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Introduction
Master Books’ About page says it publishes Christian homeschool curriculum, describes courses with pre-planned lessons and a daily schedule based on a 180-day school year, and says a biblical worldview is integral to all of its curriculum (retrieved October 2026). Product facts in this review come from the publisher’s own pages. Three family video reviews are summarized for what using it was like for those reviewers, and each opinion is attributed to the reviewer. The canonical publisher record on this site is the Master Books directory page, which carries the full rubric entry and worldview classification.
Key takeaways
- 01Master Books is listed on the publisher’s careers page as one of New Leaf Publishing Group’s three imprints, and the same page says Master Books and the Master Books Academy serve students and families from pre-school through high school. Its About page says a biblical worldview is integral to all its curriculum (retrieved October 2026).
- 02The math course, Math Lessons for a Living Education, is a K-6 series that the publisher describes as mastery-based with regular spiral reviews. Each student book is $39.19 (Level 3 product page, retrieved October 2026).
- 03Language Lessons for a Living Education is listed for grades 1-12, and the Level 3 product page shows $41.59, retrieved October 2026.
- 04The BASIC 4-Subject Set, the publisher’s full-grade bundle, sells for between $151.16 at Kindergarten (Grade K set page) and $376.68 for the Grade 11 Civics & Economics Classic Set (Grade 11 set page), retrieved October 2026. The Master Books buying guide lists every grade.
- 05The three reviewers cited here differ about fit. One reviewer stopped using the math course because she found it too simple, and one family that switched away still recommends the company and praised its customer service. These are individual opinions from videos published in 2020, 2022 and 2024, not publisher statements.
What Master Books is
The 50th-anniversary timeline on masterbooks.com says Master Books was established in 1975, that New Leaf Press purchased it in February 1996, and that in August 1996 it became the primary publisher of many Answers in Genesis resources (retrieved October 2026). Most of its product pages, such as the Master’s Class Biology set page, list New Leaf Publishing Group, LLC as publisher (retrieved October 2026).
The publisher states its worldview in its own words. The About page says a biblical worldview is integral to all of its curriculum, that its courses start with the Bible as the standard, and publishes a Statement of Faith that describes the account of origins in Genesis as a factual presentation of actual events and the Flood as global. The pages we reviewed name no denomination. The Math Lessons FAQ says that course is generally not recommended for secular homeschoolers because the Christian worldview is an integral part of the lessons. A family that wants this stated worldview will find it on the publisher’s pages. A family that wants secular or religiously neutral material should weigh the same statements against other options in the Curriculum Finder.
Two of its core-subject courses are Math Lessons for a Living Education, a K-6 series (series page, retrieved October 2026), and Language Lessons for a Living Education, listed for grades 1-12 (series page, retrieved October 2026). The publisher also sells science, history and elective courses; our review of its science line is the Master Books science directory page.
| Dimension | Master Books |
|---|---|
| Method | Pre-planned lessons on a daily schedule based on a 180-day school year (About page); the publisher describes a Charlotte Mason flavor in its math course (Grade 6 set page) |
| Worldview | Christian: a biblical worldview the publisher says is integral to all its curriculum (About page) |
| Grades | Pre-school through high school (careers page) |
| Cost tier | Budget per subject (our classification): $39.19 per Math Lessons book and $41.59 per Language Lessons book; $151.16 to $376.68 per full-grade set (prices retrieved October 2026) |
| Parent intensity | 2 of 5 (our rating); the publisher describes pre-planned lessons with a daily schedule built into each course |
How the publisher says it teaches
The About page says that with Master Books curriculum “you can open the box and immediately start homeschooling,” that each course has a daily schedule based on a 180-day school year, and that its Teacher Guides are perforated and three-hole punched so activities can stay in the book or be torn out (retrieved October 2026). The pieces differ by subject, so it helps to read each series page.
For math, the series page lists levels K through 6 and describes manageable 20- to 30-minute daily lessons that are mastery-based with regular spiral reviews. The publisher’s knowledge base says the core curriculum requires only the student workbook, that the course does not come with or require a pricey manipulatives kit, and that a teacher’s guide is not necessary for levels K-5, with Level 6 the exception. Its grade-set pages describe the math lessons as bringing concepts to life through a Charlotte Mason flavor that includes stories, copy work, oral narration, hands-on experience and practical application (Grade 6 set page). Individual product pages give slightly different lesson lengths, for example 15 to 30 minutes on the Level 3 page.
For language arts, the Language Lessons series page says the teacher notes are in the student book itself and that levels are based on writing skill and stamina, not on age, grade or reading level, and the upper-grades page describes the course as designed for independent learners. The publisher offers free placement tests for its math and language arts lines. For history, the America’s Story series page describes a storybook-style American history course for grades 3-6 over a three-year cycle, with structured 45-minute lessons.
