Library and Educational Services LLC (A Homeschool Crew Review)

When I was younger, I loved the animated movie Beauty and the Beast.  I've always been drawn the Belle as my favorite Disney Princess, not because she fell in love with a prince (I already did that) but because of the huge library that she acquired when she moved into the castle.  Being a major bookworm myself, I always dreamed of having a library like that of my own. Granted, now I'm much older and realize I will never have a castle with an entire room with vaulted ceilings dedicated solely to books, but I still enjoy building my own personal home library, especially with books that the kids can use for their homeschool learning.

The Crew was recently given the opportunity to splurge on the offerings from Library and Educational Services LLC, a wholesale distributor that has been in business for 40 years and specializing in books, CDs, DVDs and more for libraries, schools (INCLUDING HOMESCHOOLS!!!), bookstores, churches, missionaries, daycare centers and ministry leaders.  All books are selected to conform to Biblical standards and values.   For the purpose of this review, Crew members were offered to review one book from the Who Was .. ?  series, one title of choice from the Lifehouse Theater CDs audio series, and their choice of selections of Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction books. 

For our Who Was ...?  book selection, we opted for Who Was Walt Disney? by Whitney Stewart.  We selected this particular title because I have a unit study that uses this book that I want to use with the kids.  We did read this selection together without the unit study but will reread the title when we start the study later this year. 
The Who Was...? titles are short paperback biographies written for children ages 8-12 years of age.  For this title, we learned about the life of Walt Disney, from his childhood, his failures, his triumphs and ultimately his success.  

The 106 page book is filled with black and white illustrations as well as some really interesting tidbits of information.  

I really like that there are additional points of information that may not necessarily directly relate to Walt Disney, it does bring the readers attention to other important information, such as Pearl Harbor, the Great Depression, and who Charlie Chaplin was.

The second item we picked out was the audio CD of the Lifehouse Theater on the Air production of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.  This was a 33 minute audio CD . 

This audio recording is of a 33 minute production of the story of the cobra killing mongoose.  This was a fun listen with good voice acting, sound effects and music.  The kids really enjoyed this recording and have asked to listen to it a few times.   It was really well done and had great build ups in excitements that really held their attention. 

In addition to Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Library and Educational Services LLC offer seven other Lifehouse Theater On-the-Air productions:  Trapped in Aesop's Fables, The Misadventures of Tom Sawyer, The Princess and the Pigs, Pride and Prejudice,  Job - A Modern Man,  Hiding in Plain Site, and The Emperor's New Clothes. 
And finally......
Without any doubt, the start of this review is the hardback library binding nonfiction books.  For my selection, I chose the 11 volume Exploring American History: From Colonial Times to 1877.  These volumes are absolutely beautiful, with a nice hard back, reinforced spines (no worries of pages falling out) and full color photographs and illustrations with text written for a targeted audience of grades 5 through 8. This set examines the formative stages of America's past from European settlement of the Western Hemisphere and the displacement of indigenous peoples to the birth of the United States and its growth, in both population and territory, from a modest confederation of thirteen independent states.

These books are arranged like encyclopedias - each volume covers subjects/topics arranged in alphabetical order.  While each book contains roughly 150 pages each, when combined together they comprise of 1231 pages of information.  Each volume is numbered on the spine as well as lists the alphabetical span covered in that volume.  (Note:  Encyclopedia sets are not previewed by Library and Educational Services LLC to fit Biblical teachings and beliefs.)

Inside, topics are clearly marked with clear to understand text, historical photographs and colored illustrations.   The font used is large enough and clear enough to read, even for my old eyes. 

The 11th volume of this set is a dedicated index and a wealth of information.   This book contains timelines that show not only important dates but important political and cultural occurrences, people and places that should be noted at a particular time.  

The index volume also contains selections of resources recommended to delve deeper into topics.  These resources include recommended websites (all appear to be government and organization websites that would be free of questionable content), books and movies and are listed by topic in alphabetical order. 

Finally, the index also lists topics/subjects in alphabetical order and which page/volume information on those topics can be found. 

I am absolutely in love with this beautiful set of books and I am grateful to be able to add them to our library. I know this set in particular will come in extremely handy as the kids begin American History next month.  And once my kids are too old for them, I will happily gift them to my library for their nonfiction section, as I have no doubt that with their sturdy covers and binding, they will last far longer than my kids will need them for and will be of use to another child down the road. 

For more information about Library and Educational Services LLC, be sure to visit their website.  You can also find more information on the following social media platforms: Facebook: facebook.com/libraryanded
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf-f2T2eIghJkxinFu4xVgQ
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libraryanded/

Members of the Crew were given their choices of one Who Was? What Was? book, one audio recording, and and their choices of a vast selection of reinforced hardcover library binding nonfiction books.  Be sure to click the banner below and read reviews on the wide selections available for purchase today.