Salem Ridge Press

Looking for a good read?

I am a huge fan of the written word, especially the well written word. I happen to have two children who seem to be following in my footsteps, so I was very pleased with the opportunity to review 3 books for Salem Ridge Press, a new publishing company established in 2005 by homeschooling graduate Daniel Mills. Daniel's desire is to republish books from the 1800's and early 1900's~ to provide wholesome reading for our children. Books that will help to form good character, with an emphasis on those things that are honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report(From Philippians4:8).

I am extremely happy to have a company that has this as its mission. My daughter, Rebecca, is an avid reader, but also a very sensitive reader, so finding appropriate material is always an interesting task.

The first book, Mary Jane~ Her Book (ages 6-10) is a sweet story about 5 year old Mary Jane, and her daily activities and adventures with her family and friends. My daughter and 8 year-old son took turns reading chapters aloud to us, and there were definite chuckles and general amusement with the entertaining descriptions of life with Mary Jane. Rebecca likens this story to the general "feel" of the Milly-Molly-Mandy books. There can't be enough of this type of gentle read for young readers.

The second book, American Twins of the Revolution (Ages 8-adult) is a historical fiction title. It is a fairly gentle treatment of a difficult and exciting time in our nation's history, on a level that can engage the young reader, without giving too many details. Again, we found this to be an interesting and wholesome read that detailed what life was like for some during the Revolutionary War.

The third book, Glaucia the Greek Slave (ages 10-adult) is a well written "church history" book, set in 59-64 AD. I have to admit that I haven't had my "sensitive" 11 year old read it yet, because of the treatment of some of the slaves, and the general "feel" of Nero... (She is on the lower end of the age range, and just isn't *quite* ready for the side theme of the persecution of the early church, although I know that she would greatly enjoy the main story line).

On the whole, I think that these books are a breath of "fresh" air in this world of extremely graphic novels, and "anything goes" attitudes. We are in the habit of scouring Library book sales for " good, old" literature, and it is so nice to have some of it being brought back into print!

You may want to check out Salem Ridge Press' complete listing of current titles. You can search by age Time Period and Location, Author, and Age Range from links on this page as well.

Each individual book page has a link to a pdf of the first chapter, so that you can preview, and get a feel for which books are right for your family.

You can purchase Salem Ridge Press books from Amazon.com, and Barnes and Noble online, but you may wish to check out their "Where to buy" page, with listings of homeschooling operated businesses (like CBD), that are carrying a variety of Salem Ridge Press books. Prices range from $12.95 softcover to $26.95 hardcover.