What reviewers praise
The three reviews cited here are individual opinions, not a survey of Master Books users, and the oldest were published in 2020 and 2022, so the courses they describe may have changed since. In a 2024 video, the channel How to Homeschool calls Master Books “a great gospel-centered homeschool curriculum option if you’re looking for offline workbooks” and says the reviewer likes the amount of character training (“Top 10 CHRISTIAN Homeschool Curriculum Picks [2026],” How to Homeschool).
A second reviewer, The Balanced Mom, says in a 2022 video that she liked how the math course introduces concepts and that students were often able to learn a lesson on their own (“MASTER BOOKS REVIEW-FORMER MATH TEACHER | Math Lessons for a Living Education | WHY WE STOPPED,” The Balanced Mom). A third, The Handmade Homeschooler, says early in a 2020 video about leaving Master Books, “I have nothing bad to say,” praises the company’s customer service, and says she still recommends the company and uses some of its books for individual units (“Why We No Longer Use Masterbooks | The Truth: Master Books to My Father’s World Curriculum,” The Handmade Homeschooler).
What reviewers criticize
The most specific criticism in these three reviews is about rigor in math. The Balanced Mom says she stopped using the course because she thought it was “too simple” and did not do enough to get her child to think further, and she found some of the copywork wordy (The Balanced Mom). That is one parent’s judgment of one course; the publisher describes the same series as mastery-based with regular spiral reviews (series page).
The Handmade Homeschooler says the first of her five reasons for moving to a different curriculum was fit, and says “this was all us” rather than a problem with the publisher (The Handmade Homeschooler). Her account, like the other two, describes one family’s experience.
Who it fits, and who it does not
In our judgment, it fits well when
- A parent wants the pre-planned lessons the publisher describes, with a daily schedule built into each course.
- The family wants the biblical worldview the publisher states carried across subjects, as its About page describes.
- The household wants to build by subject, mixing individual Master Books courses with material from elsewhere. The Curriculum Finder can confirm which subjects it covers before you commit.
In our judgment, it fits less well when
- The family wants secular or religiously neutral curriculum. The publisher says a biblical worldview is integral to all its curriculum.
- A parent, like The Balanced Mom above, wants more practice and conceptual depth in math than that reviewer found in the course.
If you are still narrowing the field, the guide to choosing homeschool curriculum walks through matching a program to a specific child before spending anything.
Cost and value
Master Books sells courses individually and as full-grade sets. Among the individual courses, Math Lessons for a Living Education student books are $39.19 each (Level 3 product page, retrieved October 2026), and Language Lessons for a Living Education is $41.59 per book (Level 3 product page; the Level 1 and Level 12 pages show the same price, retrieved October 2026). The publisher says masterbooks.com offers 20% off retail every day and free shipping on orders over $75 within the contiguous United States (sales page, retrieved October 2026).
Bought as a full grade, a BASIC 4-Subject Set includes teacher and student materials for 36 weeks of coursework, per the publisher’s set pages; the Kindergarten through Grade 8 pages name language arts, math, science and history. Prices range from $151.16 at Kindergarten (Grade K set page) to $376.68 for the Grade 11 Civics & Economics Classic Set (Grade 11 set page), retrieved October 2026; the Grade 12 set is $341.47 (Grade 12 set page). The Master Books buying guide lists the price for every grade. Prices move, so treat those as a snapshot and re-check the box before checkout. The publisher’s Free Downloads page lists free downloads such as answer keys, manipulatives and extra activities for named courses; the core courses are sold. For general budgeting across a homeschool year, see the how much homeschooling costs guide.
How it compares
We do not restate another publisher’s terms here: each publisher’s own pages state its prices, formats and worldview wording, and the Master Books vs The Good and the Beautiful comparison sets Master Books and The Good and the Beautiful side by side. For science specifically, see the best science curriculum guide.
The bottom line
In our assessment, the publisher’s own pages describe a clear package: pre-planned lessons on a daily schedule, a biblical worldview the publisher says is integral to all its curriculum, and a catalog of individual courses and full-grade sets with prices listed on the publisher’s own site. Of the three reviewers cited here, one praised the offline workbook format and the character training, one liked how the math course introduces concepts but stopped using it because she found it too simple, and one switched for reasons of fit while still recommending the company. Those are three families’ experiences, not a verdict on the curriculum.
In our judgment, the practical move is to buy one subject before buying a grade. Pick the course you are least sure about, run it for a few weeks, and watch how your child responds. The publisher’s free placement tests can help choose a level. For the full rubric entry, worldview classification, and grade coverage, the Master Books directory page is the canonical record, and the Curriculum Finder will show you the nearest alternatives if it turns out not to fit.
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