Masterbooks

Masterbooks is the homeschool curriculum arm of New Leaf Publishing Group, which is itself the publishing arm of Answers in Genesis's broader family of ministries. It is a full-curriculum Christian publisher built around the "biblical worldview" emphasis, and it has grown rapidly since 2015 as an accessible, lower-cost alternative to Abeka and BJU.

Last updated: 2026-04-20 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Charlotte Mason-influenced / literature-rich / low-prep
Worldview	Christian-evangelical, young-earth, Answers in Genesis-aligned
Grades	PreK-12
Formats	Print books
Cost tier	Budget to Standard
Parent intensity	3
ESA-common	Yes
Accredited	No
Established	1975 (New Leaf); Masterbooks homeschool curriculum line grew substantially post-2015
Website	masterbooks.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	3	Gentle but solid; strong in early years, adequate in high school
Ease of teaching	4	Open-and-go; minimal prep is a deliberate design goal
Content quality	4	Well-written and faith-integrated without being preachy on every page
Flexibility	4	Designed to mix-and-match; sold as individual subject units
Value for money	5	Genuinely affordable; frequent sales; reusable materials
Worldview scope	1	Narrow: Answers in Genesis-aligned young-earth creationist
Visual/design	4	Clean, warm, readable; not as beautiful as TGTB but close
Support resources	3	Community exists; smaller than Abeka/BJU scale

Who the publisher is

Masterbooks is the homeschool-focused line of New Leaf Publishing Group, a Christian publishing house founded in 1975 and headquartered in Green Forest, Arkansas. New Leaf has long been the primary book publisher associated with Answers in Genesis, Ken Ham's young-earth creationist ministry. The Masterbooks homeschool curriculum line grew substantially after 2015, as the publisher began commissioning and publishing complete grade-level curricula rather than just individual topical titles.

The theological positioning is explicit. Masterbooks is a young-earth creationist publisher, and its science and history materials explicitly teach young-earth positions. Bible integration across subjects is substantive. Unlike some publishers where worldview is a wrapper, Masterbooks treats its biblical worldview as a central organizing principle of the curriculum.

Scale is difficult to estimate precisely, but by our editorial view Masterbooks is currently a top-eight homeschool curriculum publisher by active user count, with particular strength in families seeking an affordable, faith-rich alternative to Abeka and BJU. Many families who found Abeka too drill-heavy and Sonlight too expensive have landed on Masterbooks as a middle path.

The core pedagogy

Masterbooks' pedagogy draws on Charlotte Mason and classical traditions without rigorously adhering to either. The method emphasizes short lessons, living books rather than textbooks, narration and discussion rather than worksheets, and Bible integration across subjects. Many Masterbooks courses are authored by individual educators who have their own teaching philosophies, the most prominent being Charlene Notgrass (of Notgrass History, now a Masterbooks-distributed line), and the curriculum takes a light editorial hand rather than imposing a single house style.

Scope and sequence varies by subject. The Language Lessons series (by Sandi Queen and others) takes a gentle Charlotte Mason approach with short daily lessons, copywork, narration, and literature integration. Math uses a set of courses including Math Lessons for a Living Education (a story-based elementary math) and Principles of Mathematics (a middle-school conceptual foundation). Science is heavily influenced by Answers in Genesis and includes courses like "The Creation Apologetics Series" at the high school level.

Signature mechanics: (1) Short, daily lessons, most Masterbooks courses are designed for 20-30 minute daily sessions, against the 45-60 minute sessions of traditional programs. This works for younger children and for families with multiple children. (2) Literature integration without the Sonlight price tag. Masterbooks incorporates living books into its courses without requiring the book-heavy library that Sonlight implies. (3) Low parent prep, the publisher's core promise is that a parent can open a Masterbooks book in the morning and teach from it without having read it the night before. This is mostly delivered on. (4) Explicit biblical worldview integration, history teaches from a providential-history perspective; science teaches young-earth; Bible is a daily subject.

A day in the life

A third-grader using a Masterbooks curriculum set starts with Bible Lessons for a Living Education (20 minutes. Bible story, discussion, copywork). Then Language Lessons for a Living Education 3 (30-40 minutes, grammar, copywork, narration from a literature selection). Math Lessons for a Living Education 3 (30-45 minutes, story-based math lesson, workbook pages). A science or history unit (30-40 minutes, reading, discussion, and activity). Total parent-involved time is 1.5-2 hours; child's total school day is 3-4 hours. The rhythm is shorter and more conversational than Abeka's drill-heavy morning.

