A Note to Visitors
Just about every year, it seems, a study comes out demonstrating that American students' knowledge of American history is poor at best, and their knowledge of world history pathetic in the extreme. You can dispute the methodology of these studies until the cows come home, but the fact is, there is a problem, and I believe its foundation lies in the way history is taught in our public schools. All too often, teachers and educators forget that history is, first and foremost, a story, and every child loves a good story.
We have seen over and over again around the world that those who do not understand history are doomed to repeat it. These are some of the best books and resources I know to help parents, educators, and homeschool parents alike rekindle a love of history in our students, so that they can be best assured of avoiding history's mistakes and repeating its triumphs.
Good General Histories
The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia
A good general introduction for elementary and middle school students.
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/22/2009) 
The Story of Civilization (11 Volume Set)
Expensive but exhaustive and well worth the money and effort. Best for advanced middle school and high school students.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States
A humorous parody of American history. The better you know American history, the funnier this book becomes. Some mature language and themes.
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Interactive History: Timelines
Timeline figures can be as simple or elaborate as you want. Ours started out simple - a cutout wearing pants for a male or a dress for a female, a name, date, and some indication of his or her great achievements. Later on costumes and methods of conveying information became increasingly elaborate and creative and my siblings and I held several Academy Award-type competitions with awards such as Best Hairstyle, Best Props, and Best Non-Standard Figure (a perennial favorite at the latter was my sister's depiction of the Boston Tea Party: a painted and feathered colonist peeking out of an enormous teacup.)
Ideally, the timeline should be large enough to allow for expansion as children develop individual areas of special interest. Ours included particular emphasis on medieval British history, women's history, and the American Civil War, courtesy of myself, my sister, and my brother, respectively. After the first timeline awards were held, anyone who could be expected to have a particularly cool costume also experienced an immediate jump in popularity. In later competitions, for example, my brother's depiction of Shah Jahan received high marks for both costume and props. One really can't beat the Taj Mahal.
Costume Help for Timelines
Historic Costume in Pictures (Dover Pictorial Archives)
Amazon Price: $12.71 (as of 12/22/2009)
Historical Encyclopedia of Costumes
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Ancient World
Bible Stories for Children
Excellent retellings of Bible stories for children.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Red Tent
A retelling of the Biblical story of Dinah from a feminist perspective. Some mature themes. Best for high schoolers and adults.
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/22/2009)
Mummy (Eyewitness Books)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Mara, Daughter of the Nile (Puffin Story Books)
Espionage and intrigue in Hatshepsut's Egypt. Best for middle and high school students.
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Greeks
Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of The Iliad
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 12/22/2009)
Mythology
Amazon Price: $9.88 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Iliad of Homer
Amazon Price: $10.08 (as of 12/22/2009)
The History of the Peloponnesian War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)
Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 12/22/2009)
Lysistrata and Other Plays (Penguin Classics)
Amazon Price: $9.00 (as of 12/22/2009)
Series Spotlight: Time Quest Books
Into the Mummy's Tomb/the Real-Life Discovery of Tutankhamun's Treasures (A Time Quest Book)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Secrets of Vesuvius (Time Quest)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Lost Wreck of the Isis (Time Quest Book)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Exploring the Titanic: How the greatest ship ever lost -- was found (Scott Foresman Reading Classroom Library (Time Quest Book))
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Disaster of the Hindenburg: The Last Flight of the Greatest Airship Ever Built (Time Quest Book)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Romans
The Bronze Bow
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Galen: My Life in Imperial Rome
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Rome
Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
I, Claudius : From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 (Vintage International)
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 12/22/2009)
King Arthur
The Once and Future King
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Winter King (The Arthur Books #1)
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Crystal Cave (The Arthurian Saga, Book 1)
Amazon Price: $10.76 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Mists of Avalon
Amazon Price: $12.24 (as of 12/22/2009)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Medieval Europe
Catherine, Called Birdy (rpkg) (Trophy Newbery)
The diary of a not-so-typical medieval girl. Some mature themes. Appropriate for middle schoolers.
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Adam of the Road (Newbery Library, Puffin)
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Door in the Wall (Books for Young Readers)
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
An extremely well-written account of the late middle ages and early Renaissance. Some mature themes. Best for high schoolers and adults.
