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Dear Judy,
As John and Sarita's
daughter, I can say that Sonlight F – Eastern
Hemisphere – most accurately shows the heart of
my parents. They long for the Church to be a house of prayer for all
nations. They long for people from every nation to meet Jesus. They long
for people in the West to know about, and pray for, the people in the East.
So it is with great joy that this year
we present …
A New Centerpiece
for Sonlight F
Every Sonlight History program has a
centerpiece book, or "spine," that serves as the foundation of
that particular program.
This year, we are pleased
to announce a new title, Journey to the
Eastern Hemisphere, as the spine for Sonlight
F. This book, which replaces the digital World Book Encyclopedia,
is packed with informative articles about the countries and regions that
Sonlight F covers.
Each location has a big-picture
overview, a description of the geographical features, a look at everyday
life, a summary of the area's history, and full-color maps and photos.
Journey
looks in-depth at 11 countries: China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan,
Russia, Vietnam, India, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and New Zealand.
It also looks at five regions:
Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and
Antarctica.
I got to do a final proof of the book,
and I enjoyed the descriptions of the various places. If you've ever tried
to summarize a lot of complex information, you know that condensing can be
difficult. I thought the author did an admirable job summarizing such a
wide range of topics as the Vietnam War and the story of the Endurance.
And … a Revised
Reading List
Journey to the Eastern Hemisphere is
informative. But it isn't intended to be story-based, the way most of our
spines are.
For stories, we have the rest of the
books!
Counting the Instructor's Guide, this
program has 51 items (plus 13 more, if you add Science F). Sonlight F has
19 Readers, 18 Read-Alouds, eight History books (not counting timeline
figures, the China Kit for calligraphy, and origami), and, for Bible, a book
and a CD with Bible verses set to ethnic music.
This is a rich program!
In the 26 years since Sarita started
Sonlight, the book publishing industry has experienced an explosion of new
books from this part of the world. We're excited to introduce you to these
new books.
Here's more of what you can expect.
We now have a collection of incredible
stories of God at work in Iran.
The section on Russia expanded with two
glorious books about life in St. Petersburg, one about the siege during
WWII (it's outstanding!), and one set about 50 years later … same family,
different time. Such a great way to look at these pivotal moments in the
largest country on Earth!
We also have a collection of short
stories from Africa, beautifully illustrated with woodcuts (Ashley Bryan
has such joyful pictures). We have a Newbery Honor book set in Mozambique
and Zimbabwe. We have a book set during the Partition of India! (How many
books have you read about the Partition of India?! It's such a gift!)
And we have one of my personal
favorites in recent years, Cornelia
and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters. A young
girl enjoys the stories of her globe-trotting neighbor, and this helps her
find her own voice. (One sentence is not going to do this book justice.
Even if you don't ever get to Sonlight F, you should read this book.)
To sum up: Sonlight F now
has a book for a spine, and the other books in the F program have more
stories, and more stories specifically about the Eastern Hemisphere.
This program was already a customer
favorite. We believe it's even better now.
Celebrate all the richness of diversity
on this planet and how God is at work!
Hooray!
Amy Lykosh
for the Sonlight Team
www.sonlight.com
P.S. If you haven't heard the music
from the Sing the Word
CD, you should check out the
sampler. "All nations whom you have made shall come and
worship before you, O Lord! And they shall glorify your name, for you are
great, and do wondrous deeds. You alone are God!" So many different
musical styles!
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