What a Living History Book!

 "Mommy, I hope we can get all the books in their series..." my son said when he saw me working on this review of Heroes of History- George Washington by YWAM Publishing and the Digital Unit Study that goes along with the book  "They are really good.  The authors write so well.  I like those stories so much."

And that, my friends, pretty much says it all.  Our family, especially my oldest, just loves the YWAM Publishing Heroes of History books we have read so far and we all are eager to read more!

Why We Chose Heroes of History: George Washington

When I told my oldest son that we would be able to review another book and study guide from YWAM Publishing, he was thrilled.  He just loved the John Adams we previously reviewed and has been eagerly awaiting a chance to read another book in the same series.When my son reviewed the long list of titles that were available to us for review, he saw many that he wanted us to read together, but, after being told he could pick only two possible choices he quickly narrowed his wish list down to include the then-current presidential candidate Ben Carson and our first American president George Washington.

Swept Up in Living History

What a pick the YWAM Publishing George Washington book was!

We happened to be outside enjoying a bit of early spring fever the day our 224-page soft cover copy of the book came in, and, although the book is geared for children 10 and up, we knew it would be find to read together with my younger children, too, just as we had with the John Adams one we had previously reviewed. In fact, when my younger two saw the book in my oldest's hands, they would have nothing other than us reading it together. 

So, we grabbed blankets and sat in the early spring sunshine to begin journeying with George even if there were still bits of melting snow here and there about us.

After that, no day was complete until we’d read another portion of the book. At breakfast, lunch, or bedtime (and sometimes at all three!), my children eagerly listened to the life and times of George Washington unfold. (My oldest sometimes read ahead, too, I discovered!) 


Between times, the children also sometimes commented on the front cover of the book, which provides gentle review of key historical events by the small illustrations included on on it.  Between these, discussion, and the story itself, each of us became well-versed in the life and times of George Washington.

Indeed, we all enjoyed learning about George Washington and the time period in which he lived through this living history book! And, I do mean “we”. For, even I learned some new facts as we read together as a family.

I had not realized before that George Washington had been a key figure in beginning the French and Indian War. Nor did I realize that our first president had no biological children. Further, I found it interesting that, after serving as president, George Washington returned to a military post for a short period.

Indeed, each person in our family discovered new things as the story of George Washington's life and times unfolded for us and, often, even if we were busy and I only intended to read one chapter, we read more than one at a time, because I wanted to know what happened next as much as my children did.

Of course, not all of the history of George Washington's life and era was new to my children and I, but the way Heroes in History authors Janet and Geoff Benge put it all together, just made everything come alive for us in fresh ways.  Truly, their writing style was accessible and interesting,taking the book from being "just another non-fiction book" about our first president to being an engaging living history book that all three of my children and I would recommend.

A Digital Study Guide with Many Options

YWAM Publishing does not only publish fantastic living history books. They also offer comprehensive study guides to go along with them.  We received one for the George Washington book that included two pdf downloads.

One of the pdf's is four pages long and includes:

• a fact sheet with illustration
• a time line
• and several maps. 

The maps, especially, came in handy for us as we referenced places George lived and traveled during his lifetime.

The other pdf is 64 pages long and includes: 

• key quotes, which we have put in a copywork binder for next year
• suggestions for a display area, which are meant for a classroom, but could be just as useful for a co-op or family to use
• questions for each chapter, based on vocabulary, facts, and basic comprehension, as well as ones that were open-ended, asking for an opinion or interpretation answers for all questions, except the open-ended one
• ideas and instructions for essays, creative writing projects, hands-on projects, and audio/visual projects
•  ideas for community links 
• mapping suggestions and challenges 
• timeline activities 
• related theme information
• ideas for a culminating event 
• a complete list of books and resources 

Truly, the digital study guide offers enough suggestions, information, and questions to make this book the center of any full-scale home, co-op, or classroom study.  Or, as it did for my family, it can simply supplement the organic enjoyment of reading a well-written living history book together.


