Book Review - Wingfeather Saga

photo credit: Amazon.com

 (I do NOT have affiliate links. I just include links to make your life a little easier.)

The Wingfeather Saga, by Andrew Peterson is an incredibly entertaining and encouraging series! I read the books first to see what they were about. And, then I re-read the series aloud to the children over the past few months. (This series is a great way to rack up homeschooling hours!) I loved hearing the book through their ears, while they folded laundry or colored quietly. (Yes, friends, that is one of my motherhood secrets right there. Bribe the kids to fold laundry by reading aloud. Just kidding. I love read alouds for their own sake! The laundry is a bonus.)

Short summary- Book One, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, begins the epic adventure of the Igiby Family. They are pursued by evil while making unlikely allies around every corner. The fictional creatures they come against in their journey add yet another spark of interest to an already difficult escape.

The characters of the Wingfeather Series are fictional, yet very real. The plot is exciting and drives forward with momentum. The fantasy locations of the book are ingenious and the fantasy creatures and foods range from laugh out loud funny to turn your stomach queasy (or both at the same time). Every detail of this series is well thought out and well written. I have no qualms comparing this series as a modern day epic adventure like the Hobbits went on, or like Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy experienced in Narnia. Yes, I think this series is that good!

I don't know how Peterson would sum up the theme of the book, but I think the undercurrent of the book is individual struggling with the darkness inside of yourself and how it affects the people around you. There is also a strong element of how facing your own demons can change the world (for better or for worse). It is hard to explain this without completely spoiling the book for you. I wish I could give specific examples, this series is ideal for essays on character, plot, theme, etc! (oooh, more homeschool credits!)

The characters were children and adults that my family could easily identify with! One child seems a bit selfish and impulsive, another child is sweet and tender yet brave, another child is studious and decisive. Other characters have hidden or dark pasts that they are trying to overcome. The children work together to fight against evil. The children have certain talents that allegorically represent spiritual gifts. The whole book has a strong allegorical leaning. The tale will lead to thoughtful discussions around the dinner table.

The Wingfeather Saga is a must read for Christian families! It will be a blessing to every age group! I highly recommend adding this to your family library!

Review - Voyage of the Dawn Treader

We were able to borrow the movie The Voyage of the Dawn Treader from our library, it made for an entertaining afternoon.

First, you have to know that I am a book lover, and The Chronicles of Narnia is among my favorites. So, when Paul picked this movie up from the library I was pretty leery. BUT, I was happily surprised by this installment of the Chronicles movies. As you would expect, Hollywood took some big liberties (as they did with the other Narnia movies...) but I liked the changes they made. It was clean and entertaining. No bad language. No adult themes. No silly romances (like in the previous Narnia movie).

For accuracy to the book, rent the BBC version. But, for creativity and entertainment value - this newer version gets two thumbs up from our family. (Everyone but Joshua liked it. He was scared... it is a bit "dark" for a four year old.)

Have you seen it? What did you think? Do you like the BBC version better or this new one?

Bonhoeffer - A Documentary Review

We recently watched the documentary film Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Pacifist, Nazi Resister. Our whole family watched it together, and the children were enthralled. (Of course, Nelson and Joshua got their guns to shoot Hitler.)

The film was very well done. There was black and white photos, black and white film, readings from Bonhoeffer's original writings, and interviews with his surviving family members and friends. The film uses mostly primary sources for history, and that pleases me. However, there were some modern day theologians interviewed for the film as well... this I thought could have been left out. Perhaps they were able to offer a little enlightenment, but I felt like the quotes taken from Bonhoeffer's own works did that much better!

I thought that the film was very tastefully done, in that it covered a hard topic in a brief way (only 90 minutes). Not only that, but they established that Hitler was a "mean man" (as my children say) without showing piles upon piles of bodies. Yet, at the same time, there was some scenes that showed dead bodies, destroyed Jewish dwellings, etc. It did not show anyone being killed... just some of the aftermath.

