Via RSS feed.November 1st, 2009
Book Review and Contest: Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled by Rachel Starr Thomson and Carolyn Joy Currey
CONTEST CLOSED!
Congratulations to Shawntele! I’m sending you an email, please get back to me with your mailing address within 72 hours! Thanks to all who entered, check back soon for more fun contests!
”What do you get when you throw twenty children, four parents, several cross-country trips, and a sense of humour between the covers of one book?”
That’s a question many adults would be terrified to ask, let alone embrace. However, for large, Christian, homeschoooling families, this situation may not seem too out of the ordinary. Rachel Starr Thomson and Carolyn Joy Currey are cousins with more than a few things in common; these eldest daughters of families who delight in raising and educating their children for the Lord met in person during a chaotic-cross country move, and have been fast friends ever since.
Sharing a zany, wholesome sense of humour, the pair teamed up and co-wrote the entertaining memoir Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled. I’m glad they did. With family size statistics like these busting open the seams of the North American demographic corset, it can be all to easy to feel isolated if your tent is pitched in the same tent. If you, your spouse, or your children have ever found yourselves wondering, “Are we the only ones who…?” I highly recommend you take a peek into the lives of the Thomson and Currey families.
Each short and snappy, slice-of-life chapter (written by either Thomson or Currey), invites us into the joyous tumult of family life. From “The Battle of Underwear Mountain” — we have one of those — to “Vacuum Cleaners I Have Known” — wherein I found assurance for my husband that ours is not the only home inhabited by clumps of tangled hair on the rug due to its many long-haired occupants — and everything in between, this volume is both frank and comedic.
As an added charming flourish, both Currey and Thomson write with a distinctly homeschooled flair. Sprinkling such gems as “quoth” into the mix, with a sense of precise syntax paired with oddball impressions add to the distinct character of the text. A few times I found myself thinking, “Someone has certainly been reading (or watched) Tolkien and Austen lately.” With my ongoing predilection for vintage vocabulary, I found these stylistic renderings quite endearing.
The authors remind us that no matter how chaotic the situation seems, the opportunity to kick-back, laugh, and enjoy the good gifts that God has given us is always available. Their light-hearted spin on large-family living sheds much needed levity into the direst (and most bizarre) of situations. Truly — once you’ve heard the account of the experimental hot-dogs-in-the-crockpot-powered-by-the-cigarette-lighter story, it will not be forgotten — and you’ll have a great tale to tell your kids the next time they complain about hot dogs for lunch again!
Part One of Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled can be downloaded as a free .pdf from Rachel Starr Thomson’s website.
CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT AMAZON.COM OR AMAZON.CA!
CONTEST DETAILS:
Thanks to Rachel I have one copy of Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled to give away to a blessed winner in the U.S. or Canada! To enter, visit Rachel Starr Thomson online and let me know something interesting you found there. Rachel is an EXCELLENT blogger, I love reading her book reviews, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy your visit there!
For additional entries:
1. Subscribe to this blog for updates – see the left hand sidebar. Leave an additional comment letting me know you’ve subscribed (or if you already subscribe).
2. Write a post on your blog promoting and linking to this contest. Leave an additional comment with a link to your post.
3. Add the Quiverfull Family button (see the code box in the right hand sidebar under BUTTON UP!) to your blog’s sidebar, or let me know if you already have the button displayed. Leave an additional comment with a link to your post.
4. Digg, Stumble, Tweet, Facebook or otherwise share this post on a social networking site. Leave an additional comment indicating how you shared this post.
5. Follow me on Twitter or let me know if you are an existing follower.
Each additional step taken counts for 1 additional entry. A total of 6 entries are available if you complete all of these steps. Please leave a separate comment for each entry!
The contest will close at 12 a.m. MST on Thursday, November 12th, 2009. One (1) winner will be randomly drawn for Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled on Friday, November 13th, 2009 and notified by email. Please fill your email address in the comment form when you are completing your comment so that I can contact you. The winners must respond with a mailing address within 72 hours of my email, or new winners will be chosen. This contest is open to those living in the US/Canada.
I look forward to seeing God bless a readers with this joy-filled title to enjoy alone, or with their children! Thanks for entering.
has her own publishing co. mverno@roadrunner.com
No need to enter me. I’m dropping in to say thanks for the e-mail. I’ve got this posted at Win a Book for you.
Susan Helene Gottfried´s last blog ..Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled
She is the oldest of 12 children.