Truly, my children and I became so quickly swept up into the story of George Washington from the first day that we began reading it, that I ended up not wanting to slow us down with the formalities of unit-study like projects and tie-ins. Rather, I chose to let our experience be one of gentle time spent together reading and chatting.

Still, since I had the study guide - and since like the book it goes along with, it is well-written, I wanted to use at least a portion of it with my children now.  So, in between our mini-marathons of simply reading the book aloud together, completely engaged by it, I chose to just look the study guide questions to see if any of the vocabulary, comprehension, or further thinking type questions were ones that I might weave into later discussions with my children. 

Because my children are eager listeners with strong comprehension skills and a habit of asking questions often, they had naturally covered some of the vocabulary, comprehension, and interpretation that the study guide questions keyed into.  However, I also found some points neither they nor I had brought up on our own when discussing the books.  So, as we chatted about the book outside our reading times, for example in our minivan and elsewhere, I sometimes slipped in study guide questions.   That way the questions were not "schooly", but a part of our natural discussions (even if prompted by my previous reading of the study guide!)

In The Children's Words 

My five-year-old is my historical battle lover and also a child who likes to know what happened next, so his comments about the book came as little surprise to me.  He said:

I liked it.  The chapters ended with cliff hangers.  There were a lot of battles.  I like battles.  I did not know George died from a cold.

My daughter, with two brothers to influence her, also likes battles to some degree, but typically cottons to relationships between characters and to the hows and whys of how those relationships develop.  She particularly appreciated the opportunity we had to snuggle or sit close in our mom-child relationship while reading this book, as well the chance to learn more about George Washington, the person.  She said:

I would recommend this book to others.  It tells the details about George Washington more than some other books would.  I was happy that we could read it very single night at bedtime, and I asked for it sometimes at other times. 

I never knew that George Washington did not have kids of his own.  He had step kids, and I thought it was kind of cool that he was asked to adopt other children that got so attached to him and his wife. 

Before I read the story, I knew there was a legend about George Washington cutting down a cherry tree, that he fought in the Revolutionary War, that Lafayette was his friend, and that he was our first president.  Now I know he was a surveyor, he almost died of frostbite, he was a good man, and he helped free our country.  I can picture his life.

My oldest, who was the one who was so excited to read another book in the YWAM Publishing Heroes in History series and is the one who selected our review title loved this book as much as the John Adams one we read before.  He sad:

It is a great book.  It had lots of cliff hangers which I liked.  They made me want to read the next chapters. 

I learned that George Washington's brother gave him a lead gun when he was young.  I also learned that George never had his own children.  He had some children which were from his wife's past husband, and he had some he adopted from his family when their parents died.  One of his adopted sons watched a battle in a coach and, then, died afterward of illness.

I particularly like this book series.  I cannot explain why.  I just like how they write.   I like how they start at one point and then go back to tell the rest of the story.  I like how they have extra details about the people they write about.  I also like how their chapters are.  They are not too long and not too short.

I think other people should read this book and the whole series.

I whole-heartedly agree with my son.  If the George Washington book we've just read, and the John Adams one we read before, are strong measures to go by, the entire Heroes in History series is one that I would recommend reading.  The books are not dry historical accounts nor exaggerated tales or simple recycling of canned information about historical figures.  Rather, they present known facts and new ones in a living books format that engages readers, making history come alive.  I cannot wait to read more in the series.


Learn More

 

YWAM Publishing can be found at Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

One hundred families read and reviewed different YWAM Publishing titles.  See what each Schoolhouse Review Crew had to say.

Another Hit of a Living History Book {A Heroes of History - Benjamin Franklin Review}

Disclosure:  Some of the links which follow are affiliate ones. 

If you love living books about historical or Christian heroes, YWAM Publishing is the place to go!  Their best selling biographies have proven a favorite in our home, and, recently, my children were psyched to read another book from their Heroes of History series: Heroes of History- Benjamin Franklin.

Since we had previously read - and loved! - the John Adams and George Washington biographies in the Heroes of History series, my children knew a bit of what to expect from our copy of Benjamin Franklin- Live Wire and were eager to dig in as soon as it came into the house.

