called "Sarah's Web Newsletter. You will find history facts, a question of the month among other fun tidbits. You can sign up for that on Sarah's Website.

When you visit the website, read the books, and look at the newsletter, you can see that the Sarah Series is a labor of love. I would like to thank Mr. Baumgardner for introducing us to Sarah!

If you would like to see what the rest of the crew has to say, please visit the crew blog!

******This just in******

We have a special offer for the readers of our blogs. If you are interested in the Sarah Series, Mr. Baumgardner has offered you a special. Here it is:

Mail Order Only:

Sarah’s Wish – 126 pages $8.50 retail: $10.99 save $2.49

Sarah’s Promise – 245 pages $10.50 retail: $14.99 save $4.49

Sarah’s Escape – 304 pages $15.50 retail: $21.99 save $6.49

Extra special offer: Purchase all of the items above and add an extra copy of Sarah’s Wish for $4.00. You can give it to a friend. They will think you are great!

If you are interested in this offer, please send me an email at Jsouthern93(at)gmail(dot)com. And I will email you the required order form.

Mr. Baumgardner sent us this offer after our reviews were posted. I wanted to share it with you. However, with this offer, we may be eligible to recieve and additional free book. Please, know that I wrote my review prior to this offer. The review reflects my honest opinions.

Rime to Read

 

Once again, as a member of the Homeschool Crew, we have been able to use a nifty program! Istarted using it with my daughter. She is a late bloomer reader. She doesn't have disabilities, she just has very little interest. We have been working through other programs, which I will not mention. So she did start this program with basic letter sounds knowledge.

However, it has been great for her to have this reinforcement. One of the pluses with the program is that the books are on the computer. She absolutley loves the computer, so anything that she can do on the computer, is already a bonus!

Another neat thing that theyh ave recently added to the program is that you can click on the color coded words, and the word will be read out loud for the child. Now there have been a few glitches, however, they are working those out as we speak.

They do have an option to print out each book, if you would rather read them on paper. However, I really did not like that option. The books are just so much better on the computer, in my opinion. However, if you are a paper person, you do have that option. Now, what I did do, is I went to the 20th book, and printed out the last page. On that last page there is a grid. And in each box of the grid, it has all the words the child has learned in each of the books. ( one book, for each box of the grid). So I printed it out,  put her name and date on the top, and then as she read each book, she put a ticker on her "Reading Chart".  She has loved that!! I would highly recommened that to anyone using this program!

Now lets get down to brass tacks. What are the costs? You have 2 options. You can by the books, in sets. There are 5 sets of 4 books. Each book set costs $9.99. However, you can purchase all 20 books, for $44.99, which gives you a savings of $4.96. If you are interested in these books, I would recommend purchasing the entire set.

You may be asking yourself, what makes these books different than other beginning reader books. For our family, it was the interactive feature of the program. The stories were cute and my daughter enjoyed them. If you have a brand new reader, I would recommend this handy little resource.

Please visit them at www.rimetoread.com and check it out for yourselves!

Happy Reading!

 

 

 

And Then Mama Said......It takes Time To Learn How To Read, by Gena Suarez

    Enchanting! That is how I would describe this sweet story written by Gena Suarez of The Old Schoolhouse magazine. I have just finished reading this charming story, And Then Mama Said...It Takes Time to Learn How to Read with my non reader. I won't give her age, but this is indeed something she has been working hard at accomplishing.

   We both enjoyed the story. She enjoyed the pictures and the story. I enjoyed the fact that it was a sweet homeschool family, recognizing that God has gifted each us differently.

  You see, my daughter that I read the story to, is my youngest. My eldest has learning disabilites. And this story touched my heart on so many levels. This will be a story that I will read to him as well.

This story is going to be a family classic for sure. At the bargain price of $9.95, you just can't go wrong. Then add to that you will also have access to an activity book to go with it. In the activity book, you will find coloring pages, mazes, science sheets and much more!

Also, if you would like Gena Suarez to sign the book, you can note that in the comment section of your order, and she will. How great is that!

Run on over to the Schoolhouse Store and check out this family treat!

Happy Reading!!!

Salem Ridge Press

    As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew we had the privilege of reviewing 3 books from Salem Ridge Press. Prior to this, I had not heard of this company. So I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of these books.

   In the years past, I have gone to Gutenburg to access old books for my children to read, or for us to read aloud as a family. The reason for this, is I have much more confidence of finding books that will fit our moral standards,by looking at old literature.  The down side of this is that the end result is a stack of pages printed off the computer, in a notebook, and not a nice book to add to my book shelf and hold in my hands. I love the feel of the real thing.

