HEROES OF HISTORY, Billy Graham: America's Pastor {Review}
The Heroes of History series is a collection of books by YWAM Publishing that cover the fascinating timeline of American history. They are perfect as stand alone books or they can be used as supplements for a history curriculum. These books are written as wonderful anecdotes that make reading biographies interesting and memorable.
In February of this year, the famous pastor Billy Graham passed away. I had heard about Billy Graham over the years and I knew that he was a great preacher but I realized I really didn't know much about the man and his story. So when the Homeschool Review Crew gave me the chance to read and review a book by YWAM Publishing, I easily chose Heroes of History - Billy Graham: America's Pastor.
My children really enjoyed this book and every time we finished a chapter they asked to read "just one more chapter!" Nicholas' favorite part of the book was in the first chapter when "Billy Frank" Graham was a young boy and his father had held a prayer rally at their house. The book reads, "Later that night Billy Frank overheard his father telling his mother how a man named Vernon Patterson had prayed at the prayer rally and asked God to raise up out of the Charlotte area someone to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. Billy Frank wasn't so sure there was such a person in all of North Carolina, let alone the Charlotte area." Nicholas said that through the rest of the book God just kept putting new opportunities before Billy that challenged him beyond what he thought he could do but that each new step allowed Billy to reach more and more people with God's message. God was raising up Billy to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Billy Graham: America's Pastor is a paperback book recommended for ages 10 and up. It costs $7.50 at the YWAM website. We used it as a read aloud. Usually I read it aloud to the kids because they like the way I change my voice for the different characters but they take turns reading aloud as well. When we pick it up to read, I have the kids take turns narrating to me what happened in the previous chapter. This is a great way to refresh our memories and let the kids process what they have already read. Then we read the next chapter and we will discuss it further and talk about any questions or ideas they may have.
YWAM Publishing has downloadable Unit Studies/Curriculum Guides that go along with their books for just $5.49. The guides provide questions for discussion at the end of each chapter. The questions involve vocabulary, facts, comprehension, and open-ended questions to get students thinking. I use these for our discussions at the end of each chapter and they are very helpful.
When you download the guide, there is a 2-part 79 page unit study document you can print or you can access all of the information from main screen of the guide.
There is a wealth of information and ideas here to enhance our book study. There are ideas for essay/research topics, creative writing, hands-on projects, audio/visual projects, arts & crafts, and field trips. The guide also includes several maps and a timeline for students to track Billy Graham's life as well as a list of for additional books and resources to learn more about him. There is even a section on preparing a culminating event for the students to celebrate and share what they have learned.
Since we first started homeschooling, I have enjoyed using books by YWAM Publishing for biographies and missionary stories. As you can see I already have the start of a nice collection of their books.
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