St. Bartholomew's Eve - A TOS Homeschool Crew Review

In late August I learned there was a new Heirloom Audio adventure for us to review!

Shortly thereafter I received in the mail a small package that contained a two-CD set of the adventure entitled St. Bartholomew's Eve. 



Heirloom Audio is a company that creates high quality audio adventures based on historical novels by G.A. Henty, an author of children's historical novels in the early 1900's. The story of St. Bartholomew's Eve is set in France in the 1570's.

For many years Protestants in France, known as Huguenots, had been fleeing from persecution, going to Switzerland, Holland or England. The story of St. Bartholomew's Eve begins with 16-year-old Philip Fletcher, born in England to Huguenot emigrants, travels to France to stay with his aunt Emilie and cousin Francois, Huguenots still living in France.

Philip stays with his extended family for many years. The Protestant believers have to worship in secret -- it is a very dangerous time to be a Protestant in France. It was intriguing some of the methods used to determine whether the family was practicing Catholicism or Protestantism, such as asking a child in the family to sing Ave Maria (which the Huguenot children were not being taught by their parents). How scary!

The story builds gradually. Initially you come to know the individual characters -- Philip, with his British accent; Francois, and his family members. As Philip and Francois mature, they are also learning fighting tactics, becoming strong young men, and meet new people. 

They begin engaging in battles to defend the Huguenot people. At other times, though, the Catholics are hunting them. Sometimes they hide. Sometimes they flee. Eventually, though, the conflict is unavoidable. The ultimate battle that occurs in the story is known, historically, as the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. The battles and preparations leading up to this last stand of the Protestants is engaging, and the final battle is compelling and sobering.

I never like to covey enough information that the reader feels I've given spoilers, so I will stop there. Suffice it to say that I encourage you to consider investing in this audio drama.

What I love about materials by G.A. Henty is the way he focuses on historical events that have become obscure and isolated to us through the passage of time, and by creating an engaging narrative he draws us into an adventure that we care about and learn from. The plight of the French Huguenots of the 16th Century is something we should not allow to be forgotten in obscurity any more than we would want the plight of the Jews in World War II to be forgotten. Remember the saying, "Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it." 

Heirloom Audio creates dramatizations of G.A. Henty adventures, featuring talented actors, such as those shown below:

Sound effects combined with skilled acting draws the listener into the gripping adventure. I loved St. Bartholomew's Eve, as I have loved the other Heirloom Audio adventures I have listened to. Filled with realism, historic events are conveyed that can be upsetting. In this adventure Philip befriends a young lad who later loses his leg while doing his part as the Huguenots defend themselves against the Catholic attackers. Later the one-legged lad is still fighting in conflicts, endangering himself for the cause. This type of story content is realistic but upsetting to my daughter, who has a tender heart. Because these adventures contain content that can be upsetting to some, I do encourage you to listen to the story first, without your children, so that you can determine which of your children you want to have listen to the adventure and at what age.

Other adventures by G.A. Henty that have been dramatized by Heirloom Audio that I have had the opportunity to hear:

• Under Drake's Flag (my review)
• In Freedom's Cause (my review)
• With Lee in Virginia (my review)
• The Dragon and the Raven (my review)
• Beric the Briton (my review)
• The Cat of Bubastes (my review)
• In the Reign of Terror (my review)
• Captain Bailey's Heir (my review)
• Wulf the Saxon (my review)

St. Bartholomew's Eve, produced by Heirloom Audio, once again upholds the high standards that Heirloom seeks to maintain in each of their audio adventure productions. I highly recommend this adventure to you.

But don't take just my word for it. Other members of the Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Crew also reviewed St. Bartholomew's Eve, and you can read their reviews and see what other homeschool mom's think by clicking on the link below:

Wulf the Saxon - A TOS Homeschool Crew Review

The new Crew year has begun! I was thrilled to be selected for the first review.
Heirloom Audio Productions sent select members of the Homeschool Review Crew copies of the CD set for their newest audio adventure, Wulf the Saxon.

