Famous Men of Rome-hit or miss for your family?

[HappyGrace]

TOG1 uses it for quite a few wks, and I'm trying to decide if I should go with this or Guerber for dd10 and ds7. I think the Guerber will be overkill, but Famous Men looks a bit dry to me.

[Leanna Tomlinson]

I read it aloud to my kids (8 & 10 at the time) and they always begged for more. I like the Memoria Press version with the pictures better than my old Greenleaf Press copy.

 

Leanna

[HappyGrace]

Oh-mine is the old Greenleaf :( Running over to Memoria to check it out! Thanks!

 

Anyone else?

[Halcyon]

My 7 year old ADORES it, but he's always been a fan of historical biographies. I really enjoy it as well.

[branycbur]

I wish I could say we love it...but we don't. The stories just don't grab us, they are too short and they are disconnected. I don't think dd retains anything she reads from that book, and the girl loves history. Sorry to say, it's a miss for our family.

Edited April 16, 2010 by branycbur

[higginszoo]

My oldest used it with Latina Christiana I ... it was neither a complete hit nor a complete miss. He read it, didn't hate it, but didn't love it either.

[plain jane]

We really like the stories. We listen to them during meals using the free files at librivox.org. :)

[AudreyTN]

We just finished our Greece study with Famous Men of Greece. This week was our first week with Rome and we've been reading Guerber's book. (The original one, not Miller's rewrite.) I have to say that I will probably only use FMOR when Guerber doesn't cover something.

 

So... Famous Men books are ok, but Guerber's books are more engaging for us.

[HappyGrace]

I do like the color pics in the Memoria press but a little worried about the negative reviews!

 

Isn't the Guerber really too involved for lower/upper grammar kids though? I didn't really want something that comprehensive.

[scrapbabe]

We didn't like the Guerber books. My oldest (now 13) is a sponge. He loves to read, loves to learn... I've never had him complain about a curriculum. He's just happy to be learning. But a few chapters into Guerber's Ancient History book he asked if we could read something else. To be fair, it was the Miller version - so the originals might be better.

Haven't read the Famous Men books, own them, and think they look great, but never gotten to them. (edited to add: did I really just say gotten?)

 

Smiles,

Shalynn

[melissa123]

I have my daughter read FMR, and I read aloud the corresponding chapters in Guerber. We go over the Memoria Press study guide questions orally, and then do any mapping/timeline work suggested in the guide. I feel like it's a good combination (I look at it as reinforcement, not repetition...) My daughter is 12, so for us, the Guerber book gives us more depth and connects the FMR stories.

[HappyGrace]

Melissa-do you feel the FMR stories are disconnected? We tried to read Fifty Famous Stories Retold and some others like that and we hate when it is just separate stories with no connection!

 

I wish I could find a happy medium-more connected than FMR, but not as involved as Guerber! Maybe I will start a S/O thread!

 

Thanks!

[Spock]

We didn't like the Guerber books. My oldest (now 13) is a sponge. He loves to read, loves to learn... I've never had him complain about a curriculum. He's just happy to be learning. But a few chapters into Guerber's Ancient History book he asked if we could read something else. To be fair, it was the Miller version - so the originals might be better.

Haven't read the Famous Men books, own them, and think they look great, but never gotten to them. (edited to add: did I really just say gotten?)

 

Smiles,

Shalynn

 

The Guerber Ancient History book is basically a Bible story book (the original by only Guerber was called "The Story of God's Chosen People", so naturally it focused on the early history of Israel--thus, Bible stories.) The Miller version may actually be better, since it includes chapters on the history of Egypt/Sumeria/etc every now and then. However, even the Miller version boils down to mostly Bible stories with a few chapters on Egypt and other ancient civilizations. Children from Christian or Jewish homes will already be familiar with these stories and may be bored with them, while children from non-Christian/non-Jewish homes may think of them as legends more than history.

 

The Guerber Story of the Greeks/Romans books are much better. (I have the Miller versions, and haven't checked to see what changes there have been from the original versions.)

 

Some of my children prefer the Story of the .... series, while others prefer the Greenleaf Famous Men of ... series.

[bookfiend]

We have both. My son (10) really enjoys and is reading the Grueber for his History Core becasue we HATE these Usborne selections, (now nearing the end of our first year of TOG). I read the Famous Men for about 30 minutes each morning. It's a good way to reinforce what's in their personal reading. FM is definitely more on the biography side than on the story-telling side, but still holds attention.

 

I think it is a matter of personal taste. TOG definitely has a challenge because they can only recommend books in the program that are currently in print. So that means reprints of classics or the current publishing trend (DK, Eyewitness, Usborne, You wouldn't want to be.. If you lived...). If you are able to find them a good mid-road choice are OOPs like Landmark, Famous Childhood, Signature Biography....