As you know, we love to read together around here for family time and it’s one of our favorites ways to incorporate home learning even if we don’t formally “homeschool” together. So I was super excited to be invited to join the Moms of Master Books review team! We receive one brand-spankin’ new book a month from New Leaf Publishing Group to review (free of charge) and share with you. I won a copy of the Big Book of Earth and Sky at the Titus 2:1 Conference and my kiddos love it. My munchkins can just unfold it and look at it forever…it’s one of my go-to strategies for cooking dinner when no one will settle down. “Hey, why don’t you finish your chores and then you can get the blue book out and look at it at the table while I make dinner?!”

Our favorite topics to study together at home are natural science and history–which can be a little challenging since worldview is so subtly but consistently incorporated into most science and history resources. So I love the mission of New Leaf (see more on their About Us page) and particularly Master Books’ vision of “stand[ing] uncompromisingly on God’s inerrant Word.” Since we believe that God says what He means and means what He says, they are aligned with our faith values.

This month we were excited to open the package and find the Children’s Atlas of God’s World for us to enjoy!

A good atlas is sort of critical to any regular study of history and the bible, and a great addition to natural science too. We have used a DK First Atlas for several years now and the kiddos are used to running to get “the yellow book” any time there’s a where question–so we’re familiar with early learning reference books. We actually keep our atlas on the coffee table so it’s easy to grab!

The very first thing I noticed about the Children’s Atlas was that it is big. It’s several inches taller and wider than our DK atlas (and that’s no pocket guide!) and has a sturdy hard-bound design. The pages are medium-weight, glossy paper and are not likely to rip by simply turning the page too fast–which is an issue for us with two excitable young boys. We want our kids to use their reference books and this is a kid-friendly book! Our book rule is “please use, but don’t abuse.”

Speedracer was immediately captivated by the beautiful pages!

The second thing I noticed was the colors. Just like the Big Book of Earth and Sky, this book is beautiful! It’s full-color and full of captivating illustrations. However–and this is a biggie for me–the pages have a very clean and organized layout. My #1 biggest complaint with the DK atlas is that the graphics are simply overwhelming. They cover the map and make the actual map hard to read and the text is smashed all over the pages in between pictures and in no fluid order, which is confusing to young readers.

The Children’s Atlas of God’s World is both beautiful and professionally delivered with map graphics minimized, text organized, and illustrations used in cohesive support of the information.

A few other great points about the Children’s Atlas of God’s World is that it is, of course, biblical. There are bible and Christian history and geography notes throughout the text.  The maps identify World Heritage sites and the text touches on missionary work in each country, which our children were excited to connect with our missionary efforts at church.

Unlike the DK First Atlas, which is definitely for early learners, I believe this is a solid reference book that will take our children through elementary school and still be of value even into middle school. I would say that this is an excellent reference book for both homeschooling families and for outside schooling families. Our munchkins are in a private Christian school and I found a lot of information that we would have benefited from last year with the Ladybug’s school projects.

A couple minor drawbacks we’ve found (since nothing is ever perfect)…

• The size. I guess this is both a benefit and a drawback. It makes it beautiful and  amazing and fun for the kiddos, but it’s a little hard to store and it’s definitely not a resource that will travel with us on any learning adventures. {smile}
• The map details. This is something I’ve found with numerous children’s reference books–if your family is “hard-core” learners (a comment from someone to me that made me smile) then there’s always going to be something that you can’t find. I wish the maps were bigger and included more cities. I also wish more countries were specifically included in the atlas–but again, this is the case with any child-focused product. It’s not going to be exhaustive.
• The Middle East. From both a bible study and a current events perspective, I have yet to find a reference book that does an adequate job addressing geography questions in the Middle East region for children. Everything is either too much or too little. In this case, I would say too little.

We’re looking at supplementing our home library with The Student Bible Atlas or the Then and Now Bible Atlas, but if you’ve got any recommendations, I’d love to hear them! In the meantime, the Children’s Atlas of God’s World has replaced our DK atlas on the living room coffee table. For more information and to see other reviews from Christian mommas, visit the New Leaf blog.

And join us at 9:00 pm (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, July 23rd for a Book and a Treat Facebook party! There will be lots of prizes–and I bet you’ll have a chance to win a copy for yourself!