If you are familiar with Circle C Adventures by Kregel Publications, then you are no stranger to Andrea "Andi" Carter. While the Circle C Adventures are for readers ages 9 - 14, the books in the new Circle C Beginnings are for readers from age 6 to age 8. They are completely new stories about 6-year-old Andi, her horse, and her family and friends on the Circle C Ranch in 1874. The books have fun illustrations and easy-to-read text -- for kids who are ready for their first chapter books.


Circle,C,Kregel,Susan,Marlow
Title: Andi's Pony Trouble
Target Ages: ages 6-8
Format: paperback book
Price: $4.99  




The Queen's Assessment:
We LOVED Andi's Pony Trouble. I was afraid that the prince would not want to read a story about a girl. Reading is generally not his favorite thing to do anyway. Add in that the main character is a girl, and I was prepared for battle. 


It was easier than I thought. As soon as the prince found out that a ranch was involved, he was game. He still didn't want to read the whole chapter by himself, so we team read -- he'd read the even-numbered pages and I'd read the odd-numbered pages. This worked especially well for him when he had a page with an illustration instead of words! 


The story was engaging, and we wanted to know "what happens next." The illustrations were delightful. The princess was playing nearby as we read. One day, she noticed that I had printouts from the Andy and Taffy website on my desk. She would color for a long time while we read. The prince enjoyed coloring as well, but he had to wait until we were done reading.


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These pictures are from a book other than the one we reviewed.
However, they  give a representation of the great illustrations in these books.
Other Homeschool Crew Members reviewed this book and others in the series. Be sure to find out what they thought at The Homeschool Crew Blog.



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Disclaimer: This was a review of my experience with the product described. I tried to give a complete and honest assessment. In order to review the product, I received a free book with no additional compensation. This in no way influenced my review of the product. The opinions expressed are my own and were not affected or edited by anyone prior to publishing.



The grass is green. It’s good to be
 

date Friday, May 6, 2011

I remember that as a child I would watch movies that had the big mansion with the "library" in it. The books were floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall. That always seemed like a fancy house. 


We just had a bookshelf.




Do you have a library at your house? We do. Up until recently, it was also known as the "throne" room. 

Then, we got Yesterday's Classics to review for The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. Yesterday's Classics sent us 225 (yes, 225!!!) ebooks to review. I think that would constitute a library.


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Title: Yesterday's Classics
Target Ages: ages 4+

Now, I am not one for a lot of gadgets. I keep my calendar on the wall. My "To Do" list is a spiral notebook that usually gets lost amongst a bunch of other clutter.


Since I am not into gadgets, I didn't have an eReader device on which to read these files. However, through the great network of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I found that I could download FREE reading software and read these files on my computer. 


This set of ebooks includes:


  • 225 titles
  • with illustrations -- if the original book had quality illustrations, they are here
  • with table of contents -- not all ebooks have this
  • in 22 different genres -- including History, Nature, Reading, Poetry and more
  • without Digital Management Software -- you can use it on as many devices as you want
  • with ability to print some -- using certain eReader software on your computer
  • with email support -- who doesn't like that??!!

Find out more about this offer here. You can even download a sample book here (scroll way down to the blue box). While you are there, you'll notice there is a No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee!!! 

The Queen's Assessment:
 We really enjoyed these books. There were many that we could use in our history lessons this year. We will be learning about countries and cultures next year. These books will fit right in. I can already see that we will be using these through high school. 

The Nature books were great for science this year and will be referred to in years to come. Upper level science books will definitely come back out again.

Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends are always a hit around here. Anything that makes books "cool" is always a plus with the prince. Legends usually fit the bill. 

The Reader genre in this collection was great for the prince. He enjoys gadgets and really wants us to get an eReader device. After investigating some, I found that reading test scores are improving with students who use technology in learning. So, we may have to look into this more.

So, I don't have the big library with floor-to-ceiling books. But, I'm not complaining. All of these books are in one REALLY small stack, that can't be scattered around, and ... I don't have to dust all those shelves.


Other Homeschool Crew Members reviewed this product. Be sure to find out what they thought at The Homeschool Crew Blog.



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Disclaimer: This was a review of my experience with the product described. I tried to give a complete and honest assessment. In order to review the product, I received the files for free with no additional compensation. This in no way influenced my review of the product. The opinions expressed are my own and were not affected or edited by anyone prior to publishing.


The grass is green. It’s good to be
 

date Wednesday, May 4, 2011