Master Storyteller - Crew Review

 

Disclaimer: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Christian Heroes: Then & Now chronicles the exciting, challenging, and deeply touching true stories of ordinary men and women whose trust in God accomplished extraordinary exploits for His kingdom and glory. I have written several reviews for YWAM Publishing so when I had the opportunity to review another book from this series; I selected C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller.

Clive Staples Lewis, who insisted everyone call him Jack, always had a lively imagination. Since the day he learned to write, he began recording stories. Two weeks after his mother’s death, Jack was sent off to school in England where the headmaster ruled the Wynyard House School like a mad sea captain. Upon closure, Jack enrolled at Campbell College where his English teacher introduced him to poetry. Later he won a classical entrance scholarship to Malvern College. Jack continued his education through 1946 when University of St. Andrews awarded him a doctor of divinity degree making him Dr. C.S. Lewis.

Jack also served in the trenches of World War One. After four weeks of basic training, he was commissioned as a 2^nd lieutenant in the Somerset Light Infantry where he faced the grim reality of life on the battlefield. During this time, he wrote poems about his experience; but it wasn’t until he was recuperating in the hospital when he had time to edit these poems written in the trenches. When his poems “Spirits of Bondage” were published in book form he became a published author.

Jack was thirty-three years old when he became a Christian. His first book about a religious theme, The Pilgrim’s Regress, was not a financial success. The story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe received mixed reviews, but as more and more children read the book, sales began to grow. Each December, for the next six years, he published a new book in the series The Chronicles of Narnia.

In 1957, C.S. Lewis’s life turned upside down. He was now married to a terminally ill woman. Jack always kept his private life separate from his public life, so I was surprised to read that he wrote a deeply personal book that described his feelings following Joy’s death – A Grief Observed. Then on November 22, 1963 his kidneys had failed him; but the master storyteller’s death was overshadowed by another death, John F. Kennedy.

YWAM Publishing has a Unit Study Curriculum Guide to accompany this book. The Unit Study Curriculum Guide shows the homeschool parent ways to teach each chapter. Key Quotes display quotes and discuss their meaning and relevance to the historical character. Display Corner allows students to collect items from the time and place in which the character lived to create a display. Chapter Questions have your student answer questions for each chapter. Student Explorations are based on your student’s learning style and allow them to complete a project for each chapter. Community Links provide ideas for guest speakers and field trips. Social Studies uses maps and timelines to mark the locations listed in the book and record the list of events on the timeline. Books and Resources provides a collection of books, articles and movies for further study of the Christian Heroes character.

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