Customer Reviews

Wright on Time, Book 1: Arizona

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Finally, a children's fiction series about homeschoolers that is fun, educational and family-friendly. Each book in the series relates the adventures of the Wright family as they travel the U.S in an RV. Fifty books are planned, one for each state.

These are easy-to-read chapter books that entertain and educate similar to the Magic Tree House series, but without the magic. As you read each book, you'll experience adventure, humor, and positive family values, qualities that are not often found in today's children's literature.

In this first book, Arizona, your children will learn about Arizona, bats, and minerals as they follow Nadia and Aidan Wright deep into a desert cave located in Arizona. Weird noises, mysterious objects, and "freaky awesome" bats will definitely keep your children's interest; and when they are done, they'll be asking for the next book in the series!

Be sure to visit the Wright on Time Web site to read Nadia's Blog, read biographies of the characters, and learn which state will be featured next in the series.

The Wright on Time books follow the adventures of Aidan, 7, his sister Nadia, 11, as they and their parents travel from state to state, homeschooling as they go. Each book takes place in a different state, so the entire series consist of 50 books! Well, it will anyway. As of this writing only two books have been published. I was sent the first book, Wright on Time: Arizona, so that I could read it and give you my opinion. The second book, Wright on Time: Utah, has also been published. Several more are in the works.


The family explores a cave in Wright on Time: Arizona. Aidan is fascinated by the bats, while Nadia hopes to find some unique gemstones. As you read along, you are not just enjoying a story, you are learning right along with the family. I think it's a great idea, and I think it's great that the books show homeschoolers in such a positive light.


There were a few things that I would have liked to have seen different. First, the parents in the book are referred to by their first names. Call me old-fashioned, but I still prefer that my kids call adults by Mr. and Mrs.


Second, and here I go sounding like an old lady again, but I do not like the phrases Aidan uses throughout book. He was always saying, "Freaky cool!" and "Freaky awesome!" I know, I know, it's like saying "freaky" and "awesome" only together, but every time I read it, I thought of the way people always use the word "freakin'", which I hate, and, well, it just bugged me! LOL (Just a heads up in case you are an old fogey like me!")


Third, they left me hanging! I mean, really! They found this mysterious thing in the cave and I wanted to know what it was, and now I have to read the second book! Tricky, I tell, you, tricky! (The author says you can read the books out of order, but if they do this in all the books, I'd suggest reading them in the order they are written.)


So, what is my final take? Well, first names and freaky aside, I still liked the book. I mean, it was a fun, quick, read, and a great way to sneak in some learnin'. :)


Or you could just go across the country in an RV!

Meet the Wrights - a fictional family of homeschoolers exploring the U.S.A. by RV as they `road-school' their way across the nation. Wright On Time: Arizona, the first in the series, finds author Lisa M. Cotrell-Bentley seamlessly blending mystery, suspense, and adventure with a thoroughly educational exploration of cave rock formations, bat habits, minerals, desert climate, acoustics and much more.

Think the Magic Schoolbus series of educational chapter books, but for homeschoolers, and much better. Rather than presenting educational facts in `chunks' or obviously lecture-style explanations, learning opportunities are woven into the dialogue, interests, and discoveries of the characters. As a matter of fact, the very writing style mirrors the philosophies of the delight-driven, lifestyle led method of education that the Wright's use to much success with their children.

With the boy/girl gender split in the Wright family, there's a good balance of themes and interests to appeal to both groups of readers. Aidan, the family's exuberant seven-year-old, can't wait to see the bats he hopes to find deep within the desert cave. Nadia, a research-driven 11-year-old, is fascinated by the prospect of mining for minerals and hopes to find some malachite (her favorite).

In keeping with the characters' ages, children between six and 12 will likely be the most drawn to the series, but our entire family enjoyed Arizona as a read-aloud -- even my three-year-old and my husband were kept engaged by the short, fast-moving chapters and cliff-hanger chapter endings that kept the pages flying. This is the first book my six-year-old has wanted to savor: "Let's only read it every few days Mommy. This book is so exciting, and when we only read a little at a time - it's even more exciting!"

From a design perspective, the Wright on Time series has it all together. Bright, full-color cover features wonder-filled artwork from illustrator Tanja Bauerle who also supplies the opening illustration for each chapter. It was her work on the interior title page, and the beautiful drawings on the Arizona reference page and map that the book opens with that I knew I was in for a treat.

I don't judge books by their covers, but the care and detail that have been given to producing the flagship title of the series are much appreciated. The interior cream-colored pages that make reading easier for children, the careful layout, the glossary, the facts about Arizona -- it all adds to what is already an exciting, suspense-filled story.

With 50 books planned for the series (one for each state), we're looking forward to following the Wright family across America in their road-schooling adventures. In fact, I'm hoping they might continue their journey by taking a quick trip across the border to explore the provinces of Canada! We denizens of the far white North can always hope.

If you're homeschoooling, you won't want to miss this new series. In the words of our oldest, it's, "...perfectly great, and fantastically perfect." Or as Aidan would say, "Freaky Cool!"

Lisa has written a truly lovely book. My children and I both learned so much reading about the caves in Arizona, and I have to say it is very nice to have a children's chapter book that is not only, fun and educational but isn't gross. I'm really looking forward to future adventures with the Wright family!

