Salem Ridge Press... TOS Crew Review

It's that time again... time for another review for The Old Schoolhouse's Review Crew and I must say, once again, that I love that I get to do this!


I love books... new books... old books... used books....  Needless to say, when I saw my name on the list to do a review for Salem Ridge Press, I was thrilled and when I got an honest-to-goodness brand spanking new book in the mail from Salem Ridge Press, I was ecstatic!


Salem Ridge Press was established in 2005 distinctly dedicated to republishing some of the classical children's literature from the late 1800s to early 1900s. Literature that is chosen for republication by Salem Ridge Press is both well-written and morally excellent.  This company has taken great pains to find books that teach godly character and high moral values and then to republish them so that children of today can learn from the characters of these classic books.

Daniel Mills, publisher of Salem Ridge Press, chose to send me a copy of Dearer Than Life (softback $14.95/hardcover $24.95) by Emma Leslie for review.  This is the story of Dr. John Wycliffe.  In the mid 14th century, Dr. Wycliffe began to question the Church's authority to pardon sin.  This book is the story of the political and religious strife and upheaval throughout England and Europe in the mid 1300s.


Dearer Than Life is one book in the Emma Leslie Church History Series published by Salem Ridge Press.  The Emma Leslie Church History Series is a 12 title fiction set that spans the time of Paul to the beginning of the Reformation.  All twelve titles were written by Emma Leslie in England in the mid to late 1800s.  


In republishing these classics, Salem Ridge Press has done a wonderful job of keeping the original language of the books. They have also expanded each volume to include... historical notes, timelines, word definitions and maps to help today's children understand more of the background and historical significance of the book that they are reading.

Here's what my 11 year old daughter thought of Dearer Than Life... 


         Dearer Than Life is a book about Dr. Wycliffe.  He                         went around Europe sharing the word about Jesus Christ.  This book is in the setting of the late 1300s.  I thought that the book would be boring.  Actually the first chapter was but the rest was not.  I liked Dearer Than Life.

Salem Ridge Press also sent me two ebooks to review...

The Sign Above The Door by William W. Canfield and

The Captives, another book in the Emma Leslie Church History Series.

Honestly, I am not a fan of ebooks.  Perhaps if I had a more portable way to read them (ie a Kindle or an iPad) I may be more apt to use them in our homeschool.  As it is, we tend to use actual books rather than ebooks or internet sources. 

(However, I am planning on bringing my computer on future road trips and having Eric and Emily read both of these books.  They are definitely worth the effort to incorporate them in our home education.)


Overall, I LOVE these books published by Salem Ridge Press.  The only issue I have with their website is that it is most certainly geared toward the homeschool family.  I would highly encourage those who do not homeschool and yet are interested in these great historical children's books to wade through the many comments toward homeschoolers when you peruse the Salem Ridge Press website and continue in ordering these books for your children.  I don't think you will be disappointed.


You can see what other members of TOS Crew thought of Salem Ridge Press here.


**disclaimer: I received these products free of charge for my honest review.