My children have long had an affection for the colonial and revolutionary war periods, since we live where much of the action during these time periods took place and tend to frequent reenactments and encampments.  As such, my children also had prior knowledge about Ben Franklin before we cracked open Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire and were keen to see how the authors would weave facts that we already knew about Franklin and his time period into their story, and, also, what new things they might present to us.

None of us were disappointed as we read Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire.  In fact, the 197-page softcover biography became the most requested book in our read-together pile and as we devoured it, my children kept piping up with comment such as, "I never knew that before...", "Mom, remember when we first learned that...", and "You know what else I have heard?"

We found the book corroborated and expanded upon much of our prior learning and kept us wanting to read more!  I, personally, was also delighted that the book did not get into some of the baser aspects of Ben Franklin's life.  For, in truth, the reason my children and I had never read any longer, deeper biographies about Benjamin Franklin before was, in part, because I did not want to deal with details about Franklin's history of fornication and adultery.  My children are not wholly sheltered, but I do try to avoid focusing on vice rather than virtue with them. Having read other books in the Heroes of History series, I was confident that Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire would do just that, and I was right.

The Children's Words

Since we finished Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire weeks before this review was due, I decided to wait to ask for my children's narrations and thoughts about the book to see what they would retain.

I just asked my children for their thoughts yesterday, then, and, this is what my six-year-old narrated:

Ben Franklin was beat by someone else in making the lightening rod.

He went to Britain.  He tried to make them understand the unfair taxes in the colonies.

He also went to France.  He tried to convince the French to be on the the colony's side against Britain.

He tested water for currents and warmth when he traveled by ship.

After reading the book together as a family, I sometimes found my youngest and middle child, reading parts of it to each other, which I found adorable since neither of them reads chapter books on their own yet.

When I asked my middle child about the book, she said:

I liked this book about Ben Franklin.  These are some facts I learned or relearned:

• I learned that Ben's father made candles.  Ben did not want to make them, so his father let him be an apprentice to his brother, a newspaperman.

• I also learned that Ben ran away.  He ha problems with his brother, and ended up in Philadelphia.   Philadelphia became his home, and he did many things for the city.  For example, he made a public library, had the roads paved, and organized a fire department.

• I relearned that Ben went to Britain and France.  He went to Britain to try to make peace for the colonies.  When that did not work, he later went to France to get the French to help the Americans.

• Ben died as an older man having lived a useful life.

 I hope you will enjoy the book, too.

My oldest, at eleven-year-old (who was the one who requested this book and was found once re-reading part of it after an evening shower before he'd even changed into his jammies when he had spied it sitting out), wrote:

This is a great book.  I love how it starts later in Benjamin Franklin's life, then goes back in time, then catches up, and, then, surpasses the beginning.  The book starts with what Ben is remembered for - proving lightening is electricity.  Then, it returns to when he was a child and moves through his entire life, highlighting Ben as a printer, an inventor, a scientist, a businessman, a civic-minded man, a patriot, and a founding father of the United States.

We learned so much in this book about Ben Franklin, such as:

• He left the 13 colonies and came back to the recognized 13 States.
• Ben's last words were, "A dying man can do nothing easily."
• He was the only man to sign all five important documents that built the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Peace with England (Treaty of Paris), and the Constitution of the United States.

Like all Heroes of History books, this one was great for its cliff hangers at the ends of chapters that make you want to keep reading.Overall, this book was interesting book that taught me a lot about history.  If you like history, you would like it, too.

All of the children truly enjoyed the book and took things away from it. (I did, too!)  Better still, they connected the book to prior learning and learning since reading it, too.

At a local encampment event, they got excited when a reenactor was showing them different types of old glasses and began telling the man about the Ben Franklin book they had just read.

Recently, when reading another book where a substitute character was challenging his students to name a historical figure based on some clues, my children gleefully called out that the figure was Ben Franklin long before the students in the book did.

