Podcast 14: Susan Olasky on the Revolutionary War for Kids

Compared to the aristocracy in Europe, these were really modest people and they weren’t perfect people…[but] they really lived motivated by these ideas.   If you want to teach your kids that ideas have consequences, and big ideas and grand ideas can result in really wonderful things, I think the Revolutionary period displays that.–Susan Olasky

I grew up in my Christian walk reading Susan Olasky’s work as book reviewer and Senior Writer for World magazine.   As a young Christian, working in secular publishing and having attended a secular university, World filled a niche for me in supplying voices like Susan’s and Janie’s, women who sought to take every story captive, and really served as role models for what it meant to love literature for Christ’s sake.  For those reasons, it was such a thrill to get to sit down with Susan last week and discuss her own books for kids.

Both of Susan’s series are set in the Revolutionary War, so I thought it apropos to have a conversation about them as we approach the 4th of July.  For those of you with young sons, you might consider her Will Northaway books.  (And for the record, my nephews highly recommend them!)  Today we discuss her Annie Henry books, as well as how we can raise our kids to be godly patriots.  Susan admits that these books were written early in her writing career, and as such, they aren’t flawless–occasionally the plot seems to ramble or the same device is used several times.  But the positives here are substantial: sympathetic characters, rich descriptions of Annie’s world, and the spiritual content alone is worth the price of the books.  They are such a breath of fresh air compared to the secular American Girl stories my girls usually read.

So, now without further ado, my interview with Susan!  Grab a cold glass of lemonade, find a rocker on the porch, and join us for some talk about kids’ books, Revolutionary War history, and how to raise kids willing to sacrifice for “big ideas.”

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And don’t forget to enter to win a copy of Susan’s Annie Henry set!  Just click here and leave us your favorite 4th of July memory in the comments!  And for more on this topic, you can read Janie’s review of a book on Benedict Arnold, as well as our 4th of July Round-up from last year.