Series: Usborne Famous Lives Series.
Subject Areas: History.
Ages: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12.
Type: Biography, Non-fiction Readers

So sorry for the silence this past week! I was busy with finishing up homeschool for this school year, driver's ed. classes for my 16 year-old, and getting my two oldest sons off to Costa Rica (a graduation trip; one received his four year degree, the other his Master's!) I hope to make up for it by reviewing one or more titles from the Famous Lives Series each day this week. Several of us in our family are reading thru these books. They are delightful and keep your attention throughout the entire book.

There are wonderful side-benefits to reading biographies --
--absorbing the details of history and the flavor of the time period in which the character lives
--the ability to place the famous person in the overall timeline of history
--identifying character qualities, either good or bad, and the eventual outcome of a person's choices

When your student reads thru this series, they'll be able to identify and better understand cultures from ancient Egypt up thru and including our modern age. This series is a group of compact hardbound chapter books, with lots of photos and/or drawings included. THey are also very reasonably priced.

Since Usborne Books originate in England, (and because I love to read about British history) what better place to begin than with Winston Churchill! This is one of several Usborne biographies by the author Katie Daynes, and she is very gifted at this type of writing.

Winston Churchill opens with a scene of Winston at age five -- hiding from his nanny as he attempts to escape from the new governess sent to teach him! He
liked learning letters and words but had challenges with arithmetic, "numbers seemed to get tangled up in terrible knots." Kids will instantly identify with him in a variety of ways.

As his story continues, you'll be fascinated to see his strengths and weaknesses, the events he endures that prepare him for his life's calling, wise decisions he makes, mistakes he stumbles into, and the way he applies himself when he finally discovers his passion for leading his country thru a difficult period of history. He earned the respect of people all over the world. At the end of the book is a timeline of his most important moments. To see photos of where he lived, hear his speeches, and to view film from World War II, visit the recommended Internet Links; these are explained just after the Table of Contents.

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Of Interest To: Librarians and Media Specialists, Parents, Teachers