I remember reading The Spirit of St. Louis when I was high-school-aged and really enjoying it, despite its 500+ pages. Even though Lindbergh's primary topic in writing it was his historic first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, he managed to capture the monotonous moments of flight but also included enough other stories of his life that it wasn't boring.

Flight reminded me of the more dramatic and interesting parts of Lindbergh's book, since it is a narrative of that flight distilled for children. The book focuses on the long flight, bit by bit, emphasizing the difficulties, the solitude, and the length of time that Lindbergh had to stay awake in order to complete the flight. You feel like you're flying right along with him, and celebrating with him too when it's all over. The grand, expressive illustrations really aid in the drama of the story. Some children are quite fascinated by airplanes, so this particular bit of history can be very eye-opening, especially as it focuses more on the man in the cockpit rather than the machine itself.

There is no map in the book, so it might be helpful to read with one on hand if this is being used for school, since several different places are named. 

Scrounged From: A local book sale

Format: Hardcover
Author: Robert Burleigh
Illustrator: Mike Wimmer
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose was an enjoyable addition to our kindergarten year. Not only do nursery rhymes build vocabulary and sometimes teach about history (not to mention cultural literacy in general), but they can also be a lot of fun, especially for the ones that have been made into songs, such as "Hey Diddle Diddle," "Three Little Kittens," "Old King Cole," etc. 

There is a lot of general silliness here, and the soft, colorful illustrations by Arnold Lobel (author/illustrator of the beloved Frog and Toad series) really add to the mood on each page. Some rhymes might be a bit scary, and as is to be expected with any literature that's this old, there are references to things that might be confusing to children nowadays: death (as it was a much more common reality that children experienced around them), corporal punishment (such as references to someone being "beaten" for unacceptable behavior), and just cultural practices that seem odd to us in general, such as courtship rituals, hunting practices, and rhymes involving nobility, etc. There are also some words here that are out of general use and may need to be explained.

So some rhymes may bring up conversations with children about some of these issues, in which case it's helpful for parents/teachers to be prepared for that. But overall, we really enjoyed reading this, and my children seemed to like reading from this book even more than regular poems -- probably because there is such a variety here (and yes, my kids really enjoy silly things too), including songs. While there were quite a few rhymes here I'd never heard before, there were also many favorites that I hadn't read in a while. Sometimes wordings are slightly different from what we may be used to, but there's no rule against changing a word here and there.

This would be a good book to pair with nursery rhyme songs, such as Wee Sing Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies, so that children will occasionally hear a rhyme that is familiar to them (but not too often).

Scrounged From: HomeschoolClassifieds.com (Sonlight Core A)

Format: Hardcover
Author: Various/unknown
Illustrator: Arnold Lobel
Pages: 176
Content Advisory: As noted above, older cultural practices may be confusing for children, and there are references to corporal punishment, death, hunting, and a few somewhat mean-spirited rhymes as well.

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Perhaps I'm biased since I already agree with the premise of this book, but lions have always been one of my favorite animals and are totally the "king of beasts," so I enjoyed 10 Reasons to Love ... a Lion, and the way it introduces lions' characteristics, habitat, and lifestyle. 

It's a short, informational read, and each double-page illustration includes some other animals and plants that are also found on the African savannah.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Catherine Barr
Illustrator: Hanako Clulow
Pages: 24
Content Advisory: None

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Dr. Jo: How Sara Josephine Baker Saved the Lives of America's Children is the story of a courageous and unconventional woman who attended medical school long before it was considered "normal" for women to do so, and who dedicated her life to the vulnerable babies and children living in poverty in New York City.

"Hell's Kitchen" was the name of the neighborhood where she did much of her work in public health. Despite the challenges, Dr. Jo went beyond simply treating patients and tried to come up with big-picture ideas that could help this population in the midst of their poverty -- one of her ideas was to make bottles out of beeswax to help make babies' eye drops safer.

