style. The featured artists are Klee,
Mondrian, Van Gogh, Matisse, Da Vinci,
Calder, Degas, Ringgold, Cezanne,
Picasso, Escher, Oldenburg, O’Keefe,
Warhol, and Lichtenstein. The featured
cultures are Ancient Egyptians, Chinese
bookmakers, Anasazi peoples, Australian
Aborigines, Roman tile workers, prehistoric peoples, and Medieval architects.
This section of the book is amply illustrated with student examples, both in
progress and completed, but you also will
need to obtain examples of each artist or
culture. These are easily found in any
library or on the Internet. My family
enjoys the Getting to Know the World’s
Greatest Artists series by Mike Venezia.
Although this series is recommended
for grades one through six, I think it also
could be used for high schoolers if
supplemented with an art history book
such as The Annotated Mona Lisa by
Carol Strickland. If you do art once a
week, this book would easily provide two
years of quality art instruction. Highly
recommended!
Product review by Heather Jackowitz,
Senior Product Reviewer
Even Donkeys Speak
By Mary McDonald
Gospel for Asia
www.gfa.org
1-800-946-2742
Do miracles happen today? Is God really at
work in our world? After reading Gospel
for Asia’s Even Donkeys Speak, I’m
convinced that God’s mighty hand is still at
work—at least in the subcontinent of India
and the small, less familiar nations
surrounding India. This book consists of
131 pages that record God’s miracles in
Asia, divided into nineteen moving stories
of real people turning from ineffectual gods
to the living God to heal and protect them.
A peek into Even Donkeys Speak
reveals a remote tribal people seeking out a
missionary so they can be baptized. Why?
They listened to the radio and became
followers of Christ. An illiterate young
man steals a Bible and uses its pages to roll
cigarettes until a friend tells him, “You are
smoking the holy book of the Christians!”
Appalled at offending another “god,” he
listens while his friend reads the Bible, and
then he accepts Christ. A woman suffering
a large ankle boil is healed when she prays
along with a radio voice that proclaims,
“Jesus is able to heal any sickness.”
202 Lab
A withering tree, protection from man-eating tigers, unloved children sold into
slavery yet finding Christ—Even Donkeys
Speak is a treasure chest of God pouring
out His love on the people of cultures that
are very different from ours. I especially
appreciated how each story emphasized
that Jesus is God and how He is able to do
what no other god can do: save, heal, and
protect. Even Donkeys Speak gives readers
a glimpse into a world where dead religion,
evil spirits, and false gods keep millions of
people in bondage. Jesus, the living God,
delivers them. They, in turn, spread this
Good News to their friends and neighbors,
often with resistance from witch doctors
and Hindu priests. (. . .)
Product review by Susan K. Marlow
And those wonderful selections make
up the Apple Contest Here are some
other detailed reviews.
The Girlhood Home
Companion
Robert and Jill Novak, Publishers
Remembrance Press
www.giftoffamilywriting.com
1-847-540-1965
Picture, if you will, a lovely little table set
with an old-fashioned white lace tablecloth, fine china teacups, a plateful of
homemade cookies, and a vase of pretty
flowers from the garden. Place this table
near the porch swing of a wide porch on a
summer day with the breeze blowing
gently. Now, you and your daughter are
either sitting together on the porch swing
or in fancy little chairs around the set table.
While you’re at it, go ahead and invite your
mother or grandmother to sit with you. Do
you have a lovely picture in your head? a
peaceful, loving and girly picture? That’s
what this magazine is all about.
From every photograph and illustration
to the articles, poems and recipes, The
Girlhood Home Companion magazine is
laced with sweetness, gentleness, and old-fashioned goodness. Even the font and
colors used draw you into a sort of
Victorian, ladylike frame of mind.
What’s the real purpose of the magazine?
The publisher, Jill Novak, describes its
purpose very eloquently: “We are joint partners with your daughter, helping her to
participate in all that is feminine and lovely
as she grows in the Lord, and a companion
in labor, helping her cultivate godly character qualities, thus furthering the cause of
Christ.” In the olden days, a young lady
would be hired to spend time with an older
relative or close acquaintance. In doing so,
the young lady would not only be a helper to
the older person, but she also would learn
much about life as a woman and such things
as running a household. (Is I Timothy
coming to mind?)
The Girlhood Home Companion seeks
to be somewhat of that older lady giving
her advice and encouragement and telling
character-building stories in a gentle way.
Mothers (and grandmothers) are encouraged to read the magazine with their
daughters, because the articles will open
many doors for wonderful discussions and
even projects you can do together.
Although you may read the magazine with
a daughter of any age, the suggested age
range is 10 to 18.
In each issue, articles, poems, and Bible
verses focus on a particular character trait.
In the issue I had the pleasure of reviewing,
the main topic was “becoming a faith-filled daughter.” Various authors, some
current and some from the past,
contributed memoires, stories, poetry, tutorials, and other words of wisdom about the
idea of letting faith encompass a daughter’s
life. Besides the writings, you also will
find in each issue recipes, crafts, art inspiration, nature inspiration, handiwork ideas
and/or home keeping lessons.
My 11-year-old daughter and I have
enjoyed snuggling together on the couch
while reading through many of the articles.
She has even taken the time to read some
of the magazine on her own. I haven’t quite
made it to the porch swing with the tea and
cookies while reading, but that hasn’t
mattered. The point is to enjoy some
precious time with your daughter, teaching
her little bits here and there about
becoming a woman. You won’t regret time