Amazon Price: $10.87 (as of 12/22/2009)
Pope Joan: A Novel
A speculative account of the life of the legendary female Pope. Some mature themes. Best for high school students and adults.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Series Spotlight: The Pageant of England
The Conquering Family
Amazon Price: $31.88 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Magnificent Century
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Three Edwards
Amazon Price: $34.92 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Last Plantagenets
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Author Spotlight: Sharon Kay Penman
Here Be Dragons
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Falls the Shadow
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Reckoning
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
When Christ and His Saints Slept: A Novel
Amazon Price: $11.52 (as of 12/22/2009)
Time and Chance: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 12/22/2009)
Richard III: Hero or Villain?
The Tragedy of King Richard III (Oxford World's Classics)
For Shakespeare, Richard III became one of his finest and most famous villains.
Amazon Price: $10.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Sunne in Splendour
Sharon Kay Penman presents a sympathetic study of the man behind the monster. Some mature themes. Best for high schoolers and adults.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Daughter of Time
Josephine Tey presents a history lesson disguised as a surprisingly gripping mystery.
Amazon Price: $10.08 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Murders of Richard III
One of the greatest living mistresses of the mystery genre, Elizabeth Peters 's third most famous sleuth investigates a series of murders among a group of Richard apologists having a house party.
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Author Spotlight: David Macauley
Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction (Sandpiper)
Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Castle
Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction
Amazon Price: $7.91 (as of 12/22/2009)
Pyramid
Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Mosque
Amazon Price: $14.25 (as of 12/22/2009)
Author Spotlight: Diane Stanley
Cleopatra
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Leonardo da Vinci
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Michelangelo
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Good Queen Bess : The Story of Elizabeth I of England
Amazon Price: $12.23 (as of 12/22/2009)
Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Shakespeare Does History
Julius Caesar (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Antony and Cleopatra (Folger Shakespeare Library)
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Henry IV, Part I (Folger Shakespeare Library)
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
King Henry IV, Part 2 (Arden Shakespeare: Second Series) (Pt. 2)
Amazon Price: $17.00 (as of 12/22/2009)
Henry V (Folger Shakespeare Library)
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Classic Historical Fiction
The Three Musketeers (Barnes & Noble Classics)
Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Ivanhoe (Penguin Classics)
Amazon Price: $8.00 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (Signet Classics)
Amazon Price: $5.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Middlemarch (Penguin Classics)
Amazon Price: $8.00 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (Signet Classics)
Amazon Price: $4.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
More Classics of Historical Fiction
Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.Colonial and Revolutionary America
Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.Author Spotlight: The d'Aulaires
D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/22/2009)
Columbus
Amazon Price: $10.04 (as of 12/22/2009)
Pocahontas
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Benjamin Franklin
Amazon Price: $13.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
George Washington
Amazon Price: $10.04 (as of 12/22/2009)
Author Spotlight: Genevieve Foster
Augustus Caesar's World
Amazon Price: $11.48 (as of 12/22/2009)
The World of Columbus and Sons
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
The World of Captain John Smith
Amazon Price: $13.63 (as of 12/22/2009)
George Washington's World
Amazon Price: $11.48 (as of 12/22/2009)
Abraham Lincoln's World, Expanded Edition
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Author Spotlight: Jean Fritz
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? (Paperstar)
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Around the World in a Hundred Years
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Author Spotlight: Robert Lawson
Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Mr. Revere and I: Being an Account of certain Episodes in the Career of Paul Revere,Esq. as Revealed by his Horse
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Captain Kidd's Cat
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Author Spotlight: Ann Rinaldi
A Break with Charity: A Story about the Salem Witch Trials
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Last Silk Dress
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
In My Father's House (Point)
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
A Stitch in Time (Quilt Trilogy, Volume 1)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley (Great Episodes)
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Alternative History
A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.)
Amazon Price: $11.07 (as of 12/22/2009)
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
American Indians
The Rough-Face Girl
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Amazon Price: $9.50 (as of 12/22/2009)
Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 12/22/2009)
Lakota Woman
An autobiographical account of a modern-day American Indian activist. Some mature themes. Best for high school students and adults.
Amazon Price: $10.07 (as of 12/22/2009)
Pioneers
A Family Apart (Orphan Train Adventures)
Amazon Price: $6.50 (as of 12/22/2009)
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Caddie Woodlawn
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Addie Across the Prairie
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
My Antonia
Amazon Price: $7.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Interactive History: Travel
I was lucky enough to have parents who love travelling. One of the first things we did after starting to homeschool was to take an extended trip following the Oregon Trail by car from Independence to Oregon City, Oregon. We also took advantage of my father's government job to spend nine months in Washington, DC, visiting historical sites galore and taking a few extended trips to visit Southern plantations, Civil War battlefields, and other historic sites in Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and other Eastern states that were less accessible from our native Midwest. Even better, when I was 17, my sister and I were able to accompany our aunt and uncle on a month-long tour of France, which included everything from prehistoric cave paintings to medieval castles and cathedrals to World War II sites. And in college, I studied abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia and saw first hand everything from Scythian gold to the palaces of the tsars to buildings and bridges throughout the city that still show damage from shrapnel (or worse) received during the Nazis' long and devastating siege of Leningrad, as well as being able to talk to survivors of the siege.