Heirloom Audio Adventures are based on historical adventure novels by author G.A. Henty. In each adventure, George Henty ("Mr. George") is the story narrator. His stories are being told to 3rd parties, and quickly each story jumps right into gripping adventure. At the end, each story returns to Mr. George and the individual(s) the story is being told to.

Wulf the Saxon is divided into numerous tracks on the two CDs. The story begins on board a ship. Mr. George begins a conversation with Etienne and Leon. Mr. George answers a question about the difference between an English Duke and Earl (which the French boys don't quite understand), and I am already wishing I had a printed study guide to go with this adventure! Mr. George explains that in the British monarchy the king is at the top. Below the king a Duke is the highest office in the land, is someone who rules over a large piece of land. An Earl is the ruler of a county, what the French would call a Count. A Thane is the lowest of the noblemen, usually granted land in exchange for military service to the king.

Mr. George then shows the boys a history book, and then goes on to explain the meaning behind a valuable historical tapestry. One of the boys remembers the British King Harold and William the Conqueror, the Battle of Hastings, 1066. The tapestry depicts the history leading up to the battle. The boys ask Mr. George to tell them the story.

The story begins in London when Wulf is a paige, aged 16. Wulf is a Saxon. King Edward the Confessor was on the throne. Harold, in his office, sends for Wulf. Wulf has had an incident with a Paige of the Lord Bishop, having spoken insolent words. It is important that there be peace with the Normans. Then my favorite line in the entire adventure, "It is not always good to let others know what we think." Also, Wulf's actions and words might be attributed to Harold. Wulf did not use restraint.

As a result, Wulf is being sent away from the court for a time, back to his family's estate. He is to use this time to put aside his youthful exuberance, while he comes to know the individuals living on the land over which he will one day be Thane.

The time spent on the family land seems long to Wulf while it lasts, but he uses the time wisely, studying history and working diligently on military technique, sword, long-bow and axe, gaining physical strength all the while. Wulf is joined at this time by his friend, the metal smith's son, Osgood, who become's his lifelong friend and squire. Wulf promises the people of his land fair treatment, and his people come to love and respect him. 

After only a year, Wulf gets word that Earl of Wessex, Harold Godwin, has pardoned him. Wulf and Osgood return to London. Wulf will no longer be a Paige, but will rather now be a Ward of Harold.  

Earl Harold takes a large contingent traveling by ship. They spend some time hunting, then set sail again. They are caught at sea in a storm. After efforts to stay safe, the ship is unable to avoid rocks and while attempting to maneuver through a narrow space between rocks, the vessel is dashed against submerged rock again and again. Men and cargo are thrown into the sea. The survivors are organized into a chain to get safely to shore. Harold organizes work parties to find shelter, fire and food. They have landed on French land, which might be hostile. Initially the men are assisted, but ultimately they are imprisoned.

Wulf and Bayorn manage to escape and get help to free Harold and the rest of his group. Wulf is instructed to get news to Duke William that Harold is being held prisoner by Count Conrad. Wulf and Bayorn reach Count deBurg where he is able to get help. This is also where he meets Guy, a new lifelong friend, as well as Guy's sister, Lady Agnes, who becomes a good friend of Wulf as well. Harold and his men are rescued, and Wulf is reunited with Osgood.

While Harold and his men are still with Count deBurg, there is insurrection with the Bretons. Harold and his men assist the Count in fighting the Bretons. This is the first time Wulf has a chance to show his ability in battle, and his skill does not go unnoticed, as he saved the lives of others. Guy is seriously injured in the battle. Wulf and Osgood fight until they can no longer stand, but the Bretons are fought off. Guy loses his arm as a result of his injuries.