One of the things I found interesting about Bonhoeffer's theology was the way he did not want to see the church divided. He points out that the church is the body of Christ, and asks "can Christ's body be divided?" A thought-provoking question indeed. And, we see Bonhoeffer working within ecumenical groups to aid the suffering Jews.

It is also very interesting to see a man working through the idea of Christian ethics where there is an evil dictator. Wow! That is certainly food for thought. How does one read Romans 13 when people are being led to the slaughter? I am certainly interested in reading this answer by Bonhoeffer's own hand, in his book called Ethics.

I recommend watching this film with your older children. It would definitely count as school work! Just so you know, I am leaving huge chunks of history out of this review, because I don't want to "spoil" the film for you! It really is very intriguing!

Food Inc - A Documentary Review

WARNING: If you like eating at McDonald's, if you like eating processed food, and you don't want to know anything about where you food comes from - STOP reading now!

Our whole family watched the documentary Food Inc this past week. This film is based on the book by the same title. The author of the book asks the question, "Where does our food come from?" And, the answer is about enough to make you consider becoming vegetarian!

First, he looks at the meat chicken industry. Viewers get to see the horrid confinement conditions that these poor chickens live in. I cried. The chickens have been grown manufactured in such a way that they are so top-heavy that they cannot hardly walk! That is not the worst of it... but I can't tell you everything.

On next to other animals:
- Hogs - don't even ask... the way the animals are treated is bad, but the way the illegal immigrants who work in the meat-packing plants is worse! I cried. I question whether or not I should have allowed my children to watch this film, because it is truly hard core. And, there are parts within the meat-packing plants that I am glad that the children did not understand.
- Cattle - This industry just about made me heave! From start to finish... it is just so industrialized! Our world is in such a sorry state, that we can turn life into an industry.

And, speaking of putting a patent on life... the next portion of the film took a look at Monsanto. (I write from central MO, and there are a lot of Monsanto employees around me. If you feel that I have been misinformed, you are welcome to leave me a comment or send me a personal email.) I was truly saddened by some of the practices of the seed industry. But, after watching this film, I am even more certain that we will be purchasing heirloom seed in the future. AND, I am SO glad that we are not going to be large scale farmers that have to worry about law suits. ("What kind of law suits," you ask? WATCH the film!)

Overall, I was just saddened by the way our world works (well, at least the way America works. The film focuses on our country). The film talks a lot about buying organic and locally grown foods, and I am all for that! However, we are a poor family. So, even after watching this film there is very little we can do to "change the world."

That brings me to my next point - This film contains some spiritual, political, and social content that might need to be explained to young children. There is a LOT of talk about evolution. Also there is one organic farmer who does not appreciate capitalism - some how he thinks it to be part of the problem. And, as for socio-political issues, the illegal immigrant situation looks a whole lot like modern day slavery!

One last personal thought - When I say that I cried over the treatment of the animals, I do not want you thinking that I am on board with animal rights (you know, where they have more rights than humans - especially more rights than the unborn humans!). I was upset because we humans were put in authority over the animals, it is part of our being made in the likeness of God!

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28 NASB)

I cry, because we have so marred what it means to be in authority! Yes, I eat meat. Yes, I want to grow my own meat. And, yes, I understand that some animal will die for my meal. I get that. But, I think we can find a balance of eating the animals and taking care of them!

But, more important than the treatment of animals is the treatment of humans. And, this film documented some horrible treatment of immigrants from Mexico. What hurts me is that these folks are being bribed to come across illegally by a company who later sells them out! We are treating these humans, (who are created equal - yes - but should not be given equal access to our "system") worse than the animals who they are hired to process... and that is saying a lot!

I don't want a debate to break out over illegal aliens, whether or not Christians should eat pork, whether or not we should eat GMOs, etc. I will erase comments that use inappropriate language. Keep it clean. Keep it kind.

