Jonathan Edwards by Simonetta Carr (Book Review)

Jonathan Edwards

part of Christian Biographies for Young Readers

By Simonetta Carr

(I received this book for review purposes.)

Genre- Biography & Autobiography / Religious / Children

Published by- Reformation Heritage Books

Copyrighted- 2014

Number of pages- 64

Age Group- Children (ages 7-12)

Description of Book- hardback, ISBN 978-1-60178-354-7, $18.00

Simonetta Carr discusses all of Jonathan Edwards’s life in her book, Jonathan Edwards.  Edwards lived during the early 1700’s in colonial America.  He was a pastor, missionary, writer, college president, and he was even interested in science.

This book contains:

• six chapter discussing Edwards’s life.
• a timeline of his life.
• “Did You Know?” (section which discusses relevant information about his life and the time period).
• a letter from him to his daughter, Mary.

Book Sample.

About the Author- Simonetta Carr was born in Italy and currently lives with her family in San Diego.  She is a former elementary school teacher and has homeschooled her eight children.  She has written for various newspapers and magazines.

About the Illustrator- Matt Abraxas currently lives in Colorado with his wife and children.  He has studied many different approaches to art and exhibits his work at the SmithKlein Gallery.

My thoughts- I thought Jonathan Edwards, by Simonetta Carr, was very well written.  I really enjoyed the layout and learning more information about Edwards.  I had studied a little bit about him with my children last year (we homeschool), but this book was perfect to learn more.  I realize that the target age range is seven to twelve, but I believe this book would work well for adults too.  This book had just the right amount information to satisfy young readers, but encourage older readers to want to learn more.

I learned a lot about Edwards when I read the chapters about him, but my favorite part of the book was the section, “Did you know?”  I enjoyed learning different trivia about the family and America at that time.  I also enjoyed the illustrations and photos.  They helped the book come alive.

I would recommend this book to all young readers, homeschooling families, and anyone else who would be interested in learning about Jonathan Edwards. 

Renee of France

Anselm of Canterbury (part of Christian Biographies for Young Readers)

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Jonathan Edwards, by Simonetta Carr, for free through Cross Focused Reviews.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.  All links were current when posted.

Anselm of Canterbury by Simonetta Carr and illustrated by Matt Abraxas

Anselm of Canterbury (part of the Christian Biographies for Young Readers Series)

by Simonetta Carr and illustrated by Matt Abraxas

(I received this book for review purposes.)

Genre- Religion / Christian / History

Published by- Reformation Heritage Books

Copyrighted- 2013

Number of pages- 64

Age Group- Children (ages 7-12), and anyone

Description of book- hardback (ISBN 978-1-60178-241-0, $18.00)

Anselm of Canterbury, by Simonetta Carr, discusses the life of Anselm of Canterbury and medieval Western Europe.  Anselm preferred to teach, read, and think about God, but he spent a lot of his life with kings and serving as the archbishop of Canterbury. 

About the author and illustrator-

Simonetta Carr currently lives in San Diego with her husband and family.  She was born in Italy and has lived in different cultures.  She has home-schooled her eight children.  Simonetta Carr was born in Italy and has translated the works of Christian authors into Italian.

Matt Abraxas currently lives in Colorado with his wife and two sons.  He teaches art and exhibits his finished works.

My thoughts- Anselm of Canterbury, by Simonetta Carr, was filled with a lot of information about a important man I have never heard of before.  I was glad to have the chance to learn more about him.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the use of illustrations and photographs.  I was intrigued with the photographs, which where he lived and what he saw.  Seeing the portraits made him more real to me.

It was interesting to read about his life and what his opinions were about how the church and kingdom should be more separate from each other.  I especially enjoyed the section at the end that included excerpts from his works.

My children and I really enjoyed this book.  I highly recommend it to all children and adults.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Anselm of Canterbury by Simonetta Carr and illustrated by Matt Abraxas for free from Cross Focused Reviews.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.  All links were current when posted.

Renee of France by Simonetta Carr

Renee of France (Bitesize Biographies) by Simonetta Carr

Genre- Christian / Nonfiction

Published by- Evangelical Press

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 128

Age Group- Adult

Description of book- paperback, list price $11.99, ISBN: 978-0852349090

Little is known today of Renee of France, but she was a part of the Reformation.  She corresponded with John Calvin and that was not taken well by her husband, the Duke of Ferrara or the pope.  

About the author- Simonetta Carr currently lives in San Diego with her husband and family.  She was born in Italy and has lived in different cultures.  She has home-schooled her eight children.  Simonetta Carr was born in Italy and has translated the works of Christian authors into Italian.

My thoughts- I thought this book had some interesting insights about two individuals I have heard of but never really studied.  I am very curious to know more about the relationship that John Calvin and Renee had, after reading the book.  Why did he write her so much?

I liked parts of the introduction because Simonetta Carr was honest and said that the book doesn’t give a definitive answer, gives a brief look at Renee’s life, and is based on the correspondence of Renee and John Calvin.  The timeline was helpful for me to understand what happened and when.

I learned that Renee was smart and loyal to helping the Protestants who needed help.  I was disappointed to learn that she couldn’t stick with her convictions.  She wanted to make both the Roman Catholics and Protestants happy.

I would recommend this book for recreational reading and those in the older high school grades.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Renee of France by Simonetta Carr for free from Cross Focused Reviews. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. All links were current when posted.