The children have also been recognizing some of Ben's inventions when out and about and at museums and encampments, too.

It is so much fun when connected, organic learning happens like this.  Snuggled up read-togethers with family days out with other directed and self-directed studies...  I so appreciate how Benjamin Franklin-Live Wire has played into our family's learning and recommend the book to you if your family enjoys living history books, too!

For Those that Like Unit Studies

Along with our copy of the Heroes of History - Benjamin Franklin book, we received a downloadable study guide, which was excellently written and chock full of ideas for review, learning, and extension.

The Study Guide includes over 80 pages of materials to help you turn the reading of an engaging living history book into a full-fledged unit study for an individual, family, or classroom should you wish to do so.   It can also be used - as my family used it - as a "buffet" of sorts, so you can chat about a discussion question there, select a quote for copywork there, etc.

Included in the guide are pdf's with:

• a fact sheet with illustration

• a time line

• several maps 

• key quotes

• suggestions for a display area

• questions for each chapter, based on vocabulary, facts, and basic comprehension, as well as ones that were open-ended, asking for an opinion or interpretation answers for all questions, except the open-ended one
  

• ideas and instructions for essays, creative writing projects, hands-on projects, and audio/visual projects

• ideas for a culminating event

• and more!

The study guide truly is helpful whether you seek a full-on unit study or simply well-organized ideas, questions, and quotes to dip into.

Learn More

Heroes of History- Benjamin Franklin is available at YWAM Publishing for $7.50 (as opposed to its typical $9.99 cover price).  It is one of the many fantastic biographies written for children in the Heroes of History and Christian Heroes Series.

There are 46 books in the Christian Heroes series, which cover the time period from the 1700's through the 1960's and 28 books in the Heroes of History series.  Titles can be purchased individually, in five-book sets, or in complete sets through YWAM Publishing.
Downloadable unit study guides are also available at YWAM Publishing.

One hundred families read and reviewed different YWAM Publishing titles from the Heroes of History and Christian Heroes series.  See what each Review Crew family had to say.




     

YWAM Publishing can be found at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and on their own blog.

 

My Daughter Devoured C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller {A Homeschool Review Crew / YWAM Publishing Review}

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

"OOO! Guess what, guys? We're being offered a chance to review another YWAM Publishing book!" I said before proceeding to read through the titles of the Christian Heroes: Then & Now books we could choose from.

No sooner had I read the words C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller than did my 14-year-old excitedly proclaim, "That one!" She had recently become enamored with some of C.S. Lewis' nonfiction writing and wanted to know more about the man behind the books she had been reading.

Shortly after, we were delighted to receive a 191-page softcover copy of C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller in the mail and a link via email to download a Unit Study Curriculum Guide that corresponds to the book.

As soon as the book arrived, my daughter dove right in and barely came up for air. This is what she had to write when I asked for her review:

When my mother asked me if I'd like to review C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller by Janet & Geoff Benge, I automatically ensured her that I did. Remembering my past enjoyment of these books and considering my latest - what would you call it- obsession with C.S Lewis, I knew I wanted to read the book.

I did not know much about C.S. Lewis when I started the book. I do now.

The book follows the common theme of Christian Heroes: Then and Now books, which, is, of course, to make what could be a boring history of someone's life a compelling and informative story. This book in the series was so compelling, in fact, that I believe I read it in three days! I kept saying to myself and my poor mother, "just one more page.... last chapter for now...." and then proceeded to read the next and the next until I had finished the book.

I do not want to say much about what I learned about C.S. Lewis, because I do not want to ruin it for others, but I will share some random things:

• Did you know that C.S. Lewis' nickname was Jack? (I have a brother named Jack, so found this interesting.)
• Did you know he fought in the World Wars?
• How about that when he first married his life it was not because he loved her, but so that she would not have to go back to the United States?

 

I also learned more about some of the background of C.S. Lewis' writing.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about C.S. Lewis or to just read an interesting biography. I think it would be good for people eight and up.

