By the Way Book Series: Ireland Review

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 5^th 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.