  What Salem Ridge Press has done for you is search out the very best children's book of the 1800's and the early 1900's. Their goal is to "republish books that are wholesome, exciting, and well written."  After going through the books, we were given, which were:

 

Glaucia the Greek Slave, by Emma Leslie

Mary Jane Her Book, by Clara Ingram Judson

The White Seneca, by William W. Canfield

And browsing their website , I have found they have been successful at just that.  A bonus, is that on their website they have sample chapters of each of their titles. This allows you to get a peek inside the book, to see if it would be a good fit for you and your family.

 I would like to tell you a little bit about this company and it's founder. Because, after learning about this company, I have confidence in what they put forth.

Let me introduce you to Daniel Mills, founder of Salem Ridge Press. Daniel is a homeschool graduate who loves the Lord and desires to serve Him and other people, especially other homeschooling families, through his business.  When Daniel graduated from high school in 2003, he pursued training in Disaster Reliefe and Search and Rescue.  However, in November of 2005 he started Salem Ridge Press. When Daniel was a teen, he read old books. Two in particular, At Seneca Castle, by William Canfield and Our Fellows, by Harry Castlemon, planted the seed of desire to see them republished.

The philosophy of SRP is found in the bible "Whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, thinkon these things." Philippians 4:8. This is a verse we study often in our home. Daniel understands the influence good literature ( or bad for that matter) has on a soul. Not every title is explicity Christian, however each book has strong moral values, and encourages positve character.

The other thing, that brought me peace of mind as I was learning about this company, was the commitmentthey show in the title selections. Daniel jokes, that his number one rule is "No Kissing".  He also states, that while most titles have no problem meeting their criteria, in a few instances, the have edited out passages to maintain the purity of their readers, As well as certain comments that may be derogatory that they deemed unneccessary and offensive.

That is encouraging to know there is company out there that has the best interests of my children at heart.

I would like to thank Daniel and his parents Chuck and Cathy Mills. Thank you Mr. and Mrs Mills, for raising a fine young man who desires to live forthe Lord, and Daniel thank you for bringing glory and honor to the Lord, in the work that you do!

Please take a moment to vist Salem Ridge Press. You will glad that you did.

Oh yes, I almost forgot, they havea contest going right now. Make a wish list on their website, and you could win 5 free titles of your choice! If I were you, I would rush right over and make that wish list!!!

Happy Reading!

The Missing Link: Found by Christina and Felice Gerwitz

     Wow, how exciting!!!  As part of The Homeschool Crew, we were given a copy of The Missing Link: Found, By Christina and Felice Gerwitz.  This is a mother/daughter team from Media Angels.  Christina was a 12 year old homeschool student when she sat down to write this exciting adventure story, with some assistance from her mother.

     We started reading this book as a read aloud for our whole family. I wanted to hear the story, as well as have them hear it as well. However, getting reading time in with all them was difficult.  So we began to read on our own.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book!! And I am so glad that my chidlren were reading it on their own as well.

  My teenaged son, who *hates* reading has been loving this story. He could not get enough of it. The story is full of suspense, action, adventure, and with the 2 main characters being Christian Homeschooled kids, it was easy for  my kids to relate to.

  There are several things that I loved about this story. 1st, it is set around a Christian Homeschool family. What really touched my heart, throughout the story, was everytime there was a crisis or a struggle, this family, always turned to the Lord in prayer. Exactly what we would want our children to remember. This story did a great job at modeling that. Futhermore, they prayed around people who were  not believers, showing a very strong faith.

  Next, there was some awesome dialogue on Creation vs. Evolution. There were many many facts included. Both sides were presented fairly. They also include in the back of the book a glossary of terms. Which was very helpful for some of my readers!  And on the last page, were Creation Science Resources.   It was an aawesome way to reinforce learning, while reading something so entertaining!

  And the last thing would be that there are 2 more books in the series! Yahoo!  That means my kids will be able to continue to follow the adventures of the Murphy family!

 I don't want to give away any of the story! But I will include one little blurb that Media Angels included on the back of the book:

"In the Truth Seekers Mystery Series, you'll experience adventure, mystery, heart stopping suspense, and faith played out first-hand by the Murphy family.  This action adventure mystery will keep you guessing to the very end!"

Please visit Media Angels and check out all of their awesome resources for parents and kids alike!

You can see what other Crew Members have said by clicking here!