As you can see, my daughter thoroughly enjoyed C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller, and, given that and our past pleasure with other YWAM Publishing books, I second her recommendation of the book and its corresponding unit study.

Regarding the Unit Study Curriculum Guide, it is a thorough one that can be used as a full-on unit study or can be cherry-picked for specific ideas and information that suit your particular child and homeschool style. Like all YWAM Publishing curriculum guides, it has ideas, prompts, and information for reinforcing various curriculum areas, including history, geography, essay writing, creative writing, reading comprehension, public speaking, drama, and art and is written so that both homeschool parents and teachers of co-ops/classrooms can use the material contained in it.

As a relaxed, eclectic homeschool family, we rarely use such resources in their entirety, but, rather, choose to cherry-pick ideas. Examples of how we do this are:

• use included Bible verse quotes as journal prompts.

• chat about the vocabulary words and terms that are highlighted in the Chapter Questions and Social Studies sections to ensure that my child understand each.

• have my child browse the Essay Question prompts to select one for practice essay writing.

• suggest my child look over the Creative Writing prompts to see if one strikes her fancy for journaling or a personal project.

• use the included maps to find some of the places mentioned.

There's so much in the Curriculum Guide- and all well-organized and easy to browse through - so it is easy to extend learning as little or as much as you want.

We absolutely love YWAM Publishing here and  C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller did not disappoint. 

You can find our past YWAM Publishing reviews by browsing here. Also, be sure to click over to the Homeschool Review Crew to find links to current blog, video, and social media reviews from families that have read  C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller or other Christian Heroes: Then & Now books.

You might also want to connect with YWAM Publishing:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

This Heroes of History - Milton Hershey Book Review Could Not Have Been More Timely for Us!

{Some links which follow are affiliate ones.}

Who doesn't like chocolate, reading, and inspiration? 

My family enjoyed all three of these things as we reviewed Heroes of History- Milton Hershey from YWAM Publishers, a vendor we came to know and love several years ago!

Why We Chose the Milton Hershey Book

When my children and I were given an opportunity to select another YWAM Publishers book for review, we were delighted! We had previously reviewed titles about George Washington, John Adams, and Ben Franklin from their Heroes of History series and had no doubt that we wanted to receive another history biography along with its accompanying Study Guide. Our only problem was deciding which biography to request, because every title in the series looks so interesting!


After some debate, we finally landed on Milton Hershey.

To be honest, none of us had ever thought much about Milton Hershey before besides the fact that he had left the world a legacy of yummy chocolate.  However, as we read the description of Janet and Geoff Benge's book about him, we knew that reading his biography could not be more timely for us! 

Milton Hershey was a man with a fourth grade education who overcame adversity and became a famous businessperson and philanthropist.  Our family needed the inspiration of such a man a we faced our own challenges.  

My husband was out of work, my daughter was becoming increasingly discouraged by dyslexia, and all three of my children were wondering how, at their young ages, they might open a business or at least make some money. Thus, reading about a man who was willing to work hard and sacrifice in order to triumph over debt, lack of support, fatigue, and other setbacks while also maintaining a positive and generous spirit seemed perfect for us.

Edified by Milton Hershey's Story

Without question, Milton Hershey grabbed our family's attention right away and kept us turning all of its 191 pages with eager anticipation

We enjoyed the book as a nightly read aloud, and every time we sat down to read just one chapter, we could not resist reading another.  For, prior to reading the book, none of us knew much about Milton Hershey and, as we read, all of us wanted to find out details of his difficult childhood, failed early business attempts, hard-earned later successes, compassionate charity, and persistent spirit. 

We found ourselves edified by the example of Milton Hershey as we immersed ourselves in the book's compelling narrative and well-researched historical depth.  Seriously, the story was replete with examples of resilience, determination, and compassion that my family needed over the past couple of months. 

It also connected to past studies and inspired some new learning in everything from American wars and their effects on the economy, to how to make chocolate, to where different states and countries are, to how creating a single product is often an international process, to what labor disputes and unions were all about, and more.

