We were given another chance to review one of YWAM Publishing's great history books. In the past, we have read the C.S. Lewis book as well as the Milton Hershey book. We really liked both of those books and so we wanted to give another one a try. Heroes of History - Davy Crockett: Ever Westward did not disappoint.
Listen what our 4th grader had to say:
I think that it's a really good book. I liked the part where Davy Crockett helps in a war. He also got to help Andrew Jackson.
I have to be honest and show a little of my ignorance in this manner. I didn't realize that Davy Crockett was a real person. I mean, I remember hearing about the Davy Crockett Disney show and that he wore a coonskin cap. I just thought all of that was made up. Low and behold, Davy Crockett even went to Congress.
Here are some of the things that we learned about the life of Davy Crockett:
* He had four older brothers named John, Jim, Bill, and Wilson
* He had a little sister named Betsy
* He was "hired out" at the age of 12 to work for a man named Mr. Siler
* He was married twice because his first wife died unexpectantly
* He joined the militia
* He knew Andrew Jackson
* He and his family moved around many times
* He was elected to the Tennessee State Legislature and U.S. House of Representatives
* He was born in 1786 and died in the Battle of the Alamo in 1836
I really like how YWAM Publishing writes these books. They are informative as history books (more so actually), but written as a story book. Perfect combination. History is a story and should be told that way. I love how the historical information and facts are flawlessly woven throughout the storyline. You actually feel as if you are there with these real people living their lives with them. Wonderful!
Our 4th grader and I took turns in using this as a read aloud or him reading a chapter by himself. The chapters were a little long for his taste and attention level, so sometimes we would split a chapter up to make it more manageable for him.
Here we are reading together. I had my feet up on a chair reading while he was sitting eating ice cream. Nothing wrong with that!
YWAM puts together Study Guides to go along with their books. I also really like these. This adds another dimension to the book, as if reading it wasn't enough. We would read a chapter and then talk about the questions from the Study Guide. I also really liked the timeline and the David Crockett Fact Sheet. These made him really listen and look for dates and specific information as we read. I would be reading along and he would stop me because he heard a piece of information that he needed to write down on one of the pages. Great!
Here he is filling in some of the information on the David Crockett Fact Sheet.
He heard a date that he needed to write down on the timeline.
I know that I have already said this, but we really love YWAM Publishing books. Heroes of History - Davy Crockett: Ever Westward was literally brought to life for me and our 4th grader. We would love to read about Thomas Edison or Abraham Lincoln next!
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