From their website:
"Abraham’s Journey: A Celebration of the American Dream tells the story of a young boy, who through his faith, imagination and entrepreneurial spirit, sets out to achieve the American dream. . "
Kathlenn and Robert Basmadjian desire to inspire today’s youth “by instilling in them the values, principles and virtues necessary to achieve the American dream.”
To learn more - Visit: Inspiring the American Dream
Cost: $14.99 (physical book) or $9.99 for a Kindle edition
"Abraham’s Journey: A Celebration of the American Dream tells the story of a young boy, who through his faith, imagination and entrepreneurial spirit, sets out to achieve the American dream. . "
Kathlenn and Robert Basmadjian desire to inspire today’s youth “by instilling in them the values, principles and virtues necessary to achieve the American dream.”
To learn more - Visit: Inspiring the American Dream
Cost: $14.99 (physical book) or $9.99 for a Kindle edition
Abraham's Journey: A Celebration of the America Dream is a trip through American History (a quick trip!) introducing the reader to several key figures. To sum up the plot -A young boy is faced with his family's loss of income, and wants to be able to purchase Christmas presents for them. He discovers his artistic talent, and is led on a journey to discover the "American Dream" and save his family's Christmas.
His smart phone comes alive with characters who demonstrate different values of the "American Dream". Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Norman Rockwell, Amelia Earhart, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill & Melinda Gates. Very short character biographies are included at the end of the book, along with definitions of terms used in the story.
The Bentz Test Laboratory has several children in the suggested age range. I picked one female (age 9) and one male (age 11) to read this book, as well as reading it myself.
It's a short, easy read. An "all-in-one-sitting" type book. The illustrations are a bit "old-school" but, colorful and well-done.
What I liked: I appreciated the authors including contemporary characters and situations - the smart phone, Zuckerberg & Gates, a depressed economy to speak the language of their target audience - today's children. It could be a great way to introduce a unit study on these great Americans who helped shape our nation.
What I didn't like: The focus on the "American Dream" being about buying Christmas presents. I'm not anti-Christmas presents at all (in fact, we buy alot of them!) I just don't see the "American Dream" being reduced down to something that simplistic.
What did my testers think?
Female tester: "I thought it was confusing (the two Abraham's were hard to keep seperate at first)... What was that really about?" "It's kinda boring"
Male tester: "I thought it was a heart-warming story"
Read what the rest of the TOS Review Crew thought here
No comments:
Post a Comment