I want to thank Cross Focused Reviews and Reformation Heritage Books for providing me with a copy of Anselm of Canterbury by Simonetta Carr in return for my honest opinion.
Anselm (1033-1109) didn’t want to be the archbishop of Canterbury. He wanted to study and to write about God. He did that, explaining important issues such as the answer to the question “Why did God have to become man in order to save us from our sins?” His answer has been referenced in discussions and catechisms ever since.
Simonetta Carr has written a new book for her Christian Biographies for Young Readers series. Anselm of Canterbury (Reformation Heritage Books, 2013) is the sixth in a line of spectacularly beautiful and well-written biographies for children ages 7-12.
Anselm of Canterbury is presented in a picture book style format, but it is not your typical picture book. There are six chapters, a timeline, a section with interesting facts from Anselm’s life and times, and excerpts from Anselm’s writings. Throughout the book, there are well-captioned photographs pertaining to Anselm. Children will view the homes he lived in as a child, artwork and artifacts from the Middle Ages, and the countryside where he traveled. There are also twelve full-color paintings depicting scenes from the life of Anselm. These were painted by Matt Abraxas and are truly beautiful.
Simonetta Carr’s writing style is warmly conversational. She carefully explains the challenges and nature of living in the Middle Ages, the political issues involved with the Church in Anselm’s day, and the theology Anselm addressed. Though the book is a biography, it is easily accessible to children. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the book will appeal to 7-12 year-olds. I would opt to use this as a read-aloud for the younger ages. However, older children will enjoy the book. Mine are quite excited about it.
I believe that helping our children understand Christian history is important. I’m excited that Mrs. Carr is covering figures that are largely unaddressed in biographies for children. I really enjoyed Anselm of Canterbury by Simonetta Carr, and I look forward to collecting the rest of her books.
This book would coordinate well with studies involving:
- The end of the Early Middle Ages
- The Beginning of the High Middle Ages
- England
- The Politicization of the Church
- William the Conqueror, King William or King Henry I
Other books in Simonetta Carr’s line
- John Calvin (Christian Biographies for Young Readers)
- Augustine of Hippo (Christian Biographies for Young Readers)
- John Owen (Christian Biographies for Young Readers)
- Athanasius (Christian Biographies for Young Readers)
- Lady Jane Grey (Christian Biographies for Young Readers)
- Jonathan Edwards (Christian Biographies for Young Readers)
- John Knox (Christian Biographies for Young Readers)
Purchase Anselm of Canterbury at
- Amazon: Anselm of Canterbury (Christian Biographies for Young Readers)
- Christian Book: Anselm of Canterbury
More Books for 8-12 Year Olds Reviewed at Thinking Kids
- Augustine: The Truth Seeker by K.C. Murdarasi
- Guarding the Treasure: How God’s People Preserve God’s Word by Linda Finlayson
- Tough Questions About the Bible by Joel R. Beeke
- The New Astronomy Book by Danny R. Faulkner
- Growing Up God’s Way For Boys by Dr. Chris Richards and Dr. Liz Jones
- Growing Up God’s Way For Girls by Dr. Chris Richards and Dr. Liz Jones
Thinking Kids Book Review Indexes
Thinking Kids Pinterest Book Boards
- Christian Books for Preschoolers
- Christian Books for 4-7 Year Olds
- Christian Books for the Middle Grades
- Christian Books for Middle School
- Christian Books for High School
- Christian Books for Kids’ Devotions
- Christian Books about Parenting
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Dear Danika,
I wanted to touch base with you, I wrote you awhile back about Bible Roadtrip, Do I have your permission to copy and put these in folders by the week to make available to other homeschool Mom’s who need Bible Curriculum? There are so many who can’t afford and Ive shared Bible RT and they absolutely love it and are so blessed by it. Ive been a homeschooler for 28 yrs and 7 kids later…I want to help others who are in need. But I have to ask you. Many mom’s didnt understand how to put it together so I did it for them but I don’t post it over the internet , I only give as it is asked for. Your such a blessing Danika. I am planning to start a free highschool and homeschool curriculum I am going to put it together on a website. THANKS!!!!
Robyn Dowling
Robyn,
I want to tell you that I am so glad to see you sharing links to free materials that link back to the source websites. It’s not clear to me if you’re asking to electronically copy and file Bible Road Trip, or to copy and file it as paperwork for local friends. For the electronic question, I would say ‘no’, with the following explanation:
I’m spending an enormous amount of time writing Bible Road Trip and it’s free to anyone, with the condition that they download it from Thinking Kids (or BibleRoadTrip.org). I love that others are sharing the links to the curriculum. However, I don’t want anyone to use a dropbox or other electronic means to distribute the curriculum. I would like the curriculum to come from me.
I am concerned about your statement that some moms don’t understand how to assemble the curriculum. Have you seen the indexes at the top of the page that link to each week’s curriculum and notebook pages? How do you feel I can make this more understandable for others? I know that downloading one week at a time takes some effort, but I don’t want to confuse anyone.
Thank you so much for asking me before you distributed Bible Road Trip. I appreciate that very much. Thank you also for letting me know how the curriculum is helping others. I am thrilled to hear that. I’m also excited to hear about your upcoming curriculum that you’re planning. Please send me a link when you’re up and running… I’d love to check it out!
~ Danika
Dear Danika,
That is what I’m trying to say, I give them your website, and updates and they are having a hard time putting it together. I have mine out together week by week, and now the spines YAY, I can’t wait to put it in a notebook. I know some new homeschool mom’s are having a hard time figuring it out, which I have explained to them/. I hate to put extra work on you…..you have done such a wonderful job of putting this together which I absolutely love, I just tell others about your blog. To me its easy but I guess to someone new its hard? Whatever God puts on your heart. Robyn
Thank you, Robyn.
I would like to have Bible Road Trip downloads come from this site. I don’t want Bible Road Trip to be distributed by others.
I very much appreciate your links to Thinking Kids to inform others about the curriculum. However, I ask that you not redistribute Bible Road Trip. That would be a violation of the copyright. I understand that you recognize that and were asking for permission to work outside of the copyright. Thank you so much for taking the time to ask.
I hope that those who need help assembling the curriculum will ask here at Thinking Kids so that I can further revise the system by which it is produced and distributed. I am certain that I will find a suitable manner in which to publish the curriculum by year once it is fully written and we’ve gone through this period of beta testing. However, without feedback from those using and assembling the curriculum I cannot revise it effectively.
Thank you again for asking, Robyn. Again, I very much appreciate the manner in which you share direct links to the websites supplying free and discounted curriculums. I would still love to hear about your high school curriculum site once you have it up and running.
Respectfully,
Danika
What a wonderful review! Thank you so much! I am glad to hear your kids are looking forward to reading the book. I am also glad to have discovered your blog.
Thank you for visiting, Simonetta. I was a pleasure to be able to read your book, and the kids are quite insistent that we read it together immediately! 🙂
~ Danika
I love listening to the Author Talks from Cross Focused Media; they’re alerting us to some wonderful books. Your review makes me wish we were going through the Middle Ages sometime soon! Somehow I know we’re going to get at least the Lady Jane Grey book.
😀
Your discription of Simonetta’s style is exactly the goal I have in writing. We need lots of “warm” but “careful” writers for kids!
Cheri, They all look fantastic! We won’t be in the Middle Ages again for another couple of years, but we’re going to read all of them for fun! It helps that the kids are already familiar with the time periods. 🙂
~ Danika
Danika,
Thanks for being a part of the blog tour. I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. Simonetta’s books are such a gift!
Shaun Tabatt
Cross Focused Reviews