History has always been a favorite subject for both me and my husband. It is wonderful to see that it is quickly becoming a favorite subject to both of our sons now. They especially love learning about what happened in the Bible, and how these true stories of the Bible are a part of history. We were all excited to learn more about The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls books from Worthy Publishing for these reasons.

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls is a three-book series so far. It is recommended for children ages six to nine years old and is perfect for emerging readers. Each book is about twelve to thirteen chapters, and anywhere from 110 pages to 120 pages long. The font is easily readable and spaced perfectly, to introduce children to chapter books. It also has a few illustrations throughout the chapters. At the end of each book, are references in the Bible where children can learn more about in the Bible, from what they read in the story.

In the books, children get to go on adventures into the past with siblings, Peter and Mary, and their dog, Hank. Book One, The Beginning, has children travel back into Genesis and Revelation. They get to meet a sneaky snake, ride on animals, experience the creation of Earth, and meet the angel, Michael. Book Two, Race to the Ark, includes more adventures in Genesis where children get to meet Noah. Book Three, The Great Escape, introduces Exodus, Pharaoh, plagues, and more.

The author of the books is M. J. Thomas. He developed the idea of these series by originally searching for a book that could teach the Bible in a fun and imaginative way, to his nine-year-old son. He didn’t find any books that offered this, so he began to write his own series. Each book is meant to teach children a core aspect of God’s character, God’s love, and also to get children interested in the Bible.

I would say, the author definitely succeeded. My sons, who are seven and almost nine years old, ate these books up fast. They were able to finish reading one book, in one school week. I am hoping that M.J. Thomas has plans for more books in this series because there are big fans in my house for this series. My youngest loves to read aloud, so he would read while my oldest followed along. My oldest is an auditory learner, so it helps him to not only read things, but to also hear them. He was also able to help my youngest on some words he didn’t quite know yet. It was incredible to see them sit together and read.

They became very vocal during reading as well, trying to advise the characters in the story to run away from the sneaky snake, or commenting how cool it would be ride to animals. They were excited once completing each book, to go look at the excerpts and references listed at the back of the book to go find in their Bibles.

This series is highly recommended by my family. I loved the Biblical accuracy of the stories, and how enthusiastic my boys were to get one book done, so they could move onto the next one to see what other adventures the characters would get into. It would be a fun way to incorporate Bible study time into history lessons, as the second book does go into learning about Pharaoh and would make a great lesson about Egypt. I could even see a science lesson, going along with Creation in the first book. There are an abundance of avenues of learning this series can take you and your family on, and this is a set of books that you are going to want in your home library.

-Product review by Kelly LaFollette, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, July, 2018