Homeschool Friday - Seth and Beth

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review for each.

Seth and Beth

By: Jenny Phillips

Illustrated By: Alessia Ray

Publication: January 1, 2019 by The Good and the Beautiful

91 pages

Genre: Children's, Picture Books, Christian, Level-2

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | The Good and the Beautiful )

*Note: The above link to The Good and the Beautiful is NOT an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Seth and Beth are the best of friends. They love to spend time together, going on adventures in the woods. However, trouble seems to follow them everywhere they go. Become a part of their tales of fun and mishap as they find out that as long as they have each other and God, they can get through anything.

Seth and Beth is a Level-2 reader from The Good and the Beautiful. It is 91 pages long, broken into three "books" with three chapters each. Each book begins with a list of challenging words included in that book. I like this because you can go over the more difficult words with your child beforehand, and hopefully, they will recognize them as they come upon them in the story.

Seth and Beth are friends who live next door to each other. In the first book, they ride their bikes to the pond, but Beth gets hurt on the way home. Seth has to go home without her to bring help back. Seth prays to God for help. Book 2 is about Seth's family's bake shop catching on fire. Seth and Beth devise a plan to pick and sell apples from Beth's apple tree to help pay for the repairs to the bakery. In the last book, Seth and Beth build a raft. They come back the next day to find a boy has commandeered their raft. They decide to behave like Jesus and treat the boy with kindness. All three kids end up as friends and play with the raft together.

This is exactly what I love about books from The Good and the Beautiful. All of these stories carry wonderful messages and morals. The first focuses on relying on God for help. The second shows that we can all step in to help out in times of trouble. And the third shows that by treating others with kindness, we can all win. Early level readers don't have to be pointless just because they use smaller, easier-to-read words. They can still have a moral and a message.

Seth and Beth gets 5 Stars from me for the messages and morals included in each story. My son read this without arguining or freaking out. And I love how these readers are slowly introducing my son to chapters and longer books so he can see that it's possible for him to read longer books. Have you or your child read Seth and Beth? What did you think? Let me know!

Homeschool Friday - Lewis and Clark Go West

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review/review for each.

Lewis and Clark Go West

By: McKay Pierce

Illustrated By: Kateryna Rohotova

Publication: January 1, 2022 by The Good and the Beautiful, LLC

47 pages

Genre: Children, Picture Book, Christian, Level-1

Source: Own/Personal Library

( Goodreads )

Goodreads description--Have you ever heard of Lewis and Clark? Long ago, they took a trip to see the land, animals, and people in the West. Look inside to learn more about what they saw and who they met!

Most of the Level-1 readers we have are from publishers like Random House and Scholastics. But we use a homeschool curriculum company called The Good and the Beautiful for a lot of our curriculum. The Good and the Beautiful has its own books written by several authors. Jenny Phillips, the company's creator, writes many of the books herself. And the company emphasizes good and beautiful literature that has strong moral values. I cannot appreciate this more. Most of the "normal" level-1 reader books are about 32 pages long with one or two short sentences per page or opening. Lewis and Clark Go West is a little longer with 47 pages and usually, one or two sentences per opening.

Lewis and Clark Go West begins with a challenging words page that includes 9 words used in the book that might be a little beyond the child's reading level, but I like that this is included at the beginning of the book so that you can go over these words with your child before they come to them in the book. This way maybe they will already recognize the words and be able to read them from memory already. Or if they get to one of these words while reading and can't sound it out phonetically or remember it, they will at least not be surprised and feel discouraged for not being able to read a challenging word.

Lewis and Clark Go West is exactly what you would think it is--a level-1 version of the events of Merriwether Lewis and William Clark's journey west to map the country and claim the territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean for America. The book talks about Sacagawea and her help as some things they saw along the way.

Lewis and Clark Go West is a 5-Star level-1 book. (The Good and the Beautiful technically rates this book as a level 1A.) The morals and messages often included in the books by The Good and the Beautiful weren't as present. But what makes this book a 5 Star book is the brief bits of history a child can get. Level-1 readers don't always have be entertaining only. We need more companies that focus on making quality content for young kids. Have you or your child read Lewis and Clark Go West? What did you think? Let me know!

*Note: Lewis and Clark Go West is no longer available for purchase through The Good and the Beautiful's website.

Homeschool Friday - Jane and the King

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review/review for each.