I really appreciated this story of a woman who was ahead of her time and whose compassion drove her to save so many lives. Definitely a great example for girls (and boys) today.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Monica Kulling
Illustrator: Julianna Swaney
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: While not dwelt upon, afflictions like typhoid (leading to death), blindness, heat stroke, and other illnesses are mentioned and briefly described.

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I'm not usually a graphic novel fan, but I've found that they can be an engaging means of entering into a story, or discovering something new. And since faith has always been a part of my life, I was intrigued to learn about a graphic novel that takes on the relationship between science and faith, called, appropriately, Science and Faith.

I've seen firsthand the antagonism that can arise when science and faith are discussed together, especially from people holding very different viewpoints on one subject or the other (and I have to include myself in this observation!). I don't get the impression that this book is out to specifically change anyone's mind about their particular view (and probably many people will not agree with every view put forward here), but it does have the potential to make us think, as well as simply to give us an appreciation of some of the scientists and theologians (and some who were both) who have helped shape this conversation over the last several hundred years.

Our fellow travelers on this journey are two real-life professors: Alfio Briguglia and Giuseppe Savagnone, who have been friends for more than seventy years. After they co-wrote a book about science and faith in Italy, Tommaso Todesca wanted to adapt it into a graphic novel -- and here it is. Alfio and Giuseppe encounter many of the greatest minds in history (most long since deceased), and their journey takes them all over Florence and London as they converse with these renowned historical figures.

Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, and others make an appearance here, as well as both Richard Dawkins and Saint Thomas Aquinas in the last section, which covers the concept of God. Don't worry -- this is no Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Despite the fantastical premise, the questions and quandaries discussed and mused upon here are sincere, earnest, and will probably leave the reader with much to ponder, regardless of their exact viewpoint going in.

I appreciate that the individual characters depicted here do not always agree with each other -- Dawkins especially stands in quite obvious opposition to the religious viewpoints expressed by most others in the book, and yet his "outsider's perspective" is important to prevent this exploration from becoming too inwardly focused. While the two characters don't actually meet here (each says his piece separately) this is probably the next best thing to actually watching a (sadly impossible) debate between Richard Dawkins and Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Even though I'm Protestant, I could still appreciate the Catholic perspective here, because I do think it helps tie in the history of these great thinkers (most of whom were also Catholic) to the present day, and the questions pondered here are really for all Christians to consider, no matter where we may stand on other issues.

Aside from the discussion, the artwork here is really lovely -- nothing cheap or cartoony about it -- the landscapes draw you in, and it's easy to feel that you really are just strolling down the road in Florence or London, conversing with a long-dead ghost. I'm sure anyone who's interested in history has fantasized about getting to meet their favorite historical figures, and the more I read here, the more I saw how well the graphic novel format really does work for this -- it helps give each character their own presence and personality (I found Galileo particularly amusing), even in the short time that some of them are featured.

One of the parts that resonated with me personally was the beginning discussion in section 2, which focuses on the terms we use -- it counters the idea that faith is by definition devoid of reason, and quotes Pope John Paul II as saying, "...faith and reason cannot be split! They are like the two wings with which the human spirit rises up towards the contemplation of truth." The ending was also pretty neat, and a bit surreal. I really should read Dante sometime.

All in all, I found this book both enjoyable and intriguing, and I'd recommend it to any science/faith geek, and probably those interested in philosophy in general. While the book doesn't go into great depth or detail on any of these historical figures (there really isn't room), it's a nice introduction to many topics and controversies in the science/faith discussion, and clearly comes down with the view that yes, science and faith can and do coexist quite well.

Scrounged From: A gift

Format: Paperback
Authors: Giuseppe Savagnone, Alfio Briguglia, this edition adapted by Tommaso Todesca
Illustrator: Alexandra Festovets
Pages: 142
Content Advisory: In the fourth section, "the problem of evil" is occasionally illustrated by some images of demons/devils which may be disturbing to some children.

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