• Complete, ready to use!
• Book included inside the course!
• Makes reading fun!
• Develops literacy, vocabulary!
• Introduces some history, geography!
• Develops critical thinking!

I taught a literature class in my homeschool co-op using two Steps Literature Guides, Sherlock Holmes stories and The Time Machine. The Literature Guides are very easy to use. The lesson structure made scheduling and assigning homework very simple. We used the lesson questions to stimulate class discussion and I was impressed with the contributions that the students made during class. I look forward to continuing to use Steps products!  L.F., Homeschool Teacher
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A Christmas treat that will surprise and delight adults and children alike, from the author of Steps, Steven David Horwich (who also happens to be an award-winning writer).

Dinky is a house mouse, the runt of his litter.  This long short story tells his life story, filled with discovery and adventure, starting with his birth.  Dinky is not like the other mice in his family, who tend to hide from the world.  Like many of the children who will read this story - Dinky has to know the world, and nothing will stop him.

Here's a complete guide that will help your student, ages 7-adult, understand the story as few readers ever understand a story.

The history of the period of time is explained, so that the student understands why Horwich wrote as he did, and what he was trying to say to his readers about their time.  His personal history is also explored, and the student relates what he's learned about the writer's life to the stories, and how Horwich's own experience helped him to create this work.

Important tools of writing are explored and explained, such as the message of a piece (the idea the author wishes to communicate), plotting, characterization, conflict, language, irony, and the use of surrogate characters representing the author and his views. The student then uses his knowledge of the tools of good story-telling to analyze and understand the story.

No additional materials are needed. The entire text for this short novel is contained in the course.

Before reading each section of the story, the student looks though the simple, single definition that applies, for every key or difficult word used in that section. This will allow the student to understand what he reads the first time he reads it. (WARNING – This course does require and develop literacy. ) Locations mentioned in each section are also listed before the reading starts, and they are located by the student on maps or globes. In this way, the student will know where those places are in the world when encountering them in the story.

After each section, the student is provided numerous exercises which demand cognitive and critical thinking on the student's part. The exercises help make the story more relevant to the student, and increase his understanding of the story and its unique values.

Can the life of a courageous, endlessly curious mouse tell us anything about us and our world.  Read on.