Jane and the Kinge (Gold Tales)

By: Jenny Phillips

Illustrated By: Ekaterina Kolesnikova

Publication: The Good and the Beautiful

51 pages

Genre: Children, Picture Book, Christian, Level-1

Source: Own/Personal Library

( Goodreads | The Good and the Beautiful )

Goodreads description--Level 1B: What can you give a king who already has all that money can buy? Perhaps something he does not yet know to treasure. Jane and the King, a beautifully written and illustrated tale, reminds us that it is often the simple joys in life that are the most profound and rewarding—especially when shared with those we love. Join young Jane as she helps a wealthy, discontented king find true happiness in unexpected ways.

Most of the Level-1 readers we have are from publishers like Random House and Scholastics. But we use a homeschool curriculum company called The Good and the Beautiful for a lot of our curriculum. The Good and the Beautiful has its own books written by several authors. Jenny Phillips, the company's creator, writes many of the books herself. And the company emphasizes good and beautiful literature that has strong moral values. I cannot appreciate this more. Most of the "normal" level-1 reader books are about 32 pages long with one or two short sentences per page or opening. Jane and the King is a good bit longer with 51 pages and usually, one or two sentences per opening.

Jane and the King begins with a challenging words page that includes 5 words used in the book that might be a little beyond the child's reading level, but I like that this is included at the beginning of the book so that you can go over these words with your child before they come to them in the book. This way maybe they will already recognize the words and be able to read them from memory already. Or if they get to one of these words while reading and can't sound it out phonetically or remember it, they will at least not be surprised and feel discouraged for not being able to read a challenging word.

Jane and the King is about a king in a far away land who has many possessions. Yet he was still sad. He thought having his subjects bring him a gift would make him happy. Jane lives in the land, and she liked to smile, bake, and sing. She didn't have many possessions and what she had wasn't very nice. But she was very happy. Jane was able to appreciate all the little things around her with joy. Jane struggles with coming up with a gift to give the king. The subjects of the kingdom brought all kinds of gifts to the king. But Jane ended up bringing two gifts. The first gift was a tree and a note from Jane telling the king that the tree actually needs him. She tells him that she will give him his second gift next year. The king goes about cultivating the tree. Over time with his efforts to take care of the tree he slowly began to appreciate the little things. Jane's second gift was teaching the king how to sing. The king grew older and his family grew as well. The king realized the tree was the best gift he had ever been given. Jane's family also grew and she taught her kids to appreciate all of the good gifts that God gives to each one of us.

Jane and the King is a 5-Star level-1 book for sure. (The Good and the Beautiful technically rates this book as a level 1B.) The morals and messages included in this book make this book what it is. We need more companies that focus on the messages we're sending to young kids. I also like that this is longer than a typical level-1 reader so that my son can get accustomed to reading longer books even though there aren't as many words on one page. Jane and the King is broken down into three chapters so your child doesn't have to read the entire book in one sitting. And this helps to get them accustomed to reading "chapter" books. Have you or your child read Jane and the King? What did you think? Let me know!

Homeschool Friday - Jack and the Lost Maze

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review/review for each.

Jack and the Lost Maze (Gold Tales)

By: Jenny Phillips

Publication: The Good and the Beautiful

58 pages

Genre: Children, Picture Book, Christian, Level-1

Source: Own/Personal Library

( Goodreads | The Good and the Beautiful )

Goodreads description--Jack has always been interested in the story about an old, hidden maze in the beautiful, mysterious hills around his home. One day, while tending his flock of sheep, Jack chases a sheep under a bush and finds himself in a lost maze! He cannot find his way out and wonders if he will ever get back home. Jack’s faith in God and his love of music and animals work together in this enchanting tale.

Most of the Level-1 readers we have are from publishers like Random House and Scholastics. But we use a homeschool curriculum company called The Good and the Beautiful for a lot of our curriculum. The Good and the Beautiful has its own books written by several authors. Jenny Phillips, the company's creator, writes many of the books herself. And the company emphasizes good and beautiful literature that has strong moral values. I cannot appreciate this more. Most of the "normal" level-1 reader books are about 32 pages long with one or two short sentences per page or opening. Jack and the Lost Maze is a good bit longer with 58 pages and usually, one or two sentences per opening.