Can you imagine what it would be like to receive your education while travelling all over the United States with your parents in a recreational vehicle? What fun! Homeschooling parents Harrison and Stephanie Wright have rented out their old home in Tucson, were loaned an experimental RV, and are now "roadschooling" their two children, eleven-year-old Nadia and seven-year-old Aidan. Harrison is a journalist who is writing a series of articles about living "green" on the road. Their first stop is a rental cave or fee dig site in Arizona where Nadia hopes to find malachite and Aidan wants to see bats. The kids learn all about pyrite and soda straws. They also find a mysterious object with strange markings on it. Could it be Mayan? But what are the glowing things that move in the dark and the whispering voices? And will they make it out of the cave before the owner's wife locks the gate or will they have to spend the night there?

It might be difficult for some people to imagine reading a whole book that describes a single day in which a family of four explores a cave, but author Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley, herself a homeschooling mom of two daughters, has written one and made it quite interesting. There is, of course, the compelling story that both children and adults should find exciting. It is chock full of fascinating information and nicely illustrated with drawings by Tanja Bauerle. In addition, there is a glossary in the back to explain many of the terms used, followed by a page of facts about Arizona. Wright on Time, Book 1: Arizona is great, and the whole series looks as if it will be really neat. Next, the Wrights are off to Utah for a dinosaur dig!

I wrote the following to Lisa: "By the way, when I started reading the book, I remembered a television show a few years ago, back in the mid 1990s about the time we began homeschooling, called Promised Land. I don't know whether you ever saw it or not, but it was a spin off of Touched by an Angel in which the dad, played by Gerald McRaney, lost his job, so he decided to sell the house and pack up his family, including Grandma played by Celeste Holm, in an RV and travel around the country. The mom, played by Wendy Phillips, planned to homeschool their two kids, both young teens, on the road since she had been a teacher. I found that the first couple of seasons were pretty good, but in the third season they settled down in one place--dad got a regular job, mom went back to teaching, and the kids started to school--and to me it lost its interest. A lot of other people must have thought so too because I believe that it was cancelled after that. Anyway, the plot of your book reminded me of it."

Wright On Time Arizona is the first in a series about unschoolers! Our always unschooled kids have thoroughly enjoyed reading about Arizona, especially the caving, bats and malachite! Something for everyone! Our 10 year old nephew loves the bits about caves and bats. Our 6 year old said, "Mumma, a book about kids like me!" She loves the bits about mining for semi precious stones! The Wright family lives their life fully, exploring the US in their RV. The respect each member of their family has for one another is wonderful! Finally! A series of books about children who are learning through living a rich life in a diverse world! Respectful, peaceful parenting, child led, open source learning and travel all in one book! We're hooked! Thanks Lisa for bringing the Wright Family to visit our home via this series! Maybe the Wrights will travel the world as Nadia and Aidan get a little older and they finish their travels around the US! Imagine if they set off to sail around the world! WooHoo!! The possibilities are endless!!

Fiction, fun, adventure, educational, written by homeschoolers for homeschoolers. Those are just a few words to describe the Wright on Time Books written by author and homeschool mom Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley. Lisa and her daughters had been searching for children's books about homeschoolers, and when they found out there was very few, they decided to create their own!

Lisa sent me Arizona: Book 1 in the Wright on Time series, a chapter book that I knew my 4th grader would enjoy. We took turns reading the book and found that we enjoyed it very much. This book series is about a homeschool family that travels in their RV to all 50 states. Arizona: Book 1 is the where their story begins. In Arizona, the family makes many discoveries while exploring a cave. We learned so much while having fun reading this book: stalactites, stalagmites, bats, gems, and much much more! There was suspense and excitement, as we looked forward to reading each new chapter. This was an enjoyable book that makes a great read-aloud, as well as a read-alone for your child between the ages of 5-12. We enjoyed reading a fictional story about homeschoolers and a family we could relate to. We liked how the family stuck together and took care of each other. They even reminded us of our own family and inspired us to dream of traveling the country ourselves one day while homeschooling. For now, though, we're just looking forward to reading Utah: Book 2 and more books in this series as they are released!

Wright on Time Arizona: Book 1 is available in paperback for $[...] on their website.

To learn more about Wright on Time Books, as well as the author, please visit their website.

Wright on Time: Arizona is the first in this series (to be written) of books about the Wright family. The Wright family has decided to explore America by traveling across it in their rv. Homeschooling is a natural choice for this nomadic family.

In book one, we join the Wright family as they go exploring in the caves of Arizona. Lisa does a great job of drawing the reader into the story. My daughter got so caught up in the story that she wants to go explore these caves. In fact, she has me doing research into whether there really are caves that you can rent out for the day to explore.

I was pleased to find a clean adventure series for my daughter to read. My daughter can't wait to read about the Wrights next adventure in Utah. We both look forward to reading more books in this series as they are published.

What a great joy it was to accompany the Wright family on their first adventure in the caves of Arizona. I was both on the edge of my seat at home ~deeply interested and often in suspense~ and right there in Arizona with them, as they joyfully excavated their gems and minerals, as well as their own passions. With this delightful book, Lisa has created a family that is interesting to the reader because they are interested in the world. She has created a family that is a pleasure to be around because they are respectful to one another and of each other's individuality. I think that *Wright on Time: ARIZONA* is a beautiful example of how real learning is for everyone of every age...and how it can be found right there in the joyful living.

- Anne Ohman, Mother of two always unschooled teenage boys, creator/owner of the *Shine with Unschooling* on-line community, Creator & Director of a respectful and celebratory parent/child library program, Inspirational Conference Speaker and Published Writer

How refreshing to read the adventures of a loving family who travel, live, and learn together! All too often parents and children are portrayed in opposition, or parents are simply left out of the story. The Wright family is a realistic alternative all close families can relate to--whether they travel or not and whether they homeschool or not.

Two books have now been written about the Wright family and their adventures, each book highlighting a different state and topic. We can't wait to see where they will go next!