Music Appreciation with Miss Bethany

Part of our school "curriculum," if you will, is watching videos on YouTube! I sit with the children the entire time, because sometimes there are images on the page that are very inappropriate. I would hate to have them click on another video of their own choosing! {{shudders}}

Today's music appreciation lesson is to listen to/watch both of these videos and compare them. The same song, "The Flight of the Bumblebee", is played in each video. What instruments do you see/hear? Which video do you like best?

Nelson just loves Ms. Wang, the pianist! We have watched many of her videos. Nelson says that her hands move "faster than the sewing machine!"

America's Godly Heritage

We watched a documentary movie this afternoon entitled America's Godly Heritage. It is available through Netflix, click here.) We were VERY pleased with this documentary.

I HIGHLY recommend that all Christian families watch this movie! I was amazed by many of the quotes contained within the movie. The movie, by the way, relies almost entirely on first-hand historical documents. So, we are hearing the original writing's of the founding fathers.

This documentary spends a lot of time talking about the true meaning of "seperation of church and state." And, how Thomas Jefferson's words have been taken terribly out of context since the 1960s. The film also focuses on the downfall of our nation since prayer, Bible reading, and the Ten Commandments were taken out of school. (And, no - I am not arguing that these things should be put back in... that era is over). It is amazing to see how assertions made by the founding fathers, regarding our nation's need to stay rooted in biblical principles, have proven true!

I highly recommend that you add this movie to you Netflix queue!

Christian Entertainment

Is there such a thing as Christian entertainment? You bet! And, I want to mention one such film to you now.

The Widow's Might is a great, full-length film made by homeschoolers for the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. Paul and I just found it by "accident" on Netflix a few weeks ago.

What I liked about the movie (in no particular order):
- seeks to honor God
- By watching it I feel like I am supporting entrepreneurial homeschoolers
- Very modest... the ladies only wore skirts (but there was NO mention of this in the film, I am just making an observation)
- *tongue in cheek* The boys all had the classic Vision Forum haircut. Seriously, I thought they all looked really nice. I wish someone could make Nelson's hair look like that! (If you are scratching your head, wandering what I am talking about, just look at a Vision Forum catalog, or visit one of their churches. All the boys have the same haircut, which looks like one of the fine boys in a Normal Rockwell calendar.)
- Clean speech: no bad language
- It was very funny. The kids burst out into peals of laughter every few minutes. Paul and I also laughed out loud a few times.
- The music was very good... I will be hearing it in my head for months
- The youngest boy wears an eye patch, and Nelson is now very eager to wear his ; )

The only thing that might be questionable to some viewers is one song that has a line, "what were they drinking?" The song is meant to be cute and silly. And, I liked it. But, somewhere in my mother heart, I do not like the idea of making drinking alcohol a silly thing. We in this family are teetotalers, but we do believe in Christian liberty... however, we want alcohol to be consumed in moderation, not to lead to drunkenness. This is my only critique of the movie, and it is not a strong one... just another observation, and warning, should my readers be more conscientious than myself.

Overall, we loved the movie. And, we would consider buying it to add to our small collection of clean films (that is, if we had allowances for entertainment expenses in the budget beyond our monthly Netflix fee).

I hope you all go out and get a copy of this movie. I do not think you will be disappointed.

A Telling Quote

There is a video series that we highly recommend, and it is available through Netflix.

Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution is a wonderful series of videos that looks at various animals and questions how such an animal could have "evolved." Our whole family has really enjoyed watching these movies! There is an element of silliness for the kids, but there is plenty of seriousness for adults! I am wowed by every episode! I wanted to share a quote that we saw on the video last night... I think it is very telling.

"Often a cold shudder has run through me, and I have asked myself whether I may have not devoted myself to a phantasy". (Charles Darwin, Life and Letters, 1887, Vol. 2, p. 229).