His Treasure Seekers

If you’ve read more than one of my blog posts, you’ve probably caught onto the fact that I love history.  I love teaching it.  I love reading about it.  And I love finding great books to help my kids fall in love with it as well.

So when I heard about When Lightning Struck! The Story of Martin Luther, a new book by Danika Cooley, I knew I was going to have to check it out, especially since we’ll be covering the Reformation later this year.

Summary

When Lightning Struck! begins with his years at school studying law, followed by his dramatic decision to become a monk.  Martin feels the weight of sin acutely, but the teachings of the church do little to comfort him.  Determined to earn his salvation, he practices self-denial: starving himself, beating himself, and sleeping on the hard wooden floor (or even in the snow) to try to pay for his sins. Not only does Martin struggle with knowledge of his salvation, he is dismayed by the corruption and unbiblical practices he observes within the Church.

After receiving a Bible, Martin immerses himself in Scripture, and he at last comes to realize that Jesus has already paid for them. His lectures at the University draw grace-hungry crowds—and eventually the wrath of Rome.  Troubled by the Church’s practice of selling indulgences, Martin posts his now famous Ninety-Five Theses to open a public forum to discuss the matter, certain that the Pope and other wise religious leaders will change their position once they see the objections from Scripture laid out plainly.

The idea that theology should come from Scripture alone does not sit well with the powerful church leaders, and after Martin refuses to recant his position he is declared a heretic.  Others, however, are emboldened by Martin’s stand against the church, and a great Reformation sweeps through Germany and then other parts of Europe.  Martin spends the rest of his life trying to help maintain unity within the Protestant church, though at times he and other leaders are deeply divided over doctrine.

About the Book

Danika Cooley does not shy away from Martin Luther’s harsher side, but attempts to present an accurate portrait of the man known as the “Father of the Reformation.”  In no way does this book present Martin as a perfect man.  His temper flares often, and he stubbornly sets himself upon anyone whose interpretation of Scripture differs from his own.   I love what Cooley writes in her note at the end of the book:

Would Luther have been effective had he been a gentler, kinder soul in our contemporary estimation? No one can say. Martin Luther certainly didn’t think so. He believed God chose him because of his fiery spirit. We can trust that God is sovereign over history (p.233).

I was already familiar with Danika Cooley because of Bible Road Trip, her amazing Bible study curriculum for Preschool through grade 12.  My experience using BRT convinced me that she is a kindred spirit who shares my passion for teaching about both the Bible and what God has done in history, and that passion comes through in her presentation of Martin Luther’s life.  While the material has been painstakingly researched (as evidenced by abundant footnotes), Cooley makes sure that she tells an exciting story, with plenty of dialogue to move the story along through the entire 265-page book.

Her thorough research and enthusiasm for her subject matter are contagious, so I was excited that on her website you can find a unit study for grades 7-12 (free for subscribers) and a discussion guide (suitable for grades 3-12) to go along with When Lightning Struck! to help students get even more out of the story.

  

Final thoughts

I read through When Lightning Struck! on my own for this review in order to see if it was something I’d want to use later this year with Ian.  While I think he’d enjoy the story, I’ve decided to hold off on it for now.  I think he would have trouble understanding parts of it (such as the extreme measures Martin goes to in order to try to earn his salvation, and the issue of transubstantiation that gets Martin so upset in the later part of the story).  There are so many important discussions that can come out of this book, so I think I’m going to save it for a later study of the Reformation.  Then Elijah will be able to join us and we can enjoy deeper conversations about faith, grace, and the legacy of Martin Luther.

In recent years it seems like Christopher Columbus has been presented more as a villain than a hero in the history lessons taught in American schools.  When viewed through a modern lens, it is easy to condemn those who lived in the past, but I think Columbus is an important historical figure for my children to know about, so I was excited to have a chance to review Christopher Columbus: Across the Ocean Sea and the corresponding Unit Study Curriculum Guide, part of the Heroes of History series from YWAM Publishing.

