Customer Reviews

For the Love of Literature Teaching Core Subjects with Literature

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In her friendly, warm style, Maureen Wittmann shares her depth of experience in "teaching core subjects with literature".

Maureen has a special talent for describing an entire book in just a sentence or two. In this thorough yet pleasant guide, she describes 950 of them. She explains various educational methods, from classical education to Charlotte Mason homeschooling, as well as how to make the best use of your public library and how to build your own home library.

Whether you have been homeschooling for decades as I have - or you just want to enrich your child's education - or wherever you are on the parenting spectrum: this is a book you will want to own and cherish.

Any parent or teacher who would like to spice up a lesson in math, science, history, art, or music would be wise to obtain this helpful guide.

Divided into each core subject area, the book notes each of 950 titles as to the book's age and grade level, from preschool to adult, maturity level and if there is a need for parental guidance. In addition, most of the titles contain a brief description--enough for a parent or teacher to decide whether the book is right.

Other helpful features include guides to classical and Charlotte Mason based education, using the library, building a home library, creating literary unit studies, and more.

If you are a parent, a teacher or a homeschooler, you NEED this book.

Maureen Wittman, Catholic homeschooling mom extraordinaire, has compiled the book list dreams are made of. She has created a subject-by-subject list that gives a brief synopsis, age range and a special note to identify Catholic titles. There are 950 books listed! They are all readily available (in print) and easy to find at your favorite bookseller or library.

My favorite part of the book are the essays. Maureen gives great tips for using your local library that I have already benefited from (think way less fines :)) and how to build your own library. The essay about creating your own literature study is worth buying the book for all on it's own!

Thank you Maureen for creating such a valuable resource that will be in use in my home for many years to come!

Maureen Wittmann, a Catholic homeschooling mother of seven, has been a library afficionado for years and handily organized her "finds" in this well-organized and very useful book.

For the Love of Literature is designed especially for Catholic homeschool parents (though other homeschool parents, grandparents, librarians, etc. will find many, many titles of interest). It's a guide to using real books - biographies, historical fiction, beautiful picture books, etc. to study any subject area of interest. The book lists (organized by subject) include brief descriptions, appropriate age level and a special notation to identify specifically Catholic titles.

The book lists are extensive and up-to-date (meaning that she only included books that are currently in print) which means, among other things, that this could be an extremely useful resource for using your library well and making suggestions for your library to purchase.

Introductory essays cover topics such as library tips, building a home library, reading aloud, creating a literature unit study, and detailed explanations of classical education and the Charlotte Mason method - both of which are very compatible with the use of living books.

This is a very helpful book that I've been recommending to all my friends. It's a great blessing for anyone who would like to use living books to supplement (or perhaps even replace) textbooks with their children, make better use of their library or simply find worthwhile books for their very voracious readers. There's something for everyone.

Approximately 250 pages of the book are loaded with titles broken down by subject and age group. This is really helpful, especially since lately I've been looking to make homeschooling easier. My goal is to use literature, cd-rom games and movies more so that my homeschooling can become less of a monumental task. This will be a huge asset! Thank you!

I met Maureen Wittmann at a Catholic homeschool curriculum fair and found her to be a delightful lady, full of anecdotes and ideas. Her book, For the Love of Literature, reflects her wisdom and enthusiasm fully--it posits that you can teach practically every subject on the curriculum using good literature.

The book begins with some useful introductory insights on how to use your local library, how to build your home library, and how to design a literature study unit. It also provides a basic introduction to classical education and the Charlotte Mason method--both of which mesh well with Ms. Wittmann's ideas.

The bulk of this book, however, is made up of a literary guide broken down by subject. Areas covered include art and music, math, history, and science. The history section alone covers over 100 pages and is replete with hundreds of excellent suggestions. A kid who worked their way through all of the books listed would have a better grasp of history than 99% of adults.

But of course, this reading list is not intended to be followed from start to finish. Indeed, unless one were a voracious speed-reader, it would be a nearly impossible task. The strength of the book is that it can be used as a handy reference that the homeschooling parent can dip into as needed.

Imagine--rather than teaching the Elizabethan period by a dry recitation of facts and dates, you start your child off reading, Red Hugh: Prince of Donegal; or you begin a study of the crusades by having the child read an exciting tale like The Blue Gonfalon. Using this method is sure to stimulate interest while helping the child build their reading skills at the same time.

Simply put, if you're a homeschooling parent, this book is a must-have--a gem. I fully endorse this method of teaching because it worked on me as a kid. Even though I was in traditional private Catholic school, I recall clearly how the books that made the greatest impression on me were literary works that put major figures into their historical context. This often inspired in me a desire to do more research on the figure in question or their time period and was the beginning of my love of history in general.

Educators who wish to incorporate "living books" into their curriculum should get their hands on a copy of Maureen Wittman's excellent book. While it is especially helpful for Catholic educators, it is useful for non-Catholics as well. Mrs. Wittman marks the Catholic books she recommends with a cross so it's easy to identify which books reflect which point of view. Also, I appreciated the "heads-up" she provides on books containing mature themes.

Highly recommended!

This is a book I just purchased so I haven't fully scratched the surface of it. Truly a needed resource for homeschoolers! It introduces the idea of Living Books (books that tell true History, Science and Math).
I'm ordering some of these books from the Library!