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Narrative of non-western histories


stripe
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I would like to share resources on narrative type books (preferably) on the histories of the non-western world, by which I mean Chinese, Indian, Arab, and other Asian, Latin American, and African histories, preferably for the elementary set (rather than high school / adult level).

 

Thanks!

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Gombrich does a wonderful job hitting the important points, IMO. I think I will use it third grade and up.

 

There is also Story of the World on mainlesson.com, and many more on that site as well. If you search for the book at yesterdays classics it will give a recommended grade level.

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Is this the series by Synge? I saw those, and some looked okay but I read some of "The Discovery of New Worlds" and found it entirely inappropriate for my family for many reasons.

 

I'm looking for something reasonably up-to-date. I don't see any point in reading a 100-year old book about South Africa, filled with glorifications of colonialization. (Although at least the author has the decency to say: "To judge those old Portuguese is none of my business: the reader can do it for himself. When he thinks of Tristan da Cunha cutting off the arms of Arab women to get their bracelets, he will find it hard to forgive them.")

 

I am a bit stuck.

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I hope you get some replies. I didn't get very far into Synge. Thanks for the warning. So far I have used mainlesson.com mainly for historical fiction and retellings, not the history books.

 

There is a curriculum specifically written for African American history, maybe they have something good?

 

I will be back later... putting kiddo to nap.

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Gombrich really explains the greatness of China, the length of the empire, and the importance of Confucianism in the midst of all of it.

 

I think that he also does a great job of explaining Buddhism and Islam. I haven't seen anything so far about Africa (other than Egypt), but I pretty much stopped reading after ancients, since that is what I am planning now.

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Here's two we've read:

 

The Arabs in the Golden Age - 64 pages, Describes that period when the Arabs spread their religion, art, architecture, and great knowledge of the ancient world throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

 

AD 700-1500 Glorious Age in Africa: The Story of 3 Great African Empires - 118 pages, This book reveals the magnificent history and heritage of Africa, destroying, once and for all, the centuries-old, still lingering myth that Africa "was a continent without history." Here is a fascinating account of the Africans from the 8th to the16th century, highlighted by the successive rise of three Sudanese empires that at their height were the equal of any contemporary civilization in Europe or Asia.

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It might not have as much detail as you want, but Story of the World is a start. Looking through the table of contents, I see:

 

Africa--one non-Egypt chapter (several about Egypt)

China--three chs. (including one about Confucius)

India--two chs.

The Americas--one ch.

 

You can see the complete TOC here:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/cwhcontents.html

Edited by nova mama
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I'm working on this as well, as we're wrapping up our European Medieval studies this summer and will be moving on to the rest of the world.

 

India -- I'm waiting for The Puffin History of India for Children to arrive. I couldn't find any sample pages, but $9 seemed like a small amount of money to risk. There's also an Eyewitness book entitled India.

 

Africa -- Glorious Age in Africa: The Story of 3 Great African Empires (Awp Young Readers Series)

 

I also highly recommend Arabs in the Golden Age referenced above.

 

That's as far as I've got so far. It's my summer project. Hopefully this thread will cut down my work. :D

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These are great -- thanks!

 

BTW Roshen Dalal, author of the Puffin History of India for children (actually there's a second volume, post independence), has a blog; here are excerpts from his book.

 

I just found these, not a "spine" by any means, but they look interesting: The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History by John S. Major and Stephen Fieser, and Stories From The Silk Road by Cherry Gilchrist.

Edited by stripe
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The following are taken from my lists and plans for the elementary years. I suggest you look through these for yourself, as I've only read descriptions and researched online for most of them, except for The Token Gift (which is great and beautifully illustrated).

