Hall of Doors Book 1 plus Unit Study from Progeny Press

I am always looking for interesting age appropriate stories for Cameron to read that can be worked into school activities. When I was given the opportunity to review a book and unity study from Progeny Press I saw a door opening for Cameron..
Progeny Press is not an unfamiliar company to us. We actually used the Progeny Press Unit Study for, The Hobbit (although modified) a couple of years ago. and really enjoyed it.
Using Progeny Press, the students will need access to a dictionary, a thesaurus  and Bible (we used KJV although NIV is recommended), some internet access can be very useful , and a copy of the book being studied.

We started out by reading aloud the Hall of Doors: Dragon's Hoard by Rebecca Gilleland. The book is graded at a 2nd -4th grade level which was a perfect fit for both boys. I read the first 3 chapters to them on a short road trip. Cameron read the rest of the chapters.  Each chapter is short enough to hold their attention , but detailed enough to move the story along. Illustrations by Mary Duban add hints of the story but are not distracting to the reader. Each chapter is 5-6 pages plus an illustration with a nice easy to read font. (That has been an issue for Cameron lately)
The story focuses on 2 siblings and their journey through the first door in a mysterious hall of doors inside their barn. They encounter talking crows, a dragon, elves, and larger spiders along their journey, a story in a book with clues they must follow. The clues within the story help them in their own journey to follow the true King.
The Biblical message in the story is subtle and not pounded on which makes the story almost like a C.S.Lewis Narnia story.
The paperback book retails $6.99


The interactive pdf unit study guide is engaging and can be done as we did without ever printing anything. Cameron worked through the pages for each chapter typing his answers. Once he was finished with the various activities he would print those pages as a new pdf file and send them to me via email. He was able to practice more skills than just a standard literature study; typing, saving, printing, and emailing in addition to his comprehension, sentence, grammar , etc.. skills.
The Study Guide is available for $15.99 as a download or CD and $16.99 as a printed booklet. We received the download and are already planning on having Nathan work through the study guide later this year since we made the decision to let Cameron work through this product on his own.
The boys are already looking forward to more of the Hall of Doors books and possible unit studies over the next year or so. I love that they are excited about a series of books that have a strong Christian Worldview, even with the magic/make believe elements.
The books and the coordinating study guides are a worth the cost. The books stand on their own, and when the study guides are added you get the additional educational benefits of a literature based study guide. You don't have to take my word for it, you can read more Schoolhouse Review Crew opinions by clicking on the button below.