Would love to read this, this is my first year of homeschooling and we are finding it to be a wonderful blessed experience. Thanks for the contest.
sweeps4us(at)gmail(dot)com
I subscribe!
sweeps4us(at)gmail(dot)com
I follow you on Twitter.
ID:sweeps4us
I learned that I can get Worlds Unseen free as an ebook – wow! Very interesting writing style… I’d love to read this Tales book, too…
janemaritz at yahoo dot com
Winning Readings´s last blog ..Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled
I’m subscribed through Google Reader.
janemaritz at yahoo dot com
Winning Readings´s last blog ..Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled
We’ve posted about this at Winning Readings: http://winningreadings.blogspot.com/2009/11/tales-of-heartily-homeschooled.html
Thanks for the email!
janemaritz at yahoo dot com
Winning Readings´s last blog ..Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled
And I follow on twitter: moziesme
janemaritz at yahoo dot com
Winning Readings´s last blog ..Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled
I found it interesting that she is a writing coach and helps highschool students.
Rachel thinks life would be better if we all got rid of our TVs!
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
HSB Suzanne (aka Anita)´s last blog ..Mickey Mouse and Christmas
I follow you on Twitter — @HSBSuzanne.
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
HSB Suzanne (aka Anita)´s last blog ..HSBSuzanne: Win Honest Tech FOTOBOX & VHS to DVD http://wktpe.th8.us @BarefootMomma
I have your button on my blog’s sidebar…
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Suzanne
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
I subscribe to your blog.
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
HSB Suzanne (aka Anita)´s last blog ..Mickey Mouse and Christmas
I tweeted about this…
http://twitter.com/HSBSuzanne/status/5438277450
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
HSB Suzanne (aka Anita)´s last blog ..HSBSuzanne: Win "Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled" http://tinyurl.com/y8ugqv4 @quivermamma #homeschool #book #giveaway @writerstarr
I love reading about the adventures of other homeschooling families! I was happy to find that you can read some of her books online.
My email is: savedbygrace7215(at)yahoo(dot)com
I now follow you on twitter, but to be honest I am new to that, so bear with me!!
I get your blog updates in my google reader as well.
She has written an excellent article entitled “Confessions of a Legalist”. Nice writing.
I would love to win this book – thanks for the chance.
I am a subscriber – I tried to subscribe again, but it wouldn’t let me
She comes from a large family.
Thanks for the chance to win! Sounds like a fun book to read!
Angie Foster´s last blog ..Currclick Sale through Nov. 19th
I subscribed to your blog!
Angie Foster´s last blog ..Currclick Sale through Nov. 19th
Posted about your contest on my blog! Thanks again!
Angie Foster´s last blog ..Win a copy of Tales of the Heartily
I shared this on my facebook page as well. I think I am done! Maybe I will win! lol
Angie Foster´s last blog ..Win a copy of Tales of the Heartily
I found an e-book to download on Rachel’s site. Thanks.
Please include me in this drawing.
I blogged about this on my site
I’m a subscriber
Your button is in my sidebar. Thanks
No need to enter me: I’m Carolyn’s Mom, Rachel’s second cousin, and the Currey Mom mentioned here and there in the book. Hilarious as all the adventures are, they really happened. I’m agitating for a sequel – there’s no lack of material!!
I found it interesting that she is a writing coach.
she is the oldest of 12.
i sub
tami lewis´s last blog ..some links you might enjoy
i follow u on twitter where i am agodlyhomemaker
tami lewis´s last blog ..some links you might enjoy
button on blog
tami lewis´s last blog ..some links you might enjoy
i learned she is part of a very large family
dreamcleavers@yahoo.com
i am a subscriber
dreamcleavers@yahoo.com
i follow you on twitter
dreamcleavers
dreamcleavers@yahoo.com
I agree with Rachel that TVs should be unemployed.
She has her own publishing company. I think I saw this family featured on a show on the WE channel last night.
oooh — my son would love to read the Seventh World trilogy. I’ll have to look for these books, which are prominently featured on Rachel’s website.
I learned that Rachel comes from a large family, thanks for the opportunity to win!
I learned that she is a writing coach!
email subscriber
http://kngmckellar-glorias.blogspot.com/
have button already
follow on twitter as kngmckellar
http://twitter.com/kngmckellar/status/5658086968
tweeted
She is the oldest of 12 children.
I thought it was interesting that Rachel is the oldest of twelve children.
I subscribed to your updates.