 

Ancients (1st grade)

 

Gilgamesh the King

The Token Gift

Senefer: A Young Genius in Ancient Egypt

 

Middle Ages

 

The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhay

Rostam: Tales from the Shahnameh (Persia)

 

I don't have anything for Renaissance or Modern yet, but ds is only turning six in September and we're doing American History in 3rd :tongue_smilie:

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I am focusing on middle and high school levels--for elementary I've relied on the various SOTW chapters that deal with non-European cultures, supplemented by library books.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Ancient-Americas-Everyday-Peoples/dp/1842155210/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243808683&sr=1-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/American-Indian-Legends-Richard-Erdoes/dp/0844669261/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243808748&sr=1-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/World-Asia-Akira-Iriye/dp/0882959212/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243808819&sr=1-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/History-Islamic-World-ILLUSTRATED/dp/0781810159/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243808861&sr=1-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0874114896/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

 

ETA: Sorry, I just re-read your post & saw that you are asking for elementary resources only!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Africa-World-History-2nd-MySearchLab/dp/0136154387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243808955&sr=1-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/Africans-Their-History-Second-Revised/dp/0452011817/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243809079&sr=1-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Kingdoms-Ghana-Mali-Songhay/dp/0805042598/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243809123&sr=1-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/African-Folktales-Princeton-Bollingen-Paperbacks/dp/0805207325/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243809168&sr=1-6

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0141026855/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0395764815/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

Edited by Amy in TX
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Sorry that I didn't always write down author names when I was compiling my lists for use. I'm only including titles that I hope you can find even without an author name. I'm hopeful that most of these have the sort of narrative feel that you're looking for. Hope Native American groups are part of what you want to include, too, as I also listed those.

 

Ancients:

 

How People First Lived, Jaspersohn

The Nile River, Meister

Mysterious Places of the Mediterranean

Science in Ancient Mesopotamia, Carol Moss

Science in Ancient Egypt, Geraldine Woods

Mysterious People From Greece

Eyewitness: Bible Lands

Growing up in Ancient China

They Lived Like This in Ancient China

Ancient China, J. Simpson

Books on the Orient by Demi - many are folklore, but there are also bios, astrology study, etc., etc.

Nature Company Native Americans

Take a Trip to India

The Persian Empire, Zinert

The Persian Empire: World History Series, Nardo

Ancient China, Williams

The Incredible Story of China’s Buried Warriors

The Great Wall of China, Mann (also one by Fisher)

Science in Ancient China, George Beshore

Confuscius, Demi

Exploration into China

Exploration into North America

Growing up in Aztec Times

You Wouldn’t Want to be an Aztec Sacrifice!

The Incas, Hinds

Anasazi, Fisher

Who Were the First North Americans? Usborne

Technology in the Time of the Maya

Exploration into Africa

Buddha, Demi

Prince Siddhartha: The Story of Buddha

My Friend’s Beliefs: A Young Readers Guide to World Religions

World Religions, The Great Faiths Annotated and Explained

India, Countries of the World, Dahl

Buddha Stories, Demi (not history, really, but I SO love this book!)

Exploration into Japan

Ancient Japan, Odjik

Exploration into Australia

The Aboriginal People of Australia

 

 

Medieval:

 

In the Heart of the Village: The World of the Indian Banyan Tree, Barbara Bash

Ramadan, Susan Douglass

The Story of Religion, Maestro

Islam, World of Beliefs, Neil Morris

Mohammad, Demi

The Arabs in the Golden Age, Mokhtar Moktefi

Heroines: Great Women through the Ages, Rebecca Hazell (re: Lady Murasaki Shikibu)

Japan the Culture, Bobbie Kalman

Look into the Past: The Japanese, Clare Doran

Destination Australia, Grupper

A Samurai Castle, Fiona Macdonald

Saladin Noble Prince of Islam, Diane Stanley

Great Events that Changed the World, Brian Delf.... Moghul Empire

Chingis Khan, Demi

Ten Kings and the Worlds they Ruled, Milton Meltzer .... read about Kublai Khan

The Silk Route: 7000 Miles of History, John S. Major

Ancient China, Robert Nicholson

Marco Polo and the Wonders of the East, Hal Marcovitz

Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, James Rumford

Sundiata: Lion King of Mali, David Wisniewski

Mansa Musa, Khephra Burns

From Ten Kings.... read about Mansa Musa

Sacred River, Ted Lewin

Growing up in Aztec Times, Marion Wood

The Aztecs, Peter Chrisp

Hands of the Maya, Villagers at Work and Play, Rachel Crandell

The Incas, Tim Wood

The Middle Passage, Tom Feelings (not for the tender-hearted)

