Catholic Books

The local public library is good for a lot of things, but  it is not usually a good source for Catholic books.  Fortunately, quality Catholic books can be found online through various used book sellers.  I like to use hardback books whenever possible so that they will last year after year.

For reading practice, we use the Catholic National Readers .  These are old readers similar to the McGuffey Readers which are popular among homeschoolers.  Kolbe Academy and Our Lady of Victory School use these readers in their curriculum.  The antiquated language causes children to pay close attention to the words (great when children first start reading to prevent them guessing at the words) and the stories are charming.  An example of the language used is this sentence from the Catholic National Readers Primer, "Has Ann a fan?"  instead of "Does Ann have a fan?" Kolbe Academy sells guides for the Catholic National Readers.

Our Lady of Victory School  is the publisher of Catholic National Readers as well as many other old Catholic school books.  Their Voyages in English is a popular choice for grammar and composition.  I try to get these books used through websites like Abebooks and Alibris or from cathswap, a yahoo group for buying and selling used Catholic homeschooling curriculum.