My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
This is a good book series and is an easy, enjoyable way to read about U.S. history in various time periods and settings. I enjoyed this book; it was well-written and it drew a vivid picture in my mind of what life on the Mayflower and in Plimoth must have been like. (Yes, it's Scholastic so it's written for kids, but these are good for adults too. I bought a couple of books from this "Dear America" series at a book sale because I love American history and I like how this series makes reading about it fun and interesting and does it through the eyes of observant, smart girls.)
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
This book is a gem! It's a lovely quick read and is perfect for both children and adults. It's beautifully and simply written by a master writer who had no need to embellish the life story of Jesus Christ, which is beautiful enough in and of itself. This is worth re-reading many times as well as owning.
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars
I stopped reading this book at page 134 when I thought I was going to die of boredom. This was written in 1922, which I didn't realize when I got the book, so the non-fiction writing style is antiquated and not very well-written or entertaining. The author includes way too many quotes from direct sources like journals and letters. Some quotes are informative and interesting, but too many and you feel like you're reading a (badly written) research paper. He makes many questionable assumptions and presents them as fact, which he wouldn't be able to get away with very easily today, and he meanders off topic often. There is some interesting information here, but it's too bad that it's presented in the way that it is.