 

 

Early Modern:

 

The Sad Night: the story of an Aztec victory and a Spanish loss, Sally Matthews

Lost Treasure of the Inca, Peter Lourie

Life of the Powhatan, Bobbie Kalman

The MicMac, Ruth Whitehead

Life in a Longhouse Village, Bobbie Kalman

Japan the Land, Bobbie Kalman

Look What Came From Japan, Miles Harvey

A True Book: Japan, Ann Heinrichs

Amistad Rising, Veronica Chambers

The Yoruba of West Africa, Calliope

Africa Dream, Eloise Greenfield

The Benin Kingdom of West Africa, John Peffer-Engels

The Village that Vanished, Ann Grifalconi

First Reports: Iran, Robin Doak

Mosque, Macaulay

Made in China: Ideas and Inventions from Ancient China, Suzanne Williams

Children of China, an artist’s journey, Song Nan Zhang

Made in China, Deborah Nash

Look What Came From India, Miles Harvey

Monsoon, Uma Krishnaswami

Eyewitness India

The Taj Mahal, Christine Moorcroft

The Iroquois, Petra Press

The Iroquois, Virginia Sneve

Struggle for a Continent, Betsy Maestro

India the Culture, Bobbie Kalman

The Dalai Lama, Demi

Journey Through China, Philip Steele

Vietnam the Land, Bobbie Kalman

Children of the Dragon, Sherry Garland (re: Vietnam)

Read from Ancient China, Nature Company, re: Qing Dynasty

A Time of Golden Dragons, Song Nan Zhang, et al

Read about Qing personalities from Hoobler’s Chinese Portraits

Read from People’s Republic of China, Kim Dramer

Confucius: The Golden Rule, Russell Freedman (could be read during an earlier period, too, certainly)

Read from Cultures of the World: Haiti, Roseline Cheong-Lum

Tap-Tap, Karen Williams

Toussaint L’Ouverture: The Fight for Haiti’s Freedom, Walter Myers

 

And I'm sorry, but I never got around to putting my modern selections onto my computer, so I can't pull those up quickly for you. I'm just including things we used for first through third grade, as you said you wanted elementary. We used a few different things for fifth grade ancients, this past year. I'm happy to include some of those that might work for you, too, if you like.

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Sorry that I didn't always write down author names when I was compiling my lists for use. I'm only including titles that I hope you can find even without an author name. I'm hopeful that most of these have the sort of narrative feel that you're looking for. Hope Native American groups are part of what you want to include, too, as I also listed those.

 

Ancients:

 

How People First Lived, Jaspersohn

The Nile River, Meister

Mysterious Places of the Mediterranean

Science in Ancient Mesopotamia, Carol Moss

Science in Ancient Egypt, Geraldine Woods

Mysterious People From Greece

Eyewitness: Bible Lands

Growing up in Ancient China

They Lived Like This in Ancient China

Ancient China, J. Simpson

Books on the Orient by Demi - many are folklore, but there are also bios, astrology study, etc., etc.

Nature Company Native Americans

Take a Trip to India

The Persian Empire, Zinert

The Persian Empire: World History Series, Nardo

Ancient China, Williams

The Incredible Story of China’s Buried Warriors

The Great Wall of China, Mann (also one by Fisher)

Science in Ancient China, George Beshore

Confuscius, Demi

Exploration into China

Exploration into North America

Growing up in Aztec Times

You Wouldn’t Want to be an Aztec Sacrifice!

The Incas, Hinds

Anasazi, Fisher

Who Were the First North Americans? Usborne

Technology in the Time of the Maya

Exploration into Africa

Buddha, Demi

Prince Siddhartha: The Story of Buddha

My Friend’s Beliefs: A Young Readers Guide to World Religions

World Religions, The Great Faiths Annotated and Explained

India, Countries of the World, Dahl

Buddha Stories, Demi (not history, really, but I SO love this book!)