Jack and the Lost Maze begins with a challenging words page that includes 4 words used in the book that might be a little beyond the child's reading level, but I like that this is included at the beginning of the book so that you can go over these words with your child before they come to them in the book. This way maybe they will already recognize the words and be able to read them from memory already. Or if they get to one of these words while reading and can't sound it out phonetically or remember it, they will at least not be surprised and feel discouraged for not being able to read a challenging word.

Jack and the Lost Maze is about a boy and his family. Many areas of the land they lived in were not safe. Jack read about a maze hidden deep in the hills that was thirty miles long. Jack cared for his family's sheep. Jack loved all the wildlife in the area. One day a foggy mist came in that made it hard for Jack to see. He found himself inside the maze. Jack realizes that his mom would tell him to pray. So he did. And God helped him. (I won't spoil how.) When he got home, he told all the people how God helped him. Jack ended up leading the men in his town/village to the maze, and together they explored and mapped the maze. But even as he grew older, he still told the story of how God helped him out of the maze.

Jack and the Lost Maze is a 5-Star level-1 book. (The Good and the Beautiful technically rates this book as a level 1B.) The morals and messages included in this book are what make this book a 5 Star book for me. We need more companies that focus on the messages we're sending to young kids. I also like that this is longer than a typical level-1 reader so that my son can get accustomed to reading longer books even though there aren't as many words on one page. Have you or your child read Jack and the Lost Maze? What did you think? Let me know!

Homeschool Friday - A Crown for Kate

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review/review for each.

A Crown for Kate

By: Jenny Phillips

Illustrated By: Ekaterina Kolesnikova

Publication: January 1, 2020 by The Good and the Beautiful

55 pages

Genre: Children's, Picture Books, Level-1

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads )

Description--Travel to a land long ago where a girl named Kate wants nothing more than to be a real queen one day. Although Kate, being blind, can’t see the beautiful mill and land where she lives, she can feel, smell, and hear the beauty around her. When Kate unexpectedly finds a real crown in the forest, she is taken on a journey that will change her life.

Most of the Level-1 readers we have are from publishers like Random House and Scholastics. But we use a homeschool curriculum company called The Good and the Beautiful for a lot of our curriculum. The Good and the Beautiful has its own books written by several authors. Jenny Phillips, the company's creator, writes many of the books herself. And the company emphasizes good and beautiful literature that has strong moral values. I cannot appreciate this more. Most of the "normal" level-1 reader books are about 32 pages long with one or two short sentences per page or opening. A Crown for Kate is a good bit longer with 55 pages and usually, one or two sentences per opening.

A Crown for Kate begins with a challenging words page that includes 5 words used in the book that might be a little beyond the child's reading level, but I like that this is included at the beginning of the book so that you can go over these words with your child before they come to them in the book. This way maybe they will already recognize the words and be able to read them from memory already. Or if they get to one of these words while reading and can't sound it out phonetically or remember it, they will at least not be surprised and feel discouraged for not being able to read a challenging word.

A Crown for Kate is about a blind girl and her family. The book focuses on all of the things Kate is still capable of doing despite her disability. Kate loved stories about queens and often made herself a crown out of flowers. One day, Kate stumbles upon a crown in the forest. Kate knows that the crown needs to be returned to the rightful owner, the queen. Kate and her father go to the castle to return the crown to the queen. Kate and her father were invited to stay at the castle for a week. Kate got to experience life in a castle, but she began to miss her home. Kate realizes that all the small things in her life gave her great joy. Kate realizes that being a queen is good if you do good. And being a regular man is good if you are a good man. No matter who you are if you are good and do good, that is what is most important. Now Kate dreams not of being a queen, but of being a very good girl.

A Crown for Kate is a 5-Star level-1 book for sure. (The Good and the Beautiful technically rates this book as a level 1B.) I love the morals and messages included in this book. We need more companies that focus on the messages we're sending to young kids. I also like that this is longer than a typical level-1 reader so that my son can get accustomed to reading longer books even though there aren't as many words on one page. This book is broken into three "chapters" so your child doesn't have to read it all in one sitting. Have you or your child read A Crown for Kate? What did you think? Let me know!

Homeschool Friday - Brent's Bot

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review/review for each.

Brent's Bot

By: Tessa Greene

Publication: November 1, 2021 by The Good and the Beautiful

61 pages

Genre: Children's, Level 1, Early Reader

Source: Own

( Goodreads )

Description--What would you do if you were stuck inside on a rainy day? If you were Brent, you would make a robot pal! Join Brent and Bot as they learn how to play, take turns, and have fun.