Wulf and Guy recover from their injuries at the home of the Baron. When Wulf is well again, he joined Harold in court once more in England. Before leaving, as Wulf chats with Guy, we begin to see some of the pressures of the time regarding marriage between monarchies in the effort to maintain peace between kings and peoples. There is some deceit by King William as he pressures Harold to swear loyalty over a covered table that we later learn contained holy relics. The meaning of this is somewhat lost on me, but apparently this was a big deal to the people of the time as having serious importance, which could result in expulsion from the church if the vow is later broken.

Wulf is of marriageable age, and an underlying theme keeps surfacing throughout the story of who will Wulf one day marry. This frequently surfaces at times when Wulf knows he needs to stay focused on the military battles at hand. It is almost frustrating to have it continually resurface, but it is not in the least unrealistic.

Next the Welsh people begin to cause disruption. Harold rallies 500 of his people and anticipates another king will rally another 500 to help as well. It becomes clear, here, that Wulf's history studies will be very helpful as he is aware that the Welsh do not fight using normal battle conventions. Wulf lets people know to prepare them for a different type of battle, and it serves them well. The battle is fierce, but Harold's men successful until they were able to move where they would without encountering any resistance.

Wulf is sent to observe a castle to make a determination if capture of the castle might be possible. After observing the castle, Wulf and his men determine not only that capture is possible, but also that it should be done immediately (rather than reporting back to Harold as to the feasibility).

Wulf and his men overtake and hold the Llewellyn Castle. Wulf and his men repulse an effort by the Welsh to enter the castle by a secret passage, and even imprison Llewellyn! Wulf is able to negotiate peaceful terms with Llewellyn in exchange for favorable considerations for King Harold. 

The Saxons return to their lands. Conversations continue about political tensions between the different factions and ways to procure peace. Within England there is a feud between two families (brothers) both vying for the throne. Harold and his fiance, Edith, come to the conclusion that they must break off their engagement so that Harold can marry into the family of either Morcar or Edwin to procure peaceful support of Harold's kingship. Morca and Edwin, leading Mercia and North Umbria, seek to have not only the Welsh lands but also England.

William dies and leaves the kingdom to Harold. Harold plans to marry Lady Ilgith, and the issue arises of the oath Harold swore to William over the covered table of religious relics. There is also intrigue, a boy spy, and an attempt on King Harold's life (which is unsuccessful thanks to Wulf and his men).

Much of the adventure in the second half of the story, while making a great adventure story, goes well over my head. Sad that I have so little understanding of British history. It would make my British grandparents sad, but I am American through and through. My public school education led me to believe that history began with Columbus discovering America, and then progressed from the pilgrims in Massachusetts to the settling of the 13 Colonies. I am glad that we home schoolers can work to give our children a better grounding in world history. I am also glad we have resources like Wulf the Saxon to bring this history to our children in a way that is interesting and might spark an interest in further study!

Heirloom Audio Adventures offers more resources through their website, the Live the Adventure Club.

I have also been blessed to review the following audio adventures by Heirloom Audio Adventures:

• Under Drake's Flag
• In Freedom's Cause
• With Lee in Virginia
• The Dragon and the Raven
• Beric the Briton
• The Cat of Bubastes
• Captain Bailey's Heir
• In the Reign of Terror

Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew also reviewed Wulf the Saxon. To read more reviews of this product, please click the button below.

In the Reign of Terror - A TOS Homeschool Crew Review

 In early July I was blessed to receive a package from Heirloom Audio Productions.

The package was a CD set of a new audio adventure entitled "In the Reign of Terror".

It also included a letter with my personalized information to access additional bonus material including a comprehensive Study Guide. We also received a short-time access to the new Live the Adventure Club. So I quickly logged myself in to the bonus materials page to see what was there. Included was the following:

• In the Reign of Terror ebook, by author G.A. Henty;
• In the Reign of Terror cast poster PDF;
• Official script PDF of content of In the Reign of Terror audio adventure;
• In the Reign of Terror Quote poster; and
• In the Reign of Terror Study Guide.