Exploration into Japan

Ancient Japan, Odjik

Exploration into Australia

The Aboriginal People of Australia

 

 

Medieval:

 

In the Heart of the Village: The World of the Indian Banyan Tree, Barbara Bash

Ramadan, Susan Douglass

The Story of Religion, Maestro

Islam, World of Beliefs, Neil Morris

Mohammad, Demi

The Arabs in the Golden Age, Mokhtar Moktefi

Heroines: Great Women through the Ages, Rebecca Hazell (re: Lady Murasaki Shikibu)

Japan the Culture, Bobbie Kalman

Look into the Past: The Japanese, Clare Doran

Destination Australia, Grupper

A Samurai Castle, Fiona Macdonald

Saladin Noble Prince of Islam, Diane Stanley

Great Events that Changed the World, Brian Delf.... Moghul Empire

Chingis Khan, Demi

Ten Kings and the Worlds they Ruled, Milton Meltzer .... read about Kublai Khan

The Silk Route: 7000 Miles of History, John S. Major

Ancient China, Robert Nicholson

Marco Polo and the Wonders of the East, Hal Marcovitz

Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, James Rumford

Sundiata: Lion King of Mali, David Wisniewski

Mansa Musa, Khephra Burns

From Ten Kings.... read about Mansa Musa

Sacred River, Ted Lewin

Growing up in Aztec Times, Marion Wood

The Aztecs, Peter Chrisp

Hands of the Maya, Villagers at Work and Play, Rachel Crandell

The Incas, Tim Wood

The Middle Passage, Tom Feelings (not for the tender-hearted)

 

 

Early Modern:

 

The Sad Night: the story of an Aztec victory and a Spanish loss, Sally Matthews

Lost Treasure of the Inca, Peter Lourie

Life of the Powhatan, Bobbie Kalman

The MicMac, Ruth Whitehead

Life in a Longhouse Village, Bobbie Kalman

Japan the Land, Bobbie Kalman

Look What Came From Japan, Miles Harvey

A True Book: Japan, Ann Heinrichs

Amistad Rising, Veronica Chambers

The Yoruba of West Africa, Calliope

Africa Dream, Eloise Greenfield

The Benin Kingdom of West Africa, John Peffer-Engels

The Village that Vanished, Ann Grifalconi

First Reports: Iran, Robin Doak

Mosque, Macaulay

Made in China: Ideas and Inventions from Ancient China, Suzanne Williams

Children of China, an artist’s journey, Song Nan Zhang

Made in China, Deborah Nash

Look What Came From India, Miles Harvey

Monsoon, Uma Krishnaswami

Eyewitness India

The Taj Mahal, Christine Moorcroft

The Iroquois, Petra Press

The Iroquois, Virginia Sneve

Struggle for a Continent, Betsy Maestro

India the Culture, Bobbie Kalman

The Dalai Lama, Demi

Journey Through China, Philip Steele

Vietnam the Land, Bobbie Kalman

Children of the Dragon, Sherry Garland (re: Vietnam)

Read from Ancient China, Nature Company, re: Qing Dynasty

A Time of Golden Dragons, Song Nan Zhang, et al

Read about Qing personalities from Hoobler’s Chinese Portraits

Read from People’s Republic of China, Kim Dramer

Confucius: The Golden Rule, Russell Freedman (could be read during an earlier period, too, certainly)

Read from Cultures of the World: Haiti, Roseline Cheong-Lum

Tap-Tap, Karen Williams

Toussaint L’Ouverture: The Fight for Haiti’s Freedom, Walter Myers

 

And I'm sorry, but I never got around to putting my modern selections onto my computer, so I can't pull those up quickly for you. I'm just including things we used for first through third grade, as you said you wanted elementary. We used a few different things for fifth grade ancients, this past year. I'm happy to include some of those that might work for you, too, if you like.

 

 

Wow, that's exceedingly useful!

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