A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

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It Rained Warm Bread

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Know what I did yesterday?  I figured out what my son would be studying next year.  It was wonderful!  The only thing I need yet is Latin and French.  I organized the books onto two shelves so it would be all ready come September. We have LOTS of books for our World War 2 Study.  Anyways, as I was looking through my stack of review items I came across “It Rained Warm Bread”.  It’s another book I can add to our stash!  Moishe Moskowitz’s story of hope, is told by his daughter and put into poetry form by Hope Anita Smith. 

It rained Warm Bread

It Rained Warm Bread: Moishe Moskowitz’s Story of Hope.
Story by: Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet
Poems by: Hope Anita Smith
Illustrations by: Lea Lyon
Christy Ottoviano Books
Middle School, history, WW2, Holocaust, Poetry,
Ages 8-14
Seven chapters, 146 pages
Received ARC softcover, Sold as Hardcover.
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Moishe Moskowitz was thirteen when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family learned the language of fear. The wolves loomed at every corner, yet Moishe still held on to the blessings of his mother’s blueberry pierogis, of celebrating the Sabbath as a family, of a loyal friend. But each day the darkness weighed more heavily on Moishe as his family was broken, uprooted, and scattered across labor and concentration camps. Just as his last hopes began to dim, a simple act of kindness redeemed his faith that goodness could survive the trials of war: That was the day it rained warm bread.

It rained Warm Bread

The Details

I love poetry.  Poetry that tells a story can be a huge delight.  This book was no exception… Hope Anita Smith paints shapes with her words.  Shapes of sadness, sorry, fear.  Knowing well the shapes of wolves looming in the dark.  Shapes the speak to hiding, to loss of hope.  So much sorrow. 

Her words bring to life the hardships that the Jewish people in Poland had to bear during World War 2.  This story is told  through the eyes of one little Jewish boy.

Each poem is short, just long enough to bring to bear the message brought.  The poems follows the one before, bringing the reader into the life of Moishe.  

It rained Warm Bread

Themes can be found.  The love for his family, the concern of good neighbours, not knowing who to trust, learning early how to protect yourself, the sense of community within the Jewish citizens. We also follow the despair and sometimes the hatred of being despised by most you meet, and yes, the hatred a boy ends up feeling at being bullied by everyone and the country they live in.   It’s all very tangible in the words woven. 

It Rained Warm Bread

Hope occasionally raises it’s head.  A brother with an escape plan, a convict saying “he’s my helper”, memories of his father’s voice “where there is hope, there is life”, and the kindness of women with bread.  Hope brings courage, and through courage a boy survives.   Through that hope, my love for humanity can be restored.   Poignant words fill these pages. 

It rained Warm Bread

Should you get this book?

Yes.  Even if you aren’t doing a year long study on World War 2 get this book.  Learn, grow, see.  Feel the despair and be introduced to hope.  You so need to read this book, my heart has been made so quiet. 

I am looking forward to my son reading this book when we talk about the German treatment of the Jews.   Making a guide for reading through it is something I need to do I think.  It Rained Warm Bread will not just bring the horror to life, but also the immense sorrow, the loss that the Jewish people experienced. 

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O Jesus, We Adore Thee

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Ah, the adoration of our saviour. It’s a good thing you know? To truly adore the Lord Jesus. O Jesus, We Adore Thee is as hymn to help us do exactly that.

O Jesus, We Adore Thee

Arthur T. Russell wrote this hymn back in the mid-1800’s. He was an English Clergyman serving in the Unitarian church. He was a man of poor health and died when he was 68 years old. He wrote 140 hymns over his lifetime and translated over 100 others. He occasionally wrote verses for other hymns wanting to improve their theology.

Lyrics

O Jesus, we adore Thee,
Upon the cross, our King!
We bow our hearts before Thee,
Thy gracious name we sing.
That name hath brought salvation,
That name in life our stay,
Our peace, our consolation,
When life shall fade away.

