Home School Product Reviews

Excellent books-Kids love them (so do we!)

My kids just love these books (Max Axiom Graphic Science Set of 15)! The information contained in them is more in-depth than you may think for a graphic book. Real scientists were consulted and it shows. It is presented in an engaging yet thorough format. I was not a fan of graphic books before this purchase so I am amazed at how much I have enjoyed these. We are creationists so please note that on pgs 8,9,11&16 of the Earthquakes book there are small references to millions of years as well as the Volcanoes book on pgs 11,13&21and Magnetism pg 17. The other 12 books had no mention of millions of years. These references are small and easy to line through without disrupting the flow of the text and can be used as an opportunity to point out differences in understanding. I wouldn’t let those minor mentions keep you from purchasing what truly are fun and informative books your kids are sure to enjoy! You may even find yourself to be ‘scientifically refreshed’ as well!

Timberdoodle carries over 50 graphic novels with everything from Classic Literature to Historical novels.

As our 9-year-old son was reading an old Indiana history textbook he read about how Chicago used Indiana limestone to rebuild after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871; he then had an interest in fires, earthquakes and other disasters, so we purchased the set of 8 Disasters in History Graphic Novels from Timberdoodle.

The graphic novels make a great starting point for a unit study. If your child especially enjoyed the Apollo 13 and Challenger Explosion books, you could do a study on NASA, astronauts, etc.

Our whole family has enjoyed this set.  My husband and I learned some information we hadn’t known, while the kids could easily read about a true-life action adventure without a focus on fear and gore.  This set was definitely worth the investment for our homeschool.

Thanks to homeschooling my kids, I LOVE history! These graphic novels have added a new way to learn about, and enjoy, history!

I have two boys, ages 8 and 6, and they love this (The Adventures of Tintin: Volume 1) book. I figured my 8 year old would enjoy it, as he’s a good reader and is always looking for new books, but my 6 year old surprised me. I’ve been getting books for him from the Easy Reading section at the library, but he was determined to read this book because of his older brother’s reports, and he did it. It took him a little over a week, but he read the whole thing. Now I just need to buy the other volumes because both of my boys are begging for them.

Amy from TX

We are a family of readers, but I noticed that two of our children did not seem to enjoy reading as much as the others.  After trying out one volume of Tintin with great reviews, we purchased the whole set last Christmas (yes, this means we have a duplicate, but in our family this doesn’t seem to be an issue) and five months later they are still my children’s steady companions.  We have yet to go on a road trip that Tintin has not accompanied us, and my reluctant readers have now also branched out into other books. My younger non reading children have been seen poring over these as well, and I am sure they are even more motivated to learn so that they too can read what Tintin is up to. Thanks so much for carrying these books!

My 2nd Grade son LOVES these books (Graphic Novels – Disasters) ! I have nothing negative to say about them. He reads them over and over and tells me fun facts all the time. He might not realize he’s learning, but I do!!

At first I was very apprehensive about buying these books because I didn’t see the benefit in comic books. My first three children are girls so there was never really any interest in comic books and reading was not a struggle. They were all ‘bookworms’. My son,(4th grade) however, was a different story. It was becoming a struggle for both of us to get his school work done. I bought these books to encourage his love of reading and hoped that he would retain something of value from reading them. I want him to enjoy learning. Well, it worked. He read two of them in a matter of days. He thanked me over and over saying how much he liked the books. So, I got him reading, he is enjoying history, and as an added bonus, his sisters read the books whenever they get the chance. There are a couple of things that I wasn’t crazy about. For example, in the ‘Diary of Anne Frank’ she has a brief thought about what it would be like for Peter to kiss her. Also, in the T-Rex book, there is the mention of millions of years ago. These instances were talked about but minor compared to the value of getting my son interested in reading. I will be buying more in the future.

Shakespeare Graphic Novels

Wonderful resource! As a literature major, I appreciate Shakespeare in a way my family doe not. However, that did not stop me from insisting our children be exposed to The Bard during their Middle School years. When even Charles and Mary Lamb’s version was a little tough for some of our children, I was becoming concerned. Then I stumbled upon these books (Shakespeare Graphic Novels) – WOW. So much of the original language is included with great pictures (and we know a picture is worth a thousand words!), that after reading a graphic novel, the Charles and Mary Lamb’s Shakespeare for Children became easily understood. Now, watching a rendition of the play itself became enjoyable, rather than the torture-fest the kids insisted it was before. Worth every single penny.

Tacy

PA

Timberdoodle carries over 150 different Graphic Novels.

The Adventures of Tintin

My then 11-year-old son, Stephen, who was struggling with reading devoured his first Tin Tin book. He even collected his own funds to order another volume! he introduced a friend to the books and now his friend has more Tin Tin books than he does! What a blessing to see my son motivated to read and stealing every moment to get back to his Tin Tin adventure!

Melody

VA

If you are looking for the complete Tintin Series visit Timberdoodle.com

Stories From History - Set of 11 Graphic Novels

We had the opportunity to review a set of 11 historical graphic novels from Timberdoodle over the last couple weeks.  When I opened the box, both boys (ages 7 & 9) were eager to check them out. Colin (9yo) immediately sat down with “The Discovery of T. Rex” and devoured the book.  Nate (7yo) has been interested in Leonardo DaVinci for a long time, so that was the first one he grabbed.

These graphic novels are well-drawn and full of interesting information. My boys enjoy graphic novels, but I often struggle finding ones that are appropriate. I like that these can be incorporated into our lessons, as well as provide them with reading material that interests them.  Nate prefers reading non-fiction, so these are even more up his alley!

Colin has been learning about early colonial times, so the book about Christopher Columbus dovetailed nicely into our lessons.  While these books sit on our homeschooling shelves, I know they will be pulled down and read outside of lessons as well.

The books are geared for 8 – 14 year olds (3rd – 8th grade), and Colin found that he had no trouble reading them.  Nate needed some help with some of the words, but they weren’t overly difficult for him to read either.

Each book is 48 pages long, and I liked the fact that each book included a timeline, extra facts, glossary and an index.  The glossary is a wonderful supplement for both spelling and vocabulary units. These are great addition to our other learning materials.  The set of 11 we reviewed is available for the amazing price of only $16.95 — making each book cost only $1.54!

This set includes the following 11 titles:
Pizarro and the Incas
The Life of Anne Frank
The Building of the Great Pyramid
The Life of Julius Caesar
The Life of Christopher Columbus
The Race to the South Pole
Gladiators and the Story of the Colosseum
The Life of Alexander the Great
Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada
The Life of Leonardo Da Vinci
The Discovery of T. Rex

Timberdoodle is one of the first homeschooling companies I purchased products from years ago when we started our homeschooling journey.  I have always appreciated the wide variety of products, good prices and great customer service.

Stories From History - Set of 8 Graphic Novels

…I bought the historical graphic novels as a way to get my middle schooler into reading something somewhat educational. =D  I didn’t hand them to him, I told him they were mine.  He could read the Tintin, but I was going to read these historical ones first.  Muhahahaha.  Of course, he started sneaking them….and enjoying them…. =D =D

Over 150 graphic novels at Timberdoodle!