Time to listen to the adventure. Initially I began by listening to the CDs in the car whenever we were out and about. Then occasions came up where I'd left the CDs in the car but I wanted to continue listening to the adventure. So my next move was to log in to the Live the Adventure Club. Oh my! What a treasure trove!

Through my access to the Live the Adventure Club I had access to listening to the adventures on line. Within Live the Adventure Club In the Reign of Terror was broken down into listening segments by chapter. Each chapter has the option of:

• reading the script while you listen to the adventure;
• taking a quiz on the chapter that immediately corrects wrong answers, marks correct answers correct and gives a score at the end of the quiz;
  
• further questions to ask for deeper study (think older students);
• vocabulary words with definition (when you hover over the word) to expand vocabulary.

So over the weeks, sometimes in the car, sometimes on the laptop, the adventure was experienced in our home. Let me give a warning here -- this adventure is intense, and the title is appropriate. I advise parents of younger students to listen to this adventure in advance of your children. Knowing your own children, decide thoughtfully when they are ready to listen to this adventure of a horrible time in history when there was such horrific loss of life.

In case you don't already know, this adventure is about the French Revolution. The recurring theme of the Heirloom Audio Productions is that Mr. George (George Henty) is telling the story to a lad, in this case a lad named Harry. As our story begins, a 16-year-old English lad, named Harry Sandwith, is sent by his father to spend time with a French family, the family of the Marquis de St. Caux. Harry will be companion to son, Ernest ("Count Ernest"), and will also be living with the other children in the family, Jules, Marie, Jeanne and Virginie.

Harry works with Ernest and Jules for months, teaching them English and about English customs. There is an awkward aspect to the relationship Harry has with the St. Caux children as they are of noble blood and consider Harry a commoner, not being of nobility.

This relationship changes though. First, a situation arises where the family dog, Achilles, becomes rabid (having been bitten by a fox) and endangers Jeanne and Virginie. Harry does not hesitate, but moves in to rescue. Using his jacket to cover Achilles' head, he kills the dog with a blow to the chest. Jeanne and Virginie are in his debt, and the Marquis is (obviously) extremely grateful. Ernest drops his airs and considers Harry his equal.

In his next adventure, Harry saves Ernest's life, and then Ernest saves Harry's life as they kill a "demon wolf" on a wolf hunt with the local men.

The real meat of the story begins, though, when the violence of the French Revolution reaches the area of the Marquis de St. Caux's home in Burgundy.

I would love to tell you a short version of the entire story, but that would be too much to put in this review. The really short version: there was much senseless death in the French Revolution. The French common man "Sans culottes" (translates "in work pants") rose up against the nobility. Trials were held where the charge against an individual was were they of noble blood. If they were, they were put to death, often by guillotine. Very few escaped. Members of the family de St. Caux died. There is a lot of sad content.

We meet and learn about Maximilien Robespierre and other members of the insurrection. We learn of more horrors and atrocities that occurred throughout the countryside. In the end, we learn of Harry and some members of the family de St. Caux who survived, some fleeing to England, some remaining in France.

In the Reign of Terror's Study Guide gives fuel for even more study. It contains only 43 pages but has similar and different features to the material on the Live the Adventure Club pages. There are additional questions for each chapter, and more vocabulary words to learn. The questions are two types: first, "Listening Well"; second, "Thinking Further". There are history highlights, "Expand Your Learning", for learning more and going deeper. I found a recipe for no-knead French bread that I want to try some time (or get my son to make!). There is also a simple Brioche recipe that I'm curious about. Brioche is a cake made out of yeast dough (most cakes use baking powder or baking soda rather than yeast).

The Study Guide also gives a list of book titles for further study of the French Revolution. This book list is followed by a Bible study on When God Means Evil for Good. This is followed by a second Bible Study, Resistance to Tyranny. A third Bible study follows entitled True Manliness. These Bible studies are followed by a section about the historical background behind the Reign of Terror. The French tried to argue that it was their parallel to the American Revolution, but the two wars were quite different. The American Revolution was actually a war of independence. The French Revolution was an uncontrolled revolt of commoners to overthrow the nobility, an insurrection if you will.