Yet doth the world disdain Thee,
Still passing by the cross;
Lord, may our hearts retain Thee;
All else we count but loss.
Ah, Lord, our sins arraigned Thee,
And nailed Thee to the tree;
Our pride, our Lord, disdained Thee;
Yet deign our Hope to be.

O glorious King, we bless Thee,
No longer pass Thee by;
O Jesus, we confess Thee
The Son enthroned on high.
Lord, grant to us remission;
Life through Thy death restore;
Yea, grant us fruition
Of life forevermore.

Did you know?

SchoolhouseTeachers.com has a music course where you can learn more about hymns? I know!  Rather cool eh?  It’s called Music Throughout History.  Now it does more than hymns, but it has a whole section on hymns which is rather cool.  Anyways, membership is cheap right now, so you may as well give it a boo eh?

Propaganda of World War 1

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My son has been LOVING doing research papers.  He’s just finished a rather significant one of poison gas, and as he finished he asked “what’s next mom?”  I mentioned we hadn’t talked about propaganda and how it was handled during the war and he was immediately intrigued.   Since it was our research week we set to. 

propaganda in world war 1

First we Watched Videos

Three types of propaganda

  1. Homefront – for people at home
  2. Front – to increase morale among your troops andweaken it in the enemy
  3. Foreign  – to counter the propaganda of the enemy

Censorship and propaganda often went hand in hand.

It was thought that film could easily be used as a method of propaganda even though it was still fairly new.  But it was very difficult to get film of war battles.  They needed permission, subject to censorship, hard to carry and set up, and light sensitive (most battles happened at night). 

Posters were most often directed at men with national emblems surrounding a healthy modern Canadian man.  Shaming posters were also used.  

We enjoyed the sheer variety in the posters. From the Victory Bond posters, to the enlist now. The different units like the Canadian Irish Rangers. We noted that some WW2 posters were slipped in as well.

You want to show the enemy as beatable, and yet you also want to show him as formidable.   Finding that balance was often difficult. 

Then we took to the books

He read selections from these books.

My goal was to have him research one of the foci of propaganda and then do up a poster showing what he learned.   He wants to do this BUT he also wants to write a paper.  I imagine it will take him two weeks to be happy with his research and the paper he comes up with. In the meantime I will learn lots about wartime propaganda! 🙂

Others in this Series

In the Cross of Christ I Glory

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Do you glory in the cross? I am slowly starting to really see the significance of it. I know Christ’s death and sacrifice is uber important and believe in it highly. But sometimes I fail to GLORY in it. This hymn helps In the Cross of Christ I Glory.

In the cross of Christ I glory

John Bowring is the author of this familiar hymn. Recalling us to the power of the cross. I found this interesting tidbit on Cyberhymnal:

There is a tradition that while Bowring was governor of Hong Kong, he visited nearby Macao and saw the ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral, which had been gutted by fire in 1835. Above the ruins, he saw the church’s cross still standing. The story is likely apocryphal, though—the hymn was published a decade before the fire, and more than 20 years before Bowing was in Hong Kong: He was appointed British consul in 1849, and governor in 1854.

John Bowring was born in England, son of a merchant Charles Bowring, whose main market was China. Over his lifetime he wrote 88 hymns. Worked in his father’s business, started his own company, travelled extensively and learned several languages. He had a good reputation as a political economist and parliamentary reformer.

Lyrics

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me—
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me,
Lo! it glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds more luster to the day.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,
By the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.

Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

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The hymn Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne leapt from the pages of hymnbook I was leafing through so I thought I should share it with you. 

Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

 Written by Emily E. Elliott. It was first used in 1864 at St. Mark’s Church in Bright­on, Eng­land.  Elliot’s father was the preacher there.

Elliott was the editor of “The Church Missionary Juvenile Instructor.”  She wrote Thou Didst leave thy throme in 1870, but published it separately for children and choir of her Dad’s church.  She later wrote several hymns many of which were published. 

