These books were written by Jacob Abbott, a writer of children's books who lived 1803-79. He attended seminary, and his books reflect his religious convictions, as most books did in that day. One of the books is written in collaboration with John Todd (1824-99)

The first book, A Spiritual Journey: The Story of Alonzo tells of a young boy growing up. His parents are Christians, and he is brought up with a Christian upbringing and believes himself to be a Christian. He grows up and gets married and starts his adult life still with this belief. Finally, a pastor helps him to see that, although he has led a good life, he has not fully accepted the Savior. He then experiences what he has been missing. The story consists of 33 pages.

The other book, Understanding Love and God's Sovereignty, consists of two sections. The first, written by Mr. Abbott, is basically a treatise about God's love. The second section, written by John Todd, is a parable about two gentlemen who are debating God's sovereignty. The one convinces the other by orchestrating a series of events that prove to the other gentleman that it is possible to plan and know what will occur without affecting the other's free will to partake. Part One is 16 pages, and Part Two is 13 pages.

These books are thought provoking, but they are written in the preachy, stilted jargon of the 1800s and could be a little difficult for modern children to understand and appreciate. However, I believe the more things like this our children are exposed to, the broader their education will be. I anticipate using them as required reading and food for some interesting book reports.

Product review by Christine Hindle, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January 2010