In the Reign of Terror is an excellent production and I applaud Heirloom Audio Productions for once again hitting the ball out of the park. As I said, though, I recommend this material with caution. My son was a tender soul as a young student, and I would not have had him listen to this material at certain times in his childhood. He can handle this material now that he is more mature. Each family will need to determine for each of their students when to study this era deeply. It was a bloody, disturbing time.

Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew also reviewed In the Reign of Terror. To read more reviews of this product, please click the linked button below. Also, feel free to throw me some love by leaving a comment!

Adventures of Rush Revere - A TOS Homeschool Crew Review

I was so happy this year when I learned the Homeschool Review Crew would review for a repeat vendor, Adventures of Rush Revere #1 New York Times Bestselling Book Series by Rush and Kathryn Adams Limbaugh.

My husband and I have both wanted to read the Adventures of Rush Revere Book Series, and I was so glad to have the opportunity to volunteer to review this product!

I was especially happy to be considered in light of the fact that my busy student was not likely to read the books during the review period, and yet I was included on the review anyway! Thank you to Rush and Kathryn Adams Limbaugh et. al.

Exciting day! The box arrived! Our set of books, so beautifully presented!

I pulled the stack out of the box and admired the ribbon and the time and care that was taken to make this package special!

Then I untied the ribbon and began reading Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims.

The books in the series, in order, are as you see above:

• Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims;
• Rush Revere and the First Patriot;
• Rush Revere and the American Revolution;
• Rush Revere and the Star Spangled-Banner; and
• Rush Revere and the Presidency.

The series focuses on early American history. The interwoven theme is that Rush Revere is a history teacher who periodically serves as a substitute teacher for Mrs. Borrington's Honors History Class at Manchester Middle School. (Like the play on words? "Borring"ton/"Boring"ton... Heh! Heh!)

Rush Revere has a special mascot, a horse named Liberty. Liberty was once struck by lightning, and survived to find he could talk! He could time travel! He could make himself invisible when he holds his breath! And more!

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In Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims Mr. Revere initially sets up a special media system in the class to show a movie of the pilgrims in Holland. Rush actually fixes it so his phone camera is filming and sending a signal simultaneously of a time-travel trip he and Liberty take. Then he returns to present time and discusses the history with the class.

Later Mr. Revere includes classmates Tommy, the school football team's quarterback, and Freedom, a native American girl, in trips to the ship journeying to the new world, additional trips to the Plymouth Plantation, and finally to share in the first Thanksgiving. Through these journeys we meet many pilgrims, notably William Bradford and Miles Standish (who teaches Tommy how to sword fight), and Squanto and Massasoit.

This is an exciting way for the reader to experience history in a rich, vivid, living way! And Liberty is an absolute stitch! And an underlying theme is a fellow classmate, Elizabeth (the principal's daughter), who is constantly snooping around trying to figure out what Mr. Revere, Tommy and Freedom are up to. And she is certain she heard that horse talk!

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In Rush Revere and the First Patriots Mr. Revere, Tommy and Freedom are joined by a new student named Cam. Elizabeth continues to spy on them and catches them going through the time travel portal with Liberty! She has a video camera installed in the school hallway so she can get her video proof. When they realize they need to placate her, they take her with them on a trip to England and meet George III. Each book has activity links and a study guide at RushRevere.com .

During First Patriots, different trips occur with different individuals at different times and we meet Benjamin Franklin, George III, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, John Adams and George Washington! We visit Boston right after the Boston Massacre and experience the Boston Tea Party. And Liberty learns how to blow bubbles with bubble gum.

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The third book is Rush Revere and the American Revolution. It is summer break, and Mr. Revere decides to teach an Honors History summer class. The focus of the adventures are (as the title states) the American Revolution. Cam is there again, as well as Freedom and Tommy. Cam has developed a bad attitude about school, history, education... almost everything to do with respecting authority...

