Free E-Book: Discoverers and Explorers

Here is an old treasure I was delighted to find reprinted as a free e-book: Discoverers and Explorers by Edward R. Shaw. We've just started reading it but I've been impressed with it already. We are using it as a spine for our study on world explorers. Beautifully illustrated and worth just the pictures alone!

Available in Currclick's Free section!

Holling C. Holling Homeschooling Helps: Paddle to the Sea

If you are looking for a good study on the Great Lakes, Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling is a treasure. Paddle-to-the-Sea is a little wooden Indian in a canoe, carved by a young boy up north in Canada. Paddle is sent on a journey to the ocean and the story follows him as he travels through each of the Great Lakes (and has many adventures along the way!). Full of wonderful details, drawings and information on the areas surrounding each lake, this book was much enjoyed in our home. Though it's been a year since we read it, the children have still retained quite a bit of what they learned.

Here are a few free online resources to go along with the book:

Paddle-to-the-Sea with Google Earth: "An exciting new program that uses the travels of Paddle to link real-time Great Lakes data to Google Earth’s mapping application. Tracing the path of Paddle's journey to the sea, it includes themes, key words, and Web sites for each chapter of the book." Click here for more information and to download

Paddle-to-the-Sea Film on YouTube: I saved this old film until we finished the book. While it did leave out many details it was still enjoyable, and it was neat for the children to see little Paddle on the big lakes.

Geography and Paddle-to-the-Sea: This is a helpful post from a homeschooling mother on how she used Paddle with her children.

Holling C. Holling Homeschooling Helps: Seabird Lesson Ideas and Notebooking Pages

Here is a link to lesson plans and notebooking pages to go along with Holling C. Holling's book Seabird.

Free Online Previews of Two Books by Holling C. Holling

Here are links to online preview copies of two of Holling's books. You can read parts of the books online and look at some of the beautiful, full color illustrations.

Tree in the Trail ( Note: I have not read this book yet, but in browsing through it though it seems that Native American medicine men and superstition are portrayed in a positive light. I'd use caution with this book, though it is possible you may be able to edit it as you read it aloud. Again, I haven't read this one yet, so perhaps it is not a large part of the story. If you have read this book and have any input on this please leave a comment! It is worth looking at the pictures if nothing else! Please see my note at the end of this post on Holling's books.)

Pagoo (I haven't read this one either so I can't vouch for it 100%!)

Living Books With Science and Geography: Holling C. Holling

From Living Books With Science and Geography:

"Charlotte Mason advocated using living books in all of our studies. I love the idea and agree that our children should always read excellent books filled with creativity, challenging vocabulary, and firsthand accounts that will spark their imagination. So when it came time to introduce a new subject (Geography) to my children this year, I started looking for a good living book to add into our curriculum. I discovered an entire series that can be added into Geography and Science by Holling. " Click here to read the rest of this helpful post

We are great fans of Holling C. Holling's book and hope to collect them all. I consider them high on my priority list for our family library! :-) They are beautifully illustrated and packed full of information written in an interesting story form. They have been reprinted and are available from Christian Book Distributors . I love to collect antique and vintage editions of books if possible and older copies of Holling's books are usually readily available at reasonable prices on Ebay or from used booksellers.

Edited to add: Though Holling's books were written many years ago and do contain the values of an older era, his books are not written from a distinctively Christian perspective and therefore they do contain an occasional reference to evolution or promote another worldview in a positive way. I have not read them all, so I'm not sure how much of a problem this is in all of his books. In the books I have read these things were very few and easily edited out or discussed with the children. I try to be extremely careful both with the books I read to my children and those I recommend to others. The Holling books I have read have been excellent for the most part but please do use discernment and caution as you read all of his books.

Free E-book from Knowledge Quest: Globalmania

Here is a great giveaway from Knowledge Quest:

Globalmania - Master World Geography in Just 7 Months (Regular retail value $12.95). You also have the option to receive 6 free historical biographies, part of their What Really Happened... series. This is a limited time offer and will only be available for 2-3 weeks so don't delay in getting your copy! :-)

Click here for more information and to download the e-book

Letters from Egypt: Introductory Sale On a Newly Reprinted Geography Book

From Simply Charlotte Mason:

"Letters from Egypt - A fascinating living geography book from 1879!

My Good Friends, By God’s providence I have been led to settle in this distant land, and can but seldom visit England; however, I do not forget friends there, for whom I always have felt great interest. One day it came to my mind that I might do some little good to old folk at home—and perhaps to the young, too—in spite of being so far off, and having a large school to look after, and several other things; and this was my idea:—that I would write some simple familiar accounts of the land of Egypt where I dwell . . .

Mary Whately’s letters paint a fascinating picture of life in Egypt in 1879. And her insight into customs, culture, and climate ring true even today. Plus, many Bible quotations and allusions are woven throughout the letters, along with illustrations of how life in Egypt reminded Mary of those passages. Letters from Egypt is a living geography book that will touch your mind, your imagination, and your heart.

Living Geography—Learn about the people, customs, and climate of Egypt in these letters from a Christian friend.

Biblical Insights—Gain a greater understanding of the culture and how it is reflected in so many Scripture verses."

The book is available in both electronic and printed formats and is on sale until June 26, 2009. You can also read the first few chapters online for free!

For more information click here