King John signed the Magna Carta 800 years ago. Many people, like my young teens, wonder, Who cares? Why would it matter to us? John Robson’s documentary, Magna Carta: Our Shared Legacy of Liberty answers this question with a whirlwind tour through history and a stirring call to action. From King Alfred’s neglected cakes and […]
middle school
Review: The Magna Charta by James Daugherty
June 15, 1215, one of the most significant days in English history, saw wicked King John sullenly sign the Magna Charta, acknowledging freedom of the people and restraining his own power. How did this all come about? How was such an evil king persuaded to restrict his own power? James Daugherty, award-winning author of the […]
Review: Journey Through the Night by Anne de Vries
When I started to read Journey Through the Night to my youngest daughters, they expected to be bored. However, by the third paragraph one of them jumped up. “What! John does judo?” The other one was interested by the next page. As the story moved on, they begged for chapter after chapter. Once, when I […]
Review: The Secret of Willow Castle by Lyn Cook
Eleven-year-old Henrietta Macpherson cannot seem to do anything right. Her loving but stern father is so disappointed in her wilful response to the beautiful gift from cousin John Alex that he puts it aside until Henrietta is older and also forbids her to attend the skating party in John Alex’s honor. He calmly points out […]
Recommendation: The BBC Historical Farm Series
Now that the weather is getting colder and there’s an end in sight to tomatoes and cabbages decorating our house, my thoughts turn to the hands-on history of the BBC series, Edwardian Farm, Victorian Farm, and Wartime Farm. We watched them several years ago, and since then the girls have been re-watching them through illnesses, concussions, […]