My son and I were blessed by the opportunity to read for review Our America . . . The Revolutionary War Adventure, by Susan Kilbride.
The Revolutionary War Adventure is the continuing adventures of twins Finn and Ginny as they hunt for their mom and dad, who have gotten lost somewhere in time. That's right -- they've gotten lost in TIME! Uncle Peter, a physicist, invented a small remote-like device that enables time travel. Finn and Ginny's parents were probably holding hands, watching television, when one of them pushed a button on the "remote" and caused them to be transported to some other time and place. They haven't been heard from since.
Whenever Finn and Ginny get a chance, when their Aunt and Uncle go out and leave them home, Finn and Ginny use the remote and hunt for their parents. I reviewed books about their previous Our America adventures: The Pilgrim's Adventure, The King Philip's War Adventure and The Salem Adventure.
In the Our America Adventures, Finn and Ginny experience American history in a hands-on unforgetable way. As their story is told, the student is gripped by the drama, held by the conflict, and worried by the potential dangers. This series of adventures is written for students aged 10 to 13, but can hold the attention of a much wider age range. When read aloud, your younger students can stay focused through the short chapters. And since we've been reading these adventures for a couple of years now, my 16 year old still enjoys slowing down from our high school pace to be read aloud to from this series. He likes them. That says a lot.
The Revolutionary War Adventure comes with a free downloadable activity guide, just like each of the other Our America adventures. Additional adventures have already been written, and my son and I have begun reading The Pioneer Adventure. So if you enjoy my reviews of this series, keep watching for when I post my next review.
Thanks for a fascinating review! I'm seriously considering this series for my daughter, but I have one question - are the books written from a Christian or Secularist perspective? Thanks : )
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DeleteReligious perspective of the writer is not overt, but mildly historically Christian. If you remember the history of the founding of our nation, it would be difficult for the writer to create first-person narratives that did not show a largely Christian culture.
DeleteAs I think specifically about The Revolutionary War Adventure, I don't remember much of anything in it that was either Christian OR secular. The Salem Adventure, which I reviewed previously, contained the context of the Puritans vs. the superstitions that surrounded the Salem Witch Trials. However, as was true at the time, the superstitions presented show how often superstitious beliefs outweighed logic or Scriptural interpretations we would now generally hold.
So the SERIES has a Christian perspective, but it is not pushed, and it is not the point of the series. The point of the series is to help students painlessly learn points of history that might normally make them yawn, that they would normally know nothing about, such as King Philip's War. I mean, even I myself remembered nothing of King Philip's War. With a name like "King Philip" one would assume it was a European King, not a native American!
Sorry for deleting my first response. It needed some editing. I didn't see a way to edit without deleting and reposting my reply.
Thank you! I've found a plethora of secular-based history books for children that simply lie about the Christian aspects of history. For instance, claiming that Squanto learned English from traders rather than, as he did - from Monks! I was especially concerned about the Witch Trial topic - as I've seen it done for adults in a way to vilify Christianity - and I certainly don't want that! Thanks for the clarification : )
DeleteYou are very welcome!
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