About the Book

In the 208-page softcover book (also available in various e-book formats), Janet and Geoff Benge tell the story of Columbus’ life all the way from his childhood in Genoa through his death.  An early interest in sailing and later experience in mapmaking birth in him a desire to set out across the Pacific to find a way around the globe to the East.  After an unsuccessful attempt to find support with the King of Portugal, Columbus eventually manages to convince the King and Queen of Spain to finance his mission.  After crossing the ocean, he spends many years exploring the islands he discovers, but faces many trials and disappointments due to the political situations on both side of the Pacific.

About the Unit Study Curriculum Guide

The Unit Study Curriculum Guide is currently available on CD-ROM and requires a flash player to run.  The disk contains three main parts:

• brief biography of Christopher Columbus
• unit study
• about the authors (with video interviews)

There are also separate overviews with ideas for using the entire Heroes of History series in classroom, homeschool, and group settings.  The 17-page homeschool overview was obviously created by someone familiar with the differences between classrooms and home education.  I appreciated the organizational chart provided to help families read through several books in the series on either a 1-year or 2-year track in studying American history.  (They suggest choosing one book from each time period, but it would be easy to read through more than that, especially on the 2-year track.)  I also really liked that they broke down suggestions into “Parent-Directed Study” and “Student-Directed Study,” allowing the study guide to be helpful for a wide range of homeschooling styles.

The 80-page unit study itself is an incredibly rich resource, full of ideas for using the book as a launching pad for lessons in multiple subjects, such as history, geography, writing, reading comprehension, public speaking, drama, and art.  There are far more ideas than you could ever use, so you and your children can pick which ones will work best with their interests and learning styles.  Here’s glimpse at some of what’s included:

• Key quotes (great for copywork)
• Questions to go along with each chapter
• Suggestions for projects, essay and creative writing prompts, etc.
• Field trip ideas
• Ideas for further study (related themes to explore, lists of books, videos,  specific National Geographic articles, websites)
• Reproducibles (fact sheet, maps, timeline with events for students to fill in)

Our Experience

I have been familiar with the Christian Heroes Then & Now series that is also put out by YWAM Publishing, so I had some idea of what to expect from Christopher Columbus: Across the Ocean Sea.  The book itself is still a bit beyond Ian’s reading level, but it worked well as a read aloud.  Some days we read a whole chapter, and other days I only read part of a chapter, but Ian had no trouble following the story, and we stopped a lot to pull out the globe to find the places about which we were reading.

Honestly, I like Columbus a little less after reading this book.  While he is not portrayed as villainous as many modern historians would have us view him, neither does he seem a likely candidate for a series about “Heroes of History.”  However, because of its balanced approach, I think the book is a great starting point for discussions about respecting people, how to share the gospel cross-culturally, how people in different time periods viewed things differently, and so much more.  While reading about the treatment of the natives Columbus and his countrymen encountered, it is easy to jump to judgment and issue a blanket condemnation.  At times Columbus’ attitude and his pride are less than admirable.  Yet at the same time, I think it’s important to help my children understand that people in his day didn’t always think the same way we do, and there is still much about Columbus’ adventurous spirit, determination, and persistence that can set a powerful example for those of us reading his story.

Because of Nathaniel’s unexpected early arrival, we weren’t able to do much more than just read through the book and study locations on the globe. However I did spend some time exploring the study guide CD-ROM, and I was beyond impressed with the thoroughness of the unit study and the wide variety of suggestions.  I’ve seen these study guides at conventions, but I never realized what a treasure they are!  When we get to this time period in our history studies I could easily go a bit crazy incorporating some the ideas included here.  I will definitely keep these books and unit studies in mind over the next few years, because they are a rich resource that will help my children absorb details about the time period being studied in a fun, engaging way.  Members of the Crew reviewed many different titles from the Heroes of History and other YWAM series, so to find out more, click the banner below to read their reviews!