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4.5
Love it. I love all of the Catholic Textbook Project's history books. They weave the history of the church & saints' lives into the broader story of the history of America & the world. This is so important for our youngsters! You really can't tell history without taking a stand, however subtle, on what's good and bad about it. These books stand on the values of the Church. And besides that, they are eminently more readable and interesting than any other history book I have read. They weave in a lot of personal stories and details that bring interest. There are good questions at the end of each chapter, along with a summary. The first volume is readable for a 5th grader, with each subsequent volume increasing in complexity. And anyway, who knew that North America was actually discovered by St. Brendan of Ireland in the 5th century A.D.? I didn't. Though I have to say, I thought this volume was a bit lacking in info about Native Americans, so I supplemented with another text for that. But that's a minor quibble, compared to actually having a history text explain the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and how the natives of Mexico became Catholic, along with discussion of the harsh treatment of the natives and the Catholic priests who tried to help out that situation. The full story of St. Junipero Serra, and other American saints.I love this book and so does my nine-year-old daughter. We have used The Story of the World series, but I was looking for something with more emphasis on positive Catholic contributions to our world. Let's face it, most history books do not present Catholicism in the best light. They usually choose the hot topics like the Crusades and the Inquisition (or the conquistadors here in America) to promote the idea that Catholics are narrow and cruel. This book is balanced and staunchly Catholic, written so beautifully, almost like a storybook. There is beautiful art, and maps are included frequently so the child can follow the paths of explorers and events.Since she is in fourth grade, we do plan to use this book over the course of two years. There are three other books currently available in the series: All Ye Lands for sixth grade, and Light to the Nations, parts 1 and 2, for seventh and eighth grade. I had a hard time finding the books for a reasonable price from Amazon, but you can go to Adoremus [...] or the publisher Catholic Schools Textbook project [...]. There are also cd-roms that contain PDF formatted workbooks for each book and they are very reasonably priced and easy to use. I highly recommend this series!We are homeschoolers who have gone through all four books of Story of the World (SOTW). We are on our second go-round in the four year history cycle. After using Mystery of History for ancients (Protestant) and History Odyssey (secular) with additions for Middle Ages, I am happy to settle on From Sea to Shining Sea for next year. Unlike (SOTW), the focus is on American history. The chapters end with a summary, review questions, activities and a section called "American Larder" which talks about what people were eating at the time covered in each chapter.This is a great Catholic text- well-balanced, nice pictures, well written. I will be using it next year with my 7th and 4th graders.Amazon had the best price I've seen anywhere on the web-- $44.This textbook is unique in that it is modern and comes from a Catholic perspective.The book is fully willing to show the mistakes the church made along the way in American History. It includes some lesser known details in modern history.. Some of the information is rare to see in any modern history books. I even learned something about my hometown after reading this book! The page setups with highlighted vocabulary words and end of the chapter questions will help the students learn the key points of each chapter. It is refreshing to see a book written at (and above) grade level.This is a history from the Catholic point of view of history. It gives a more detailed version on the European colonization of America. It also has an in depth history of the conversion of the Native American. It puts the miracles in a time frame as well. Like the appearance of our lady of Guadalupe.The book camein a timely manner and the binding was intact. However, it had had highlighting between chapters 4 and seven! Wasn't worth the &70. Disappointed in that.This is perfect for our homeschool.