Regardless of whether you're going to the next town over or to a foreign country halfway around the world, make an effort to learn about the area's history in advance and visit historical sites or museums when you go. History museums, much like history books, range from the crashingly boring to the utterly captivating and you'll quickly learn your family's preferences and tolerences.
Great Americans
Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.Author Biography: Russell Freedman
Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.The South
Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.History Live
Martin Luther King "I have a dream"
The full version of Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech. Comments disabled since many of them were hateful and racist. You can discuss the video here: http://www.mychurch.org/blog/121537/17-Minutes-with-Martin-Luther-King
Runtime: 1047
8039133 views
Comments:
curated content from YouTube
Russian and Soviet History
Peter the Great
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Pavlovsk: Life of a Russian Palace
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Nicholas and Alexandra
Amazon Price: $12.89 (as of 12/22/2009)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich: A Novel
Amazon Price: $6.48 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Soviet Experiment: Russia, The USSR, and the Successor States
Amazon Price: $51.32 (as of 12/22/2009)
Great Memoirs
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Homage to Catalonia
Amazon Price: $10.08 (as of 12/22/2009)
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph
Amazon Price: $14.28 (as of 12/22/2009)
Journey into the Whirlwind (Helen and Kurt Wolff Books)
Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 12/22/2009)
World War I
Rascal
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
All Quiet on the Western Front
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
World War Two
Summer of My German Soldier (Puffin Modern Classics)
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Jacob Have I Loved
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Holocaust
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
The Devil's Arithmetic (Puffin Modern Classics)
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Twenty and Ten (Puffin story books)
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Number the Stars
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
History Live
First Moon Landing 1969
The video of the very first moon landing of the apollo 11 mission in 1969! Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon with his now legenday words "One small step for man, a giant leap for mankind." This is a truly amazing video and it was in 1969!!! If you think about it, you have orders of magnitude more processing power in your mobile phone than they did in the whole space craft!! Incredible!
Runtime: 104
3512876 views
51229 Comments:
curated content from YouTube
More Great History Books
A child's history of art,
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV
Amazon Price: $15.12 (as of 12/22/2009)
To Marry an English Lord or, How Anglomania Really Got Started
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
Important Lessons From History
Never trust a paranoid, racist, spittle-emitting, megalomaniac dictator.
Ever.1 point
More Great History Resources
The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home
Amazon Price: (as of 12/22/2009)
The Complete Home Learning Source Book: The Essential Resource Guide for Homeschoolers, Parents, and Educators Covering Every Subject from Arithmetic to Zoology
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/22/2009)
The BEST Source for Children's Historical Fiction and Non-Fiction
- GreenLeaf Press
- Greenleaf Press is a small family-owned and operated publisher and supplier of quality books for children. Rob & Cyndy founded Greenleaf in 1989 out of their experiences looking for good material for their own children's study of history. Greenleaf Press is committed to "twaddle-free", living books. We believe that history is both important and exciting and that our kids can share that excitement.
Return to the Index
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Noori's Library: Great Books for Kids
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This Squidbook is dedicated to my daughter Noori. May she love books all her life.
Guestbook
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Reply
- tandemonimom tandemonimom Apr 9, 2009 @ 12:53 pm
- This great lens is now a Featured Lens in the newly redesigned Homeschooling Group (under new management)!
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Reply
- tandemonimom tandemonimom Apr 1, 2009 @ 2:32 pm
- Great list of books! So many favorites ... I especially love Here Be Dragons. Lensrolled to Five in a Row Literature-Based Unit Studies.
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Reply
- Silent_Note Silent_Note Feb 12, 2009 @ 9:24 pm
- This is a wonderful lens! You have put together a great collection of books and information here. I'd love for you to stop by my lens and say hello when you have the chance.
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Reply
- clouda9 clouda9 Nov 22, 2008 @ 8:15 pm
- Awesome resource lens! Congrats on your 2008 Giant Squid nomination...woot! (http://www.squidoo.com/2008-giant-squid-awards)
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Reply
- Jimmie Jimmie Nov 22, 2008 @ 7:06 am
- Wow! What a bibliography! We use a literature based homeschool approach. History truly comes alive with a good story.
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