We appreciated that Milton Hershey is:

• an engaging read aloud (which can also be read alone by late elementary schoolers and up, I'd say)
• inspiring as you read about how Milton Hershey persevered through struggles and worked hard to succeed and help others
• consistent in quality to other books in the Heroes of History series.  These books are truly top notch biographies for late elementary school on up or family read alouds.

My children were also inspired to turn our home into candy making test kitchen, experimenting with recipe after recipe to make soft and brittle chocolate candy recipes.  What a riot!

Broaden Your Learning with a Study Guide

The candy making proved a humorous, tasty, and educational diversion for my crew.  With so much stress in our home lately, it was fun for them to pull out ingredients we had and to see what would happen as they mixed, heated, chilled, squeezed, and, ultimately, ate them, all the while alternating their chatter between talking about Milton Hershey's life and planning businesses they might open.

It was only after they did this that I saw in the Study Guide that we had received a recipe for making your own chocolate.  It looked wonderful, but, I have to tell the truth: I did not give it to my children.  They were doing so well exploring with their own self-start ideas, I did not want to impede them.

Thus, I only used the the Milton Hershey Study Guide casually, asking a few questions from it and bookmarking ideas in my brain for possible future studies.  For, honestly, during this season for my family, simply reading Milton Hershey, chatting about it, allowing my children to make forays into making their own candy, and entertaining their children's future business plans was perfect for us.

In another stage of life, we might appreciate broadening our learning further by using the plethora of ideas in the Study Guide, for the resource is definitely a complete one for homeschool families, large groups, and classrooms alike. 

In it, you'll find:

• Key Quotes (which would work well for memorization or copywork)
• Display Corner ideas (which would work well for strewing, for focus for a book club, or for a book presentation)
• Chapter Questions (which drew from for casual chats, but which could be used for formal discussion or writing exercises)
• Ideas for Essay and Research Topics (which could deepen student learning)
• Creative Writing Prompts (which extend student's imagination)
• Suggestions for Hands-On Projects (which are great for all ages)
• Field Trip Ideas (both the kind you go on and the kind that come to your classroom)
• Terms/Vocabulary (to highlight new words)
• Geographical Questions and Mapping (to give context to where the story takes place)
• a Timeline (which helps place the story in history)
• a Books and Resources Appendix (which is always fabulous for finding quality books, websites, and more)

In other words, no matter what your homeschool style is or how old your students are, you can likely find something in the Study Guide to expand your learning!

What the Children Had to Say

Even though it has been a couple of weeks since my family finished reading Milton Hershey, we continue to talk about the story and to relate it to our own lives.  It has been so apropos to my husband' job loss and search, my children's desire to make money, my daughter's reading and writing struggles, and all of our need to stay positive as we persevere through challenges. 

The book has also reminded us of how one kindness can beget another and how a generous spirit builds community. 

The book has staying power!  When I asked my 7-year-old for thoughts about it for this review, he said:

I liked Milton Hershey.  When we were reading it, I wanted to keep going each time. 

Some things I learned about Milton Hershey are: 

• He made a chocolate bar, but also made a sugar company.

• He had many businesses and some failed.

• He had great persistence!

Milton Hershey went through so many failures, but kept doing what he wanted to do and succeeded!

More than one since reading the book, he has compared people in our home to Milton Hershey, Milton's mom, or Milton' Dad, indicating a need for each of us to persevere, help, encourage, or work instead of just dreaming.

.My 10-year-old had this to say:

I really enjoyed this book about Milton Hershey.  I did not really know much about him before I read this book, and I think it is perfect for learning all about him. 

What I found was fun to do was to look at the picture on the cover and guess what each part of it was about, and, then, as I read, to figure out what each piece of the illustration was about.

For example, on the cover, it has a cow.  I thought, What does a cow have to do with Milton Hershey?  I thought it was for milk chocolate, but I also learned that one of Milton Hershey's successful businesses after failures was because of his caramels, and he used milk in them.  So, that's what I figured out the cow was for.  It reminds me of how Milton Hershey persevered until he found successful things.

