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Janele Hoerner reviews the first novel in a suspenseful series for middle-grade readers, new from Ignatius Press.

Raising boys, multiple boys, is no easy task. Everyone can agree that boys are loud, have tons of energy, and seem to never stop moving. Although when they finally pause and sit in one place for any matter of time a parent wants to encourage what they do while they are stationary. Reading is one of those tasks that calms the energy of the boy’s mind while harnessing that energy into positive outlets. Unfortunately, most books on the shelves for these squirmy young minds are filled with topics that are not appropriate.

We ultimately stopped going to the library to browse because I could no longer flip though the books once we entered into chapters to know if they were appropriate. In addition, most books that my school-age children were bringing home from school was taken before they could read them because we could tell just by the title or back cover that it was never going to provide a good use of their time. So we started our own library at home filled with many Catholic books or books with good topics we wished to encourage to instill in our children’s minds.

I searched and filled that bookshelf with every good book I could find or afford to put on that shelf for my children’s present reading level and above. The Phantom of the Colosseum by Sophie de Mullenheim was one of those special books that I am always on the lookout for. Knowing that it would be the first of a series gave me good hope for their reading future. Boys really hold on to books that encourage adventure, suspense, teamwork, and virtue, and this book does just that.

 

phantom of the colosseum

As for age level, my 12- and 10-year-olds were able to easily read this book to themselves, but my 8-year-old really enjoyed listening to his brothers read this aloud to him. My 12-year-old is a very advanced reader and completed this book in only a day’s time. Whereas for my 10-year-old he loved how the chapters were short, but there were many, because he could read one chapter a day and feel accomplished as each chapter was complete.

Our seventh-grader was happy to grab this text back off the shelf for a third read in only a few months’ time to help finish his final history paper on Rome. This text gave him such a unique perspective on what it was like to be a Christian in Ancient Rome as all Christians truly had to live in the shadows to survive and spread the faith. Having this fantasy really helped him be able to picture himself in those times as he finished his paper.

 

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A book I am proud to have our children grab off the bookshelf time and time again. #catholicmom

The Phantom of the Colosseum is a book I am proud to have our children grab off the bookshelf time and time again. It has found its place on the bookshelf beside our Raymond Arroyo and Tolkien texts. Thank you, Sophie de Mullenheim, for writing a great text for a child in their middle childhood to read. We have already preordered the second book, A Lion for the Emperor. My oldest can’t wait for the remainder in the series to be released.


Copyright 2021 Janele Hoerner
Image: Canva Pro