The Big Banana Cookbook (PDF ebook)

Does your family love bananas? Then you'll absolutely want to get your copy of this goldmine of over 900 banana recipes – a multitude of banana breads, smoothies, souffles, casseroles, salads, sandwiches, and just about everything in-between, from breakfasts to desserts! Yum!

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PS. Let us know if you want to see more recipe collections here occasionally… and what specific themes or ingredients you'd like to see!

Family Christmas Portrait Ideas! (PDF ebook)

Wha-a-a-t? The Erskines are running a Christmas-themed resource at the beginning of September? YES, because if you want to do something different this year with your Christmas cards & greetings, NOW is the time to start  thinking about what you want to do and how you're gonna do it. We're jumping the gun on this so you at least have it readily available whenever you do wrap your mind around the fact that the holidays will eventually roll around again! 

Today's resource is a simple but delightfully creative idea guide for creating fun and interesting family photos & cards for the holiday season. Don't just settle for a boring, "ho hum" family portrait with your Christmas cards this time around... make this year's family greetings something everyone will treasure and remember!

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The Horse Fair (PDF ebook)

In this neat mix of stories, legends and history, Young Philip, resting after his plowing, is surprised by a  mysterious gentleman who invites him to a wondrous and magical horse fair at which he sees great horses from literature and history. This is an excellent "living book" by James Baldwin that will appeal to horse lovers, fans of classic "living books", and history buffs.

Note: Large download, approx. 20 megs in size

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Rerun by popular demand…

Learn to DESIGN FANTASTIC BRIDGES ON YOUR COMPUTER, & CREATE REAL MODEL BRIDGES TOO!

For kids who want to know more about designing and building, today's freebie is a real treat. This software program & ebook set is an exciting introduction to engineering and design. The ebook Designing and Building File-Folder Bridges: A Problem-Based Introduction to Engineering provides students with an opportunity to learn how engineers use math, science, and technology to design real structures–in the context of a hands-on model bridge-building project. It is intended primarily for high school students, but those in lower grades should be able to complete the model projects. Accompanying this book is The West Point Bridge Designer, a computer program which will introduce you to engineering through an authentic, hands-on design experience. This software provides you with the tools to model, test, and optimize a steel highway bridge, based on realistic specifications, constraints, and performance criteria. Our kids have played with this thing for hours and hours, and love to make all sorts of fantastically intricate bridges. Your kids will love it too!

Update note: The computer design program is now available both in Windows compatible AND Mac versions!

Click here to go to the West Point Bridge Building Manual download page
Alternate link to the Manual download page! (Thanks, Liz!)

Click here to go to the West Point computer bridge design software page, then click on the "Download Software" tab. (Note: the current version is 2010. If you have an older computer, try version 2007, which is also on this page. It has simpler graphics but is more stable on older systems.)

Note #2: Be warned: Last time we featured this, we crashed their site with all our traffic. If you can't get through on this, please try again later… they do eventually reboot their site.

Wonder Stories Silhouettes collection (vintage PDF storybooks)

Ancient Chinese Legends in Silhouette

Breezes – A book of wind and leaves and imagination

Simple Simon & Other Rhymes

Mother Goose in Silhouette

Finally this week we feature a fun little collection of children's storybooks all illustrated with silhouettes. Enjoy these classic fairy tales, rhymes and wonder stories, and perhaps even inspire your kids to draw and create their own silhouette creations!

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Natural Oddities: Volume THREE (PDF ebook)

Woohoo! Today we feature this THIRD great collection of these classic cartoons by Gus Mager depicting odd, unusual and sometimes just plain weird aspects of the flora and the fauna in the world around us -- "Natural Oddities". Strange but true facts about nature that fascinate young and old readers alike! Kids love this series... don't miss it!

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Leaves & Flowers (PDF ebook)

Today's resource is this great vintage book of short nature studies on plants for young readers. Engagingly written, fully illustrated, and perfect for late summer and fall outdoor exploring & learning! Check it out!

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Our Children In Heaven by James Maple, revised by Jim Erskine (PDF ebook) – Originally published in 1890, this completely forgotten little book by Dr. James Maple has truly been lost for decades. (There is a different book with the same title available other places online, but in our opinion this volume is far superior.) Its pages contain a well-spring of comfort for all who have lost loved ones, little or old, to death. When we discovered it on the dusty shelf of an antique shop (the owner did not even know he had it), we knew that we had to make it available to hurting families again. It is our hope that you will find these messages a sweet balm for aching hearts.

From the Preface:

CHILDREN are as a ray of sunshine in our homes, bringing joy and gladness. They come as angels of innocence and beauty, awakening new thoughts, kindling holier feelings, leading us to a higher and better life. A home without children, to me, is like heaven without angels; but our dear ones are not safe from the hand of disease and death. Truly the poet sings:

…there is no flock, however watched and tended
But one dead lamb is there.
There is no fireside, howsoever defended,
But has one vacant chair!

What a difference the death of a child makes in our hearts and homes. How it changes the tone of our thoughts and takes the warmth and beauty out of life.

How the little children love us, and no traces
Linger of that smiling angel band.
Gone, forever gone, and in their places
Weary men and anxious women stand.

The sermons embraced in this little book were written and preached at different and distant periods in a ministry of forty-five years, to comfort sorrowing parents who were mourning the loss of their dear little ones by the hand of death. They are now given to the public with the hope that they may be a comfort to many bleeding hearts.

NOTE: This book has been substantially edited and revised by Jim Erskine, and is copyrighted. Please do not redistribute or pass along to others, but instead please send folks here to obtain a copy. After today, this book will be available at OurChildrenInHeaven.com – still free, but you must register for it through our email system there. Thank you for respecting our rights in this matter.

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Allergy Detective (PDF ebook) — Is someone in your family suffering right now from a chronic health problem that just won't seem to go away? Are you frustrated and beside yourself trying to figure out what to do to bring them back to health? Are you sick and tired of doctor visits, prescriptions, vitamins, sick days? You may not have thought about this before, but it is possible that something your family is eating is causing these ailments. It could very well be that the culprit to your worst health problem is right in your pantry. If that is the case, this manual can show you a simple method of finding out exactly "who" the culprit is.

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