A ninth-grader using a Masterbooks high school program runs a more subject-by-subject plan. High school includes Principles of Mathematics and Algebra I or 2 from Masterbooks (or a supplement from another publisher), Creation Apologetics courses, a literature course (often from Elizabeth Smith's "Writers in Residence" or similar authors), and a history sequence (often Notgrass America or Notgrass Exploring World History). A typical high school student does 5-6 hours daily.

What they do exceptionally well

Affordable faith-integrated full curriculum. Masterbooks is, in our editorial view, the best-value complete Christian curriculum publisher currently available. A family can assemble a full elementary year for $200-$400 in materials, which is roughly one-third the cost of Abeka and one-quarter the cost of Sonlight. This pricing makes Masterbooks the natural choice for Christian families on tight budgets.

Charlotte Mason flavor without Charlotte Mason curriculum geekery. A family can use Masterbooks without reading the original Charlotte Mason essays, joining a CM-specific community, or mastering CM vocabulary. The method's benefits (short lessons, living books, narration) are baked in; the method's specialist demands are not. This is the right level of CM for most families.

Notgrass History distribution. The Notgrass history courses, "America the Beautiful" at middle school, "Exploring America," "Exploring World History," and others, are, in our editorial view, among the strongest Christian homeschool history curricula available. The Notgrass courses are now distributed through Masterbooks, and families purchasing Masterbooks have access to one of the best middle-to-high school history offerings in the Christian homeschool market.

What they do poorly

Science content at the high school level lags scientific methodology. Masterbooks' high school science offerings lean heavily on creation apologetics, the argument for young-earth creationism, rather than on the fundamentals of chemistry, biology, and physics as disciplines. Families whose high school graduates plan to enter secular college science programs typically supplement or replace Masterbooks science at the high school level.

Math is adequate rather than outstanding. Math Lessons for a Living Education is charming and works well for early elementary, but families commonly switch to a different publisher (Singapore, Math-U-See, or Saxon) for upper elementary and beyond. Masterbooks' upper math offerings are usable but not the first choice for families prioritizing math rigor.

Worldview narrowness is total. Unlike Sonlight (broadly evangelical) or TGTB (broadly Christian), Masterbooks is specifically young-earth-creationist-evangelical. Families outside that framework will find the worldview saturation as intense as Abeka's, just delivered in a warmer package.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Masterbooks if: you are a young-earth-creationist evangelical family; you want Charlotte Mason flavor without becoming a CM specialist; you need affordable curriculum for a large or growing family; you want faith integration as central rather than decorative; you value low parent prep and shorter school days.

• Skip Masterbooks if: you are secular, Catholic, or old-earth-evangelical; you want science education built around scientific method rather than creation apologetics; you have a math-advanced child needing the most rigorous math curriculum; you want broadly-denominational or non-denominational presentation of Christian content.

Cost honest assessment

A full elementary year of Masterbooks. Bible, Language Arts, Math, Science, and History, runs approximately $200-$400 per child. A middle school year runs $250-$450. A high school year runs $300-$600 depending on course selections. These prices are genuinely affordable and frequently discounted further through publisher sales and bundle deals.

Compared to Abeka ($700-$850 for elementary), Sonlight ($1,000-$1,500), and BJU Press ($500-$650 plus video), Masterbooks is at the low end of the serious Christian curriculum market. Quality-per-dollar is, in our editorial view, among the best in the industry.

For three children at different elementary levels, a full Masterbooks year runs $600-$1,000, affordable for most middle-income homeschool families.

ESA eligibility notes

Masterbooks is widely accepted on state ESA marketplaces including Arizona ClassWallet, Florida Step Up For Students, West Virginia Hope Scholarship, Iowa Student First, and Utah Fits All. The publisher has a dedicated ESA ordering workflow. Notgrass History courses (Masterbooks-distributed) are separately approved on most marketplaces. Because Masterbooks pricing is low relative to ESA funding levels, many families use ESAs to purchase Masterbooks curriculum plus supplemental tutoring or extracurricular enrichment from the same budget.

Alternatives

• Abeka, a family would choose Abeka over Masterbooks because Abeka's phonics and drill-based elementary arithmetic are stronger and Abeka's video option is more complete.
• Sonlight, a family would choose Sonlight over Masterbooks because Sonlight has more literature depth and a broader-evangelical tone.
• The Good and the Beautiful, a family would choose TGTB over Masterbooks because TGTB's language arts is more visually appealing and its theological positioning is broader.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed Masterbooks' catalog at masterbooks.com, sample chapters from Language Lessons 3, Math Lessons for a Living Education, and selected Notgrass history courses. We cross-referenced against Cathy Duffy's published reviews and HSLDA's publisher profile.