In our time travels we meet up again with Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock. We also meet Dr. Joseph Warren, William Dawes, Dr. Samuel Prescott and many signers of the Declaration of Independence. We experience some historic events and experience the danger, the drama and the fear. Liberty's antics help the travelers escape some scary situations. We are able to see character development in Cam's life with advice from Paul Revere.
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Book four is Rush Revere and the Star-Spangled Banner. In this adventure  we visit the early 1800s. Rush and Liberty travel alone first, and then take a trip with Tommy, Freedom, Freedom's grandfather and Cam. Freedom's grandfather becomes one of the team and is let in, bit by bit, on knowledge of Liberty's special skills. The group travels by train to Washington to visit the National Archives. Liberty has created a scavenger hunt for o complete, locating various items within the building.

After viewing and learning more about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, Mr. Revere takes part of the crew on a time travel to 1787 to talk to some of the Constitution's original framers. We return to present and visit the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol. Liberty has another scavenger hunt for them in the Capitol Building. On a new day they visit the Supreme Court, with an assignment of questions to find answers to. While visiting the Supreme Court, the Crew meets a home schooler, Maddie, and her mom and make them "members" of the Crew and make plans to stay in touch. Then after a Metro ride to the Navy Yard, our Crew walks to Nat. Stadium to watch a Nationals baseball game. Then, during the Nats game, Rush and Tommy steal away on a time travel to the Battle of Ft. McHenry (1814).

Reading this particular book has been so fun for me! I live outside of Washington, DC. While I was reading this book my son, a high school senior taking dual enrollment classes at a local community college and currently enrolled in an American Government class, was on a field trip with his college class. After a Metro ride downtown, they visited the Supreme Court, followed by a tour of the Capitol! Oh, and my husband used to work at the Navy Yard, and we all have, of course, been to a Nationals game! Later they visit the White House.

Within this adventure we meet up with Dolly Madison, James Madison, George Washington, George Mason and Francis Scott Key.

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Book five is titled Rush Revere and the Presidency. Cam wants to run for school president and seems to think that will make him king of Manchester Middle School. Rush takes the opportunity to begin teaching about the office of President, beginning with George Washington. We also meet Martha Washington and her two grandchildren, John and Abigail Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.

Through preparation for running for school president, with Mr. Revere's help and instruction, and with input from historic Presidents, Cam learns a great deal about hard work, not giving up, and serving others. We also learn a great deal about the development of the "Road to the Presidency".
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The folks from The Adventures of Rush Revere have provided a huge amount of free resources for folks using these books. Each book has a study guide and activity links. There are also scholarship opportunities to sign your student up for.

The folks at Adventures of Rush Revere are very generous and want to see young American children succeed in learning all about our country's history. I also love the quality of these books. They are hard cover (durable) with high quality paper that is not easily torn.


I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through this series and highly recommend these books to you for your students. There are also available additional resources such as a stuffed Liberty the horse, as well as recorded versions of these books. Go to Adventures of Rush Revere to look around, and order your books today!

Other members of the Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Crew also reviewed these books. To see more reviews, please click the button below.

Bessie's Pillow - A TOS Homeschool Crew Review

In early February I learned I would be part of the Crew doing a review for Strong Learning, Inc.


Members of the Homeschool Review Crew received copies of the book, Bessie's Pillow.
My son and I have been studying Spanish, and I was delighted to learn there is a bi-lingual version of Bessie's Pillow, and Strong Learning sent me this bilingual version! Unfortunately, for some reason the postal service delayed my book's delivery for weeks, so the English version is all that has been read so far. This was necessary in order to finish the book in time for the review!

The bilingual version is about 10" X 14" and is spiral-bound. The content is presented with one column in Spanish and one column in English on each page.

