Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in
exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I
compensated in any other way.
YWAM Publishing has become a household name for us. I have seen their books in stores and I have heard other homeschool families recommend their books, but it wasn't until we received one of our own that I understood how awesome these books really are!
We received Daniel Boone, from the Heroes of History series. My son is the one who is reading the book and we are using the unit study that goes along with it. Let me tell you right off the bat why I say that YWAM has become a household name. My son is 15 years old and does not like to read. It is a battle to get him to read anything and when he does he is not really interested and is not paying that much attention. Well, this same child came to me and told me that this Daniel Boone book is actually not that bad. He said that it was actually really interesting and that he was enjoying reading it. That never happens! To me, that says it all. LOL
But seriously, He is really enjoying it and most of the information that I have about the book came from him. So far he has read all about the many adventures of Daniel Boone as a child, and as he is growing up. He told me of some pretty funny, as well as some very sad, stories about Daniel Boone, such as how when he was little, most of the other young children had smallpox and Daniel's mother wouldn't let him play with them because she didn't want their family getting the smallpox as well. Daniel snuck off and purposely exposed himself to the smallpox just so he could play with the other children, which of course ended badly with his whole family getting sick.
Daniel was a very mischievous child at times such as when he stole his dad's horse because he got a new rifle and wanted to go hunting, and also when he put too much gun powder in his friend's gun and it exploded on him. Both of these instance ended badly...I won't tell you though so I don't ruin all the stories!
My son has read through his childhood, through when his family decides to move to " cheap and fertile" soil, when Daniel fought as a volunteer in the French and Indian War, and when he was told about, and ultimately decided to move to, Kentucky.
He is not quite halfway through yet either and a lot has already happened. This book will definitely keep your child's (or your) attention.
The Heroes of History series has 29 individual books and several different sets of books that you can get. Each of these books are going to be similar in nature but about different people such as: Thomas Edison, Ronald Reagan, Orville Wright, Abraham Lincoln, Billy Graham, Davy Crockett, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harriett Tubman, and many more. These books are not just about famous people though, they are about heroes. These heroes will inspire your child as they read through the stories of these heroes lives.
Each book also come with a downloadable and printable unit study.
The unit study does not go chapter by chapter, rather it it has different sections that show you what you can be doing all along as you read the book. Here are a few examples of ideas they give you, but keep in mind that there are MANY more. Here are some hands on projects that your kids can do depending on their ages. That is another benefit of this unit study; you can use it with many different ages. You can read this book aloud if you have several kids and then assign different assignments based on their ability and interests. My son is going to be researching the flintlock rifle and making a family tree. He is also going to learn how to make jerky!
There are mapping exercises as well. On the page below it shows you some journeys that you can map as you read about them in the book. There are several other mapping sections as well as a timeline.
There is a fact sheet included that I really like.
There is a question set for each chapter however. The unit study provides the questions and your child has to answer them in complete sentence form. Here are my son's answers from the first four chapters.
There are fun things for your child to do as well as essays' and mapping and recipes!
When I asked my son what his favorite part was he said it was when Daniel Boone was thinking about marrying a girl but said that he could not live with a high tempered girl so he decided to test her temper by slicing up her favorite apron to see what her reaction was. I guess this is a bit funny, but it would likely not be too funny in real life. lol
Anyhow, he really is enjoying the book and I will be buying him more from the series to read.
Daniel Boone is a 212 page paperback book that you can get for $7.50 right now on the
YWAM website.
Many of the other crew members have also written reviews about other books from this series as well as the
Christian Heroes: Then and Now audio books. I highly encourage you to check them out and see if you can find some books that will interest your child.