Brent's Bot is published by The Good and the Beautiful which is the company we get a lot of our homeschool curriculum from. This book isn't a part of their curriculum, but I did purchase it as an extra reader for my kids. It is 61 pages long which is about twice the length of level-1 or step-1 reader from companies like Scholastic, Penguin, Random House, etc. The Good and the Beautiful lists Brent's Bot as a Level 1B reader for readers halfway through the level-1 language arts curriculum.

I like that this book is longer than an average level-1 reader. My son needs to get used to reading longer books. Although, I did let him break this book into 2 sessions/days. It has a list of "challenging words" at the beginning so you can go over these words with your child before coming upon them in the story. This helps the child to be somewhat familiar with them and hopefully won't have to break the flow of the story to stumble over a difficult word. These words weren't ones that my son struggled with though.

The story is basically that Brent is sad because it's raining outside and he has no one to play with. A lot of the activities he'd like to do require a second player. His mom acknowledges his sadness and asks him if there's something they can think of to do in order to have fun. Brent comes up with the idea of making his own robot. Brent worked on building his robot for three days. Eventually, Brent shows his mom his creation and takes the robot to play all of the activities that Brent couldn't do alone.

I love that there are multiple lessons we can learn from this short story. We can learn empathy with how Brent's mom handles his sadness. We can learn to use our imagination and create something new out of something old (recycling). We can see that hard work is necessary to achieve Brent's goal. And then we can see the satisfaction of hard work paying off. We can also learn about problem-solving. Brent could have whined about not being able to do all the fun things he wanted to do, but he chose to solve his problem instead.

If you can get all that (and probably more) from a 61-page level 1B reader.... Man! That sounds like a 5 Star book to me. Not to mention that my son actually enjoyed reading this book. He really liked studying the pictures and seeing how the robot was made. Have you read Brent's Bot? What did you think? Let me know!

P. S. You don't have to buy homeschool curriculum from The Good and the Beautiful in order to shop their bookstore. I have been pleased with all of our purchases so far. Check out their website if you're looking for stories with a moral for young readers.

Homeschool Friday - I See Love

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review for each.

I See Love

By: David Wiseman

Publication: January 1, 2022 by The Good and the Beautiful Library

57 pages

Genre: Children's Literature, Early Readers, Level 1 Readers

( Goodreads )

Goodreads description--From the highest mountain range to the tiniest ant, the wonders of God’s creations surround us. As you look up and down, you will see beauty and love all around.

Most of the Level-1 readers we have are from publishers like Random House and Scholastics. But we use a homeschool curriculum company called The Good and the Beautiful for a lot of our curriculum. The Good and the Beautiful has its own books written by several authors. Jenny Phillips, the company's creator, writes many of the books herself. And the company emphasizes good and beautiful literature that has strong moral values. I cannot appreciate this more. Most of the "normal" level-1 reader books are about 32 pages long with one or two short sentences per page or opening. I See Love is a good bit longer with 57 pages and usually, one or two sentences per opening. I will say that this book is not currently listed on the site's bookshop. I don't know if they discontinued it or if it is just out of stock. But they have other books to check out as well.

I See Love begins with a challenging words page that includes 4 words used in the book that might be a little beyond the child's reading level, but I like that this is included at the beginning of the book so that you can go over these words with your child before they come to them in the book. This way maybe they will already recognize the words and be able to read them from memory already. Or if they get to one of these words while reading and can't sound it out phonetically or remember it, they will at least not be surprised and feel discouraged for not being able to read a challenging word.

I See Love encourages the reader to see the beauty in the world all around them. There's beauty up high and down low. The book does rhyme, and it also has repetitive words and phrases to build vocabulary and mastery. But most of all, it is filled with wonderful messages about the world around us, beauty, and love. You can take level-1 readers and make them more than just recognizing words. There can be a moral and something to learn even from the very short and very "easy" words. 

I See Love is a 5-Star level-1 book for sure. (The Good and the Beautiful technically rates this book as a level 1B.) I love the repetitive words and phrases, but most of all, I love the morals and messages included in this book. We need more companies that focus on the messages we're sending to young kids. I also like that this is longer than a typical level-1 reader so that my son can get accustomed to reading longer books even though there aren't as many words on one page. Have you or your child read I See Love? What did you think? Let me know!