I had been informed there is a study guide to go along with Bessie's Pillow, so today I hunted around on the website to see what I could find. When you click the Bessie's Pillow link, you can see a menu bar across the top of the page. If you click on the For Teachers link, there are useful links to further your studies. You can get information about radio and movies during Bessie's era, as well as photos from Bessie's life, on the link for  “Bessie’s America.” There is also a link to the Bessie’s Pillow Teacher Guide which gives discussion questions and project and term paper ideas. In addition, Strong Learning offers a Companion Workbook available both in English and bilingual English/Spanish.

Bessie's life rings echos around many aspects of my family's immigration stories, so I have decided to give you stories of Bessie's life and parallel them with snippets from my family histories.

In 1906, when Bessie was 18 years old, she left her family in Glubokoye, Russia to escape the Russian pogroms that were being exercised against the Jews in Russia. This is around the time that my husband's Jewish ancestors fled from Odessa, Russia to escape the pogroms.

When Bessie was leaving Glubokoye, a woman named Mrs. Dreizen approached Bessie with a pillow, begging Bessie to try to get it to the woman's son, Nathan, in New Rochelle. This pillow, "Bessie's pillow", provided Bessie much comfort for many days ahead. In Yiddish the pillow's needlepoint said, "May this pillow bring you peace!" 

Bessie traveled alone, an act relatively uncommon. Young women did not travel alone. They just didn't. Bessie was a courageous woman to do such a thing. I can't tell you how eerie this was for me to read, knowing that my great grandmother, Emma Savilahti left her homeland alone in 1901 and traveled to America, celebrating her 20th birthday while she was on board the ship. Emma and Bessie both entered the United States at Ellis Island, New York. I've been there and I saw Emma's documentation of arrival.

Bessie settled in New York and built her life there.  Bessie eventually found Nathan Dreizen and delivered the pillow. In time they fell in love and married. Over the course of time they had children.

With two young children, Bessie and Nathan were devastated when their children, one by one, contracted Scarlet Fever and died. This was very sobering to me. At the age of 10 I, too, had Scarlet Fever. I was quarantined and treated with a medicine that was relatively new in 1968, penicillin. As you see, I recovered.

I already feel like I've revealed too many spoilers in my attempt to show parallels, but let me just reveal one more. Bessie and Nathan went on to have four more children. Sadly, Nathan dropped dead of a heart attack at age 44, leaving Bessie a widow needing to find a way to provide for four children. My grandmother, Esther, with four children, had to become a business woman to provide for her four children after her husband died when my mother was 9, in 1942.

Nathan's pillow again became Bessie's pillow and a source of comfort. In time of mourning, Bessie would hug the pillow tightly as she cried.

Bessie was an amazing woman. She was a successful business woman who, because of her love and compassion for others, often used her resources to provide for others. In her earlier days she visits the Hebrew Orphan Asylum with dreidels, candles and a menorah. Later it is bread or meals to the needy. As a successful older business woman she provides mortgages to people the banks refuse to lend to! She was quite a woman!

Bessie's Pillow is a compelling book. It is a fabulous launching tool for early American social studies. “Bessie’s America” provides links to radio shows and lists of movies from Bessie's time, many of which are some of my favorite all-time movies! I highly recommend this book to you for your personal enjoyment and for the benefit of your home school. I am looking forward, now to going back to the book to work my way through the content in Spanish. 

Other members of The Homeschool Review Crew have also written reviews of Bessie's Pillow. To see more reviews, please click below:

Beric the Briton - A Schoolhouse Crew Review

In early June I learned we were among those lucky Crew members who would be reviewing another production by Heirloom Audio Productions.

A couple of weeks later my package arrived containing the CD set of Beric The Briton.

We had a couple of long trips on our schedule. Fortunately one of them was perfect for my plan to listen to the adventure. Perfect, in this case, meant my son was a captive audience, Dad was not there (he sometimes talks when we're trying to listen to something), and the trip was long enough that we'd be able to listen to the complete adventure.

To set this up I want to make sure my readers all understand that my son is a difficult critic. There is no gray area -- everything is either black or white, he either loves it or he hates it.

