Christian Heroes Then and Now -- C. S. Lewis -- my REVIEW

It is no secret that my family loves the Christian Heroes Then and Now series by YWAM Publishing.  We have used several of them in our homeschool journey when we were using My Father's World curriculum, I have had the opportunity for my family to review some of the books, and my youngest daughter loves to read them for recreation (and has recommended them to friends and family as well--including her grandparents!)  This month we had the opportunity to check out the book C. S. Lewis: Master Storyteller.

Most people are familiar with some of the works of C. S. Lewis, but this biography in the Christian Heroes Then and Now series gives some great information about the life of C. S. Lewis--as well as a little insight into why and how he wrote the books which he did.

The book follows his early years (including his eclectic mix of schooling) as well as his military and college years -- and his life after college.  It gives glimpses into his family and pseudo-family (read the book, you'll understand what I'm talking about).  It shares bits and pieces of his inspirations and intentions in some of his writings. It might even inspire you to look up more of his writings than most of us are familiar with (our family's familiarity ended with the Narnia series and the Screwtape Letters). Some of his famous friends and relationships are introduced and explained (J. R. R. Tolkien, among others).  His early religious beliefs and then his conversion are identified. His brother's part in his life is shared.

As with the other Christian Heroes Then and Now, the writing is very engaging, and the readers find themselves quickly reading through, not wanting to put the book down.  I think that this book covers a bit more of his formative years than some do--I felt like it gave us a really thorough picture of his life, more than some in the series do.

Back to the review--along with the book C. S. Lewis, I also had access to the downloadable unit study and curriculum guide.  If you wish to use this book as the cornerstone of a unit study, this resource makes it very easy for you to do so--with elements such as comprehension questions arts and crafts projects, geography studies, vocabulary lists, a map study, a UK fact sheet, and more--if you are into unit studies, you will jump right into this one!  This guide really makes it easy to develop more of a study than just reading a biography.

For our family, we used it as a book to read. :) As a biography, it is educational, but frankly, it is written so well and is so interesting that we (our family) classed it as recreational reading!  Even my 17 year old son is interested in it (he wanted to learn more about C. S. Lewis and this resource is so easy to read and learn from!) My 14-year old daughter loved it just because she loves the series and learning about the lives of those highlighted in these books. I enjoyed it because it gave a nice picture of his life--and it was easy to read!  It is not written just for younger folks!

I think that this book would make a stellar read-aloud as well.

We love these series by YWAM Publishing.  We have many favorites, including Amy Carmichael, Billy Graham, and more.  Check them out!  They are not just for kids! :)

My family and I definitely recommend this book (and the accompanying study guides).  If you would like to read more about what others had to say about C. S. Lewis: Master Storyteller  as well as other Christian Heroes Then and Now or Heroes of History books that they read for review purposes, please click on the link below!