When author and blog reader Philip Ward Newton contacted me asking if I’d be interested in reviewing his new book, Homeschoolers, Hippies & Heirloom Tomatoes, you can bet I jumped at the chance. Not only because I am an avid reader but because the title was so intriguing. Hippies and homeschoolers? It doesn’t get much better than that in my mind. And the tomatoes aren’t too shabby either.
Homeschoolers, Hippies & Heirloom Tomatoes tells the fictional story of the Masat family who are not quite your average homeschoolers. For one thing they live on a floating farm…a tugboat and three barges to be exact. And have more contact with Asian carp than most of us have ever dreamed of. And flash mobs? The book covers those too.
The story is narrated by twelve year old Grace Masat, so we get an honest if unsophisticated view of family life (imagine if your twelve year old was telling about your family). The story focuses mainly on Grace and her father, Jeffry Masat, who strikes a lovely balance between Allie Fox, the father in Mosquito Coast, and traveling evangelist Billy Graham.
We follow the family as they homeschool (my children are hatching plans to sell the house and buy an RV now), grow and sell organic produce and share Jesus with anyone in their path. The {mis}adventures they have are likely to strike a chord with any large homeschool family. And it’s guaranteed to make you laugh no matter what your views on homeschooling or religion are.
Not only does the book tell a great story, but it’s all filled with engaging discussion questions, Scripps National Spelling Bee words and Masat family recipes. This book is a fun, easy read that endorsed not only me, but the Baker’s Dozen children as well.
It is well worth the $12.99 price tag (or $9.99 for the Kindle version).
Eureka! Thank you for the positive, affirming, and well-written review! God bless you guys.
Sounds great. After I read your blog I looked right away into ordering and the book is listed but not available in Calgary! hmm maybe I’ll wait for restocking or something. Shipping to Canada from Amazon is $20!
Tara:
If you’re still interested, send me an email and I’ll cut through the red tape. I sent a copy from my personal stash to Canada yesterday for four bucks media mail. I’ll make it work for ya.
Phil
Wow! Thanks Phil that sounds wonderful. Here’s my email.
bergeron dot family at shaw dot ca
Blessings,
Tara Bergeron
“This book is a fun, easy read that endorsed not only me, but the Baker’s Dozen children as well.”
Did you mean the book is endorsed *by* you? Or does the book actually mention you? Or did you mean the book engaged you?
I would say she meant engrossed. But who can blame her? She’s got a lot on her brain.
I hate to admit it, as I love real books but I will likely do the kindle version! I received one for Christmas, I had been adamantly against e-readers and in some ways still am. However, we live in an RV with 2 kids and we read hundreds of books. We would have to go to the library several times a wk, or use an e-reader. Now we are closing on a small house so I think we would continue using it! Thanks for the review, I think this book is up my alley.