History. That one word alone can bring up an interesting mix of emotions. There are some people who are energized and invigorated by studying history. And there are some people who want to run screaming for the hills when the subject is even mentioned. It’s interesting how history seems to be an either/or type of subject: People love it or they simply endure it.
But for those fortunate ones who happened to have an incredible history teacher, history can come alive. Even if history is not your favorite thing to study, it can still be interesting. It can still be more than simply a subject to endure. Oh, don’t get me wrong, not everyone will get fired up about studying history like Indiana Jones, but studying history doesn’t have to have to feel like getting a root canal, either.
You see, it all depends on where you’re coming from. It all depends on how you learn about history. If history remains all facts and figures and names in a textbook, history can be dry as dust and completely unrelateable.
But when history starts to come alive…
When people and places begin to feel real…
When you start to feel what people in history might have felt…
When you start to see things the way they might have seen them…
When you find yourself engrossed in a story and then all of a sudden realize that you just learned more about history…
History suddenly moves from facts and figures and names printed in a book to learning about real people who experienced real life events. Real life events that helped shape the world as we know it today. Real life events that may not have felt special in the moment, but had a profound impact in years to come.
But how on earth do you get there? How do you develop a love of history? How do you move from enduring history to enjoying history?
Well, a lot of it has to do with your teacher.
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Meet Your Teachers
Meet Rush Revere, a substitute history teacher unlike any other. For starters, he doesn’t dress like your typical history teacher. He dresses like he’s stepped out of history: riding boots, breeches, a vest, an overcoat replete with brass buttons, topped off with a tricornered hat. At first, you might think his attire a bit odd, after all he walks around looking like he should be in history instead of just teaching history.
But one of the incredible things about Rush Revere is that he truly loves history. He is passionate about it. You can feel his passion in the way he approaches things. It’s not about names and dates and dry facts. He talks about people in history as though they were his friends. His love and passion for history come through effortlessly in everything he says and does. And at the same time, he genuinely cares about his students. He doesn’t push history down their throats, but presents it to them in a very real and engaging way.
What is more, Rush always does his best to connect events in history to what is happening in his students’ lives right here and right now. And when you start to make a connection between those events that happened so long ago and the things that are happening to you now, that is where the magic starts to happen. That is where history starts to matter and – dare I say? – come alive.
So where do you meet this incredible history teacher named Rush Revere? In the pages of a book! But not just any book, a 5 book series that takes you on an incredible journey through some of the most pivotal moments in America’s history.
And yet, these books are not just about history. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to be learned about history and Rush makes sure that you are learning accurate historical information – even when you don’t realize you’re learning! But, it’s more than just a random history lesson. There is always a purpose. There is always a modern-day connection that spurs the adventure into history.
Most important of all, this intriguing substitute has a special secret that most history teachers would never dream of: Rush Revere teaches history right alongside Liberty, the always hungry, ever mischievous, forever talking, time traveling horse.
Yes, you read that right! Rush Revere doesn’t just teach history, he experiences it with the help of Liberty. What’s more, he’s not the only one who goes on these adventures! Rush and Liberty take their students with them. But it’s so much more than simply going back in time and walking around for a bit.
Rush Revere’s students learn from those who have come before. But they don’t stop at getting the knowledge in their head. They take the knowledge and the practical advice given to them by incredible Americans from long ago and apply it in the real-life modern-day situation they are walking through right now.
Experience History
What if instead of just reading about the Mayflower, you could ride on the Mayflower? What if you could talk to George Washington instead of just reading about him? What if you could ride with Paul Revere while he tells you about his infamous midnight ride?
These are the questions Rush Limbaugh answers in this incredible book series. What if, instead of just reading about history, you could experience it? An American history lover himself, Rush Limbaugh wanted to find a way to make American history interesting and engaging for children. Because, when you really look at it, history is interesting!
Think about it: Real people. Real events. Real courage. Real fear. Read determination.
The people you read about in history books are not just names on a page. These people really lived. They were real flesh-and-blood human beings who had a desire to see things change and make things happen.
The events that happened in history are not some movie script. They were not dreamt up just to be performed on a stage or in front of a camera. They were real life events that happened to real people. People actually lived through these events. Lessons were learned. Battles were fought, whether with weapons or intellect. The events happened in real time just as events happen in real time today.
It took real courage for people to stand up to their fear and do what they knew to be right. It took real belief in what they knew to be true and right to give them the motivation to risk the comfort of safety and stand up for what they really believed.
It took great determination to cross the Atlantic. It took great courage to set out for a new land, a land unseen to start a new life. It took great determination to build everything from nothing once they arrived in this new land and to build a life that they had only dreamed of.
With the help of Rush Revere and Liberty, Rush Limbaugh has brought this aspect of history front and center for thousands. History has moved from dull facts in a textbook to an exciting adventure the reader can experience.
And the best part of all? Rush Limbaugh and his team have taken great care to ensure these books are historically accurate! So not only are you getting to experience history, you are experiencing history in an accurate framework.
Liberty Makes the Leap
But how do you go back and experience history? How is that possible? Time travel is still a distant dream and not a reality.
Behold the wonder and the power of your imagination fueled by a good book! You see, what is not possible in real life is possible through the pages of a good book with a little imagination to help. Think about how many places you’ve visited in this world through the pages of a book. Prince Edward Island with Anne Shirley. Australia, Indonesia, Africa, Finland and more with Bindi Irwin. Ireland, Egypt, and Botswana with Gannon and Wyatt. Think about how many other worlds you have visited without leaving the comfort of your favorite reading chair: Narnia, Hogwarts, Asgard, the outer reaches of the solar system through ‘A Wrinkle in Time.’