The Hershey's Kiss illustration has a funny story that goes with it.  In his early businesses, his mom wrapped candy for him.  Once he had an exploding success, she still wanted to help, so she protested until he sent her Kisses to wrap.  He just did not bother to tell her that he just could not actually sell those because they were not wrapped in the factory.  This showed how much he cared for his mother and her wishes.

There is a picture of Milton Hershey standing in front of a really big building with two children. I thought it was his factory and the kids were his.  Through reading the book, I learned that Milton Hershey never had children.  He wanted them, so he opened a school for boys who did not have fathers.  He also built a whole town!  He was so into his business.  he cared for his employees and others. H was compassionate!

I would recommend this book to all people, because it is a fun and entertaining book.

My daughter was wholly taken in by the book as a story of a charitable and dedicated man's life and an inspiration to create chocolate and, more recently, to build a chicken business dream.  It has been fun witnessing her reactions to the story.

My 12-year-old had this to say about the book:

Milton Hershey is good.  I learned a lot from it.  Before reading it, I did not know Milton Hershey once owned a huge caramel company, and that caramels were originally made with paraffin, not milk.  I also did not know how many businesses he had before the chocolate one.  He was persistent!

I also learned that Milton Hershey started a school for fatherless boys.  He had no children of his own and wanted to help other children.

Milton Hershey was a charitable person.  He was kind to the boys in his school, to his family, and to his employees.  Obviously, he gave the boys an education.  He also gave them a home - a good home.  He gave his family good houses when he had the money to do so, let his mother wrap Kisses even though he could not sell them, and kept loving his father even though his father did not make the smartest choices.  Milton Hershey gave his employees good homes with electricity and built them beautiful towns.  He was a generous man and reading about him taught me generosity. 

I like the way Milton Hershey's story was told by the authors because it started at one point, returned to an earlier time, and then went forward through Milton Hershey's whole life. They end chapters on cliff hangers usually and the titles of each chapter make you want to keep reading. 

I would recommend this book to others.  It would be good to read when you are really down, because Milton Hershey was in bad situations and got out of them to become a successful candymaker and virtuous man.

As you can see, Milton Hershey's generous spirit and ability to rise above circumstances captured his attention, as did the way Janet and Geoff Benge wrote the biography! 

All three of my children, my husband, and I found Milton Hershey an outstanding read aloud with well-researched history and highlights of virtue strong throughout.  The booked proved to be as good - if not even better - than other Heroes of History books we have read and we are happy we chose to make it a part of recent life and leaning.

I truly have not found a series of biographies that engages my children more than Heroes of History and cannot recommend this particular Milton Hershey book and the series it comes from enough!

As an aside for religious readers:  Milton was a Mennonite and his wife was Catholic,so the book does discuss religion in context, depicting strict and more luke-warm individuals of faith.  It also mentions how some members of Milton's family were not thrilled at first that he was planning to marry a Catholic woman.  However, there is nothing that I found offensive in its treatment of any faith, and, in fact, I think people of all faiths will appreciate strong examples of Christian charity in the book.

Learn More

Heroes of History- Milton Hershey is available at YWAM Publishing for $7.50 (as opposed to its typical $9.99 cover price).  It is one of the many bestselling biographies written for children in the Heroes of History and Christian Heroes Series.

Our family has enjoyed reviewing these other titles from the series, too:

John Adams: Independence Forever (review)

Benjamin Franklin- Live Wire (review)

George Washington - True Patriot (review)

There are 40+ books in the Christian Heroes series, which cover the time period from the 1700's through the 1960's and 20+ books in the Heroes of History series.  Titles can be purchased individually, in five-book sets, or in complete sets through YWAM Publishing.

Downloadable unit study guides are also available at YWAM Publishing.

One hundred families read and reviewed different YWAM Publishing titles from the Heroes of History and Christian Heroes series.  See what each Review Crew family had to say.





     

YWAM Publishing can be found at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and on their own blog.

If you are looking for well-written biographies that are as engaging as they are inspiring, check out Heroes of History !