Author Marilyn Boyer states, "It was a question David Barton posed that God used to challenge me to write this book. While showing a picture of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, he asked who could identify more than three of the signers. . . . I realized that a huge chunk of our history, that which is Christian in nature, has been carved from our public school classrooms (of which I was a product). . . . The vast majority of these men were true Christians who were looking to their Savior for guidance and daily direction in the events which led to the signing."

If you've ever wanted to learn more about the 55 men who signed the Declaration of Independence from a Biblical perspective, this book is a must have! Don't be fooled; you won't just read boring biographies of these 55 men. Instead, you'll be captivated as you dive into their lives, causes, circumstances, quotes, and writings. Captivated!

For You They Signed could even be used as a year's worth of devotional character studies if you chose to study one person per week. At least one Scripture is referenced per biography, with the character of that person evident throughout. At the end of each 6-10 page account, questions are included for discussion. Some of the questions test your children's memory, while others are more thought provoking and really focus on the character qualities of the men.

The histories of the 55 men are organized by the colonies that they represented. Within the 342 pages of the book, you'll also find several additional things, including a copy of the Declaration of Independence, a speech from Patrick Henry, and a glossary of character qualities.

Fathers are encouraged to guide their families through the book, leading them in this important study of our country's history and in the discussions of Biblical character. Of course, the book may be used in whatever way best suits your needs, and Mrs. Boyer even suggests other potential ways to use the book: as part of a homeschool curriculum that is mom-led, as part of a self-study homeschool curriculum, as a group study (i.e., co-ops), or simply as inspirational reading material.

All ages can take part in a family study, but I estimate the most appropriate age for firm understanding to be middle school and above. A free PDF activity guide full of coloring pages, character quality cards, and 20 fun review quizzes is supplied to you from the publisher upon purchase. The coloring pages are especially nice to keep younger ones busy if the biographies are read aloud.

I have to tell you that my husband is rarely interested in the review products that come across my desk; however, his hands have been on this book more than mine! He's excited because he knows there are very few places our children can go these days to learn about the Godly heritage of our nation. Thank you, Mrs. Boyer!

Product review by Cindy West, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, December 2010