So, as we drove the 90 minute drive from our home to Baltimore, where we were to see the orthodontist, we dove into Beric The Briton.

This was an easy product to review. My son loved it from word one. When we got to the end of disk 1, he picked up the package to switch to disk 2. He saw the lion on the package and asked me if the lion on the cover meant the story was related to a certain C.S. Lewis series with a lion character. I said, no, it was a different story and I didn't know why there was a lion on the cover picture. (Later my daughter got it right away -- she saw a lion and the Colosseum. I couldn't see that while I was driving.)

My son started asking questions. "When does this take place?" "When did Rome fall?" I couldn't remember. As we listened, we pieced together that the story took place during the first century AD. I still haven't looked up the date for the "Fall of Rome". 

So we finished the story. My son, the difficult critic, LOVES it! We saw my adult daughter (who lives ~60 miles away) a couple of days later, and he was raving about how good it is, that she's going to love it. I tried to hang onto it for photos for this review, but after searching for it all day I called my daughter. She has Beric The Briton with her! She thought I said she could take it! ::sigh:: No photos. 

Little snippets of the story line: Beric has been educated in Rome and has gotten a good education, including an education in Rome's military techniques. Beric returns to his family in Brittain. As he comes of age he is made chief of his people (tribe, I think). The Brits don't want to be under subjection to Rome and are fighting to keep Britannia free, but the Brits don't have good methods for warfare. Beric trains his group how to fight, and for awhile they make a difference, but ultimately the Brits are overpowered by the Romans. Beric and his friends are taken captive and required to become gladiators.

I won't tell you any more of the story now (no spoilers!). I will tell you there is a lot of battle as part of the story. When my son was younger he did not do well with this type of story. So I'm offering a warning here that tenderhearted children might not like this story. I now have a 16 year old who is in Civil Air Patrol, with plans to join the military. With his newer, mature mindset he loved all the battle tactics and descriptions of differences between how the Romans fought and how the Brits fought, and the changes Beric tried to implement. So when purchasing Beric The Briton, you might want to listen to it yourself first and decide if one or more of your children might need to be exempted from listening to the story.

Beric came in a folded three-sectioned portfolio. It included two CDs and a little booklet that I can't describe because my daughter took it. Previous audio dramas from Heirloom included vocabulary, word search, crossword, and other fun educational items.

Included with the CD packet I received in the mail was a letter with instructions on how to access the bonus materials! So let me tell you about this wonderful bunch of bonuses! These include:

The study guide is a fabulous bonus. It is designed to help parents of younger students talk to their children about the storyline and its lessons. The study guide is 50 pages long and can be printed out double-sided on 8-12" X 11" paper. You can take it to a printer by storing it on a USB drive, or you can print pages you want at home in color or black and white.

The study guide has a beautifully illustrated cover page followed by a page giving credits to the cast and crew. Next comes the Introduction that describes how the study guide can be used. The study guide breaks the storyline down into shorter sections. It explains how each smaller section has a set of questions broken down into "Listening Well", "Thinking Further" and "Defining Words".

The next section of the study guide has small biographies about G.A. Henty (the author of Beric the Briton), Julius Caesar and Queen Boadicea. Then the question sections begin with "The Story Begins." I love the way the sections are broken down by disk # and track #. I also like that the sections are marked by tracking number. This way you can find the right spot regardless of how your device indicates its tracking. There are 30 sections of questions, and these also include some recipes and some links for further learning.

After the question sections there is a list of titles to consider for further learning about the early Brits and the Romans of the first century. This is followed by a section with historical background for Beric the Briton. There is a page encouraging following the "Live the Adventure Newsletter". This is followed by a Bible study and a section discussing the significance of the Colosseum in Christianity.

The study guide concludes with mentions of all the other audio dramas that have been produced thus far by Heirloom Audio Productions.

As I said, Beric The Briton is a winner in our house. I hope you will consider purchasing this and other audio dramas from Heirloom Audio Productions. I love their ministry and the way they are working to bring history alive!

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