Last year I had an opportunity to review a book from the By the Way Book Series. It was a huge hit with my kids. When I seen another review opportunity for By the Way I already knew that Ireland was the next book I wanted to share
with my kids. My maiden name is Irish and several years ago I traced my father’s
genealogy all the way to the old country.
The
author Joy Budensiek is the creator of this wonderful and intriguing series. She
has an interesting story that brought her to making this series. One day she
heard a speaker give a statistic about a low rate of Christian parents not talking to their children when it comes to spiritual
things and about God. As a teacher at a Christian college she asked her
students, “Did your parent talk to you about God in the daily routine of life?”
The majority of kids said, “NO”, they informed her that the majority of the
information they learned about God was from the church, VBS, camps, and other
church activities.” She was amazed, as many of these kids grew up in a Christian home.
With
that knowledge she created this series of books as a means for parents to interact
with their children. Her desire was that it would create further conversation about God
and his amazing creation. She uses Deuteronomy 6:7 “You shall teach them
diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up”. This
scripture should be reminder of the responsibility that God has commanded use
to teach our children as parents about God in our day to day activities.
Ireland
is a charming hardback book roughly around 8x10 with forty-nine fully
illustrated pages. The paper and illustrations are high quality. The characters
are animated. The photos are stunning with pictures of places in Ireland from
castles, animals, and breath taking scenery. I want to pack my suitcases and
head to Ireland now! Joy Budensiek has a goal of writing books
for all 50 states. Ireland is her first international book in the series.
What I
really appreciate about the By the Way Book Series is that they come from a
Biblical Worldview. There are scriptures throughout the pages. The author
points out many things throughout that shows God’s love and creation throughout
the story. I love that this is just one of many books that cover a larger
spectrum of geologically based Christian Worldview books. This book gives you so many opportunities to share about God's amazing creation. I love it when books have scripture throughout the pages of a book. It gives me an opportunity to share His word with them while we are snuggled up on the coach reading. I savor those precious moments now that my kids are older to have their complete attention. I'm grateful that my kids talk to me about God and scripture still.
As I
was reading By the Way Book: Ireland to my 12 and 15
year old we discovered some wonderful information about Ireland. We all felt like we were taking a road trip
around Ireland within the pages of the book. The story follows Alex, Lexi, and their
mom as they are visiting relatives in Ireland. As we are taking our “road trip”
we are learning about the country of Ireland and the rich culture. At the same
time we are learning about Ireland’s history. Alex and Lexi are learning how God is involved
in our lives.
For younger kids they can search for specific pictures throughout the pages of the book. Even my kids found themselves searching for the objects on the pages.
We
start out learning about the Irish Terrier and how the dog served in War World
I to assist the Irish military to carry messages to the troops on the front
line.
The kids learn that in Ireland you drive on the left side of the road and
that the driver sits on the right side.
We
learned a lot of information about varying topics like the red-tailed fox. We
read about some Irish proverbs on this sly creature. Then we found out some
information about dolphins and whales. We also learned about the kingfisher and
the puffins. The photos are stunning! I always think about sheep with Ireland
and sure enough we read about the sheep
in Ireland! Some other animals are the Connemara Pony, goats, otters, and
swans.
The
kids liked learning about the oldest lighthouse in the world and in Ireland that
has been around since the 5th century. We enjoyed hearing the story
of Blarney Castle and the “kissing the stone.” Which my kids didn't like the idea of kissing a stone that others have kissed. They loved the idea of doing it minus the kissing! We learned about how a phrase "blarney" came about. It made us chuckle!
My son was
intrigued by the Cliffs of Moher and the Giant’s Causeway. My daughter loved
the castle-abbey and the story about glass.
I
loved the section about the “potato famine” of 1840 – 1850. Because of the
famine many people left Ireland to go to United States, Canada, and Australia. The
potato famine is what brought my father’s family to America. My kids learned a bit of history of what made some of our own family leave their homeland. We learned a little
about immigration and a bit about the RMS Titanic.
I
really enjoyed the history behind the Belleek China. I remember my grandmother
having a beautiful weaved basket that was a family heirloom. I never really
knew nothing about it until reading this book. I certainly didn’t know it was
pottery from Ireland. The kids joined me on my rabbit trail learning more about
Belleek China as we read about it online. Now, I understand the history and
would love to own a piece myself to pass down a bit of my Irish roots to my
kids.
You
can’t talk about Ireland without learning about leprechauns and Saint Patrick
which we learned some interesting information about both of them. I loved all
the Irish folklore and myths throughout the book.
By the Way Book
Series had definitely created a lot of conversation in our home about God and
His amazing creation. We also discovered a lot of
information about Ireland.
These
books would make a great unit study. They cover all kinds of topics that are fascinating
for all ages. You have scriptures throughout. You have science with all the
animals. Not to mention culture and history. This could make a unit study in
itself or you can add it to another unit study.
Other members of the
Homeschool Review Crew have been reading other book in the By the Way Book Series: New York City,
Indiana, and Alaska. Those are the newest books in this series if you go to By the Way you can check out the other titles available! I absolutely love these books they are amazing. If you click on the banner below you can find out some information about the other books I mentioned.
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