Elliot did a lot of work with rescue missions and children and wrote a book called “under the pillow” which contained several hymns. 

 Timothy Richard Matthews wrote a special tune for this song, called Margaret since it is written to irregular text. 

Lyrics

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.

Refrain

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.

Refrain

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.

Refrain

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word,
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.

Refrain

When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home,
Saying Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.

My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.

The Crayon Man

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Edwin Binney, a new to me inventor, created something I have used often, even as an adult. Edwin Binney was known as The Crayon Man. This is the story of how the crayon came into being. Come along for this colourful ride!

The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons

What I am Reviewing

The Crayon Man: the True story of the invention of Crayola Crayons.
Natascha Biebow
Steven Salerno (illustrator)
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
48 pages, ages 6-9, jacketed Hardcover
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.
Picture book, Elementary, Biography
Crayola, Crayons, colouring, Art, Inventors

What child doesn’t love to hold a crayon in their hands? But children didn’t always have such magical boxes of crayons. Before Edwin Binney set out to change things, children couldn’t really even draw in color.

Here’s the true story of an inventor who so loved nature’s vibrant colors that he found a way to bring the outside world to children – in a bright green box for only a nickel! With experimentation, and a special knack for listening, Edwin Binney and his dynamic team at Crayola created one of the world’s most enduring, best-loved childhood toys – empowering children to dream in COLOR!

The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons

The Details

The Crayon Man is well illustrated by Steven Salerno, where he shows the brightness of the crayons that Edwin Binney created. I have to admit, that I’ve never thought a whole lot about the founder of the crayon. Therefore I found it very interesting to think about the colours made. I noted the difficulty he had making them safe for children. Not an easy job for him.

From the eyes of a man who worked a rather dreary job came colour! This man loved colour and wanted children to be able to easily use it came the crayon that we love today. It wasn’t the first thing he invented (you’ll have to read the book to discover what else) but it is the one we remember the most.

I just loved the colours that dotted the pages, my pictures of the book don’t show the brightness of the hues.

The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons

My Recommendation

If you are at all curious about how crayons came to be, The Crayon Man is just the book you need. Answer the questions of your children, stimulate them to think about the origins of something they use everyday, and encourage them to think of something THEY could create. I

The Crayon Man is a lovely meaty picture book that speaks to the determination of a man to make a useful product for children. We see the help he needed from others along the way, and how the encouragement of his wife was a boon to him.

The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons
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Not What My Hands Have Done

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Do you remember the song I did last week?  It was also written by Horatius Bonar!   Wow!   So I guess I don’t have to write a whole about him eh?  Anyways, Not What My Hands Have Done reminds us that it’s God’s action not ours which is our salvation.

Not what my hands have done

Horatius Bonar was called Horace by his friends. A Scottish pastor who wrote many songs. He passed away in 1889. He preached with fervor, starting his ministry in Kelso and finishing his pastorate at the Chalmers Memorial Free Church.

Lyrics

Not what my hands have done
Can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do
Can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears
Can bear my awful load.

Thy work alone, O Christ,
Can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,
Can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God,
Not mine, O Lord, to Thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest,
And set my spirit free.

Thy grace alone, O God,
To me can pardon speak;
Thy power alone, O Son of God,
Can this sore bondage break.
No other work, save Thine,
No meaner blood will do;
No strength, save that which is divine,
Can bear me safely through.

I bless the Christ of God;
I rest on love divine;
And with unfaltering lip and heart
I call this Savior mine.
His cross dispels each doubt;
I bury in His tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear,
Each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace;
I trust His truth and might;
He calls me His, I call Him mine,
My God, my joy and light.
In Him is only good,
In me is only ill;
My ill but draws His goodness forth,
And me He loveth still.

’Tis He who saveth me,
And freely pardon gives;
I love because He loveth me,
I live because He lives.
My life with Him is hid,
My death has passed away,
My clouds have melted into light,
My midnight into day.