TOS Crew- Sarah Books: Sarah's Wish

Mel participated in this review with the TOS Homeschool Crew.

Sarah Books is a series created by a grandfather of nine children, all of who are homeschooled.  Jim Baumgardner created this series specifically for his grandchildren, so that they could learn about our history and what we've been through.  He wanted them to have books that were full of moral values and empty of any profanity or other behaviors.  Recently, Jacob was reading a book, which I will leave unnamed here, and he came in and
told me that it had a bad word.  Sure enough, I got to looking, and a children's book was using profanity.  I just about died.....here I was letting him read a simple children's story, and it had that in it.  So, I was really glad when this book showed up in our mailbox, especially after reading why Mr. Baumgardner wrote this series.

Sarah's Wish is the first book in the series.  There are two other books, Sarah's Promise and Sarah's Escape.  The book starts out with a note to readers, concerning a glossary of words used in the nineteenth century.  This glossary helps young and old alike understand some of the words that were used back then, so that we can better understand the story.  Words like Apothecary, High-falutin', Underground Railroad, etc. appear in this glossary. 

The story starts out in a very dramatic and even traumatic way.  When I first read the beginning chapter to Jacob, I was thinking maybe I should have previewed it, because right away Sarah's mother is killed in a buggy accident.  The stories are geared more toward older children or young adults.  Sarah is left an orphan, but she is lovingly taken in by a family, until in steps Granny.  The story is full of   characters, and you can just see and hear them as you're reading: Mary, Granny, Brother Franklin, Running Fox, Doctor Baum, Graybeard, Charlie, etc.  As the story weaves on, the reader comes to realize that Sarah and her mother were part of the Underground Railroad, helping slaves regain their freedom.  It is full of action and suspense, as Sarah truly longs to keep this work going, even in the absence of her mother.  This would be a great book to use when you are studying this subject in history; it's a book that could honestly be read again and again.  I plan on coming back to it when we reach that point in our studies.

You can read excerpts of each book on the Sarah Books website.  My book actually came autographed with a bookmark, and yours can too, if you order from the website.  It just adds that personal touch.  Sarah's Wish is only $9.99, no shipping and handling.  It also comes with a free audiobook download in the back of the book, which makes it great for young readers, since they can read and follow along at the same time; or you can even put that on a cd and have it for in the car, on the run.  If you'd like to receive Sarah's Web Newsletter, you can email sarahbooks@cox.net with "Send Newsletter" in the subject line.  Don't miss out on this adventurous series of books for your children.

To read more reviews, head on over to the TOS Crew Blog.

(Disclosure: I was provided with this free book by Sarah Books, in association with the TOS Homeschool Crew.)