But there is a common thread woven through these examples. You have to leave this world to get somewhere else. There is always a way that you are whisked out of this world and into another. There is always a vehicle to get you from here to there.
Allow me to introduce you to Liberty, one of the most lovable, mischievous horses you’ll ever encounter. You see, Liberty had the misfortune of getting caught in a lightning storm, but his misfortune turns into your good fortune as Liberty now has time-traveling powers! Yes, you will ride into the past on the back of a time-traveling horse!
But Liberty is more than just a vehicle. Liberty is a character. And when I say character, I do mean character! You must understand that Liberty can also talk. And he loves to talk! Liberty has an incredible personality revealed through the journeys you take with him and Rush Revere. He is always mischievous, forever cracking jokes, bringing humor to what could be very difficult situations to understand. He is always getting into everything, misunderstanding simple things, and always hungry!
On the back of Liberty, you will experience through your imagination what no human alive has experienced: A firsthand look at history as history plays out before your very eyes.
Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims
Travel with Rush Revere and Liberty to the very deck of the Mayflower and feel what it was like to not only board a ship but to live on the boat, rocking back and forth for months, crossing an ocean with very little but determination and courage. Feel the passion of those brave individuals as they were determined to find a new life and not just find that new life, but to create it for themselves.
Talk with the people who were there, who lived through that first winter, who made the choice to do brave things even through their fear. Learn how their determination, their courage, and their reliance on each other gave them the strength to keep going even when the odds were completely stacked against them.
Rush Revere and the First Patriots
Leap back in history to a time when the colonists were fed up with English rule. But it wasn’t all of the colonists! Learn firsthand about the tension of living in this strained environment as you talk with great leaders and advocates of American liberty like George Washington and Samuel Adams. Feel the thrill and the terror of the colonists as they boarded ships to dump tea overboard in protest. And then feel the oppression they felt when England placed heavy repercussions on the colonies for their actions.
The Americans could have just given up. They could have given in and stopped fighting because, let’s face it, going with the flow is easier than fighting. And yet, if they would have given up, we would not have or know the free America that we have today. Their tenacity paved the way for America to become its own country.
Rush, Rush, Rushing into History
And these are just quick snapshots of two books! Rush and Liberty gallop through more adventures in the early days of America in the rest of this series.
Ride back to the stables of George Washington and talk with him about the challenges of leading a brand new country…
Feel the weight of the importance and the fear of signing the Declaration of Independence that each man felt as he picked up the pen to sign…
Have tea with incredible ladies like Martha Washington and Abigail Adams and Dolly Madison who seem to have a smaller role, but contributed so much to shape this country in a quieter way…
Talk with brilliant men like James Madison and Benjamin Franklin as they wrote documents that would set the foundation and the course for this country…
And do it all with wit, humor, and lots of snack breaks for Liberty!
Not Your Average History Book
When my daughter received her first Rush Revere book for a Christmas present, she wasn’t sure what to think. It was a book about history, after all! But, it was hand-picked by her Grandpa who has a really good track record for finding great books. What’s more, Liberty was in the book and she’s always been a big fan of horses, so she was willing to give it a try.
All of a sudden, my daughter who simply endured history was enamored by it! She disappeared into American history with Liberty and Mr Revere! She was riveted to the gripping and engaging story line. She didn’t want to put it down because she couldn’t wait to see what silly antic Liberty would be up to next. And the best part of all? She was getting a great dose of true American history as she read.
She was able to get into the story of history. She was able to experience it through the eyes of a fictional character that got to be there. History came alive and became exciting through this book series. It was incredible watching how she was learning, growing, engaging, and – best of all – becoming intrigued with a subject that until that point was just sort of…there. In her own words:
I’m not a big history fan, but Liberty and Rush Revere have opened a whole new look at history for me. I love how the author makes you feel like you’re actually there with Rush Revere and Liberty as they talk with people like Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry.
Jesse, age 11
Watching this transformation of her view of history, I decided that I had to read these books for myself. As I started reading the first book, I found myself pulled into the story, pulled into the real events that happened in history. Even though these books are written on a child’s level, the writing is engaging. So engaging, in fact, that anyone – no matter your age – can truly enjoy walking through history with Rush Revere and Liberty.
The Final Chapter
It is very rare to find a book that combines intrigue, adventure, true history, excitement, and a talking horse to create a story that begs to be read over and over again!
The characters are unique and engaging. Rush Limbaugh does an exceptional job of allowing you to not only see the facts of history but to experience the emotions, the big picture of what was happening at that point in time. He explores questions that we all have about history. One of the best parts is, with the help of Liberty and Rush Revere, instead of just wondering about these questions, you get to go back in time and ask the people who were there the questions you have – and get answers!
This book series has forever altered the way that my family views American history and I cannot recommend Rush Revere and Liberty highly enough to you!
Additional Resources:
- Epic Travel Adventures for You to Explore: Travels with Gannon and Wyatt
- Anne of Green Gables’ Imagination and Inspiration for Life
- Animal Adventures Around the World with Bindi’s Wildlife Adventures
- The World of Narnia and the Lessons to be Learned There
*The children quotes in this post all chose a favorite book character to identify them. They ages remain the same.
Resources
Looking for some of the books or materials mentioned on this page? Click on the photo below to purchase your own copy today.
Elizabeth Tatham, founder of Inspiration in the Everyday, is a homeschooling momma of 5 who loves helping other homeschooling mommas create a unique homeschooling adventure your kids will love…without the overwhelm! Join in on the journey with 7 simple steps to make your homeschooling day go faster, easier, and with less tears here.