Poke Salad Annie Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) Here----Has anyone used these for a middle-school spine? Also, I'm wondering about the world history titles, Horizon Caravel books. Could these be used in the same way? Actually, I'm thinking about reading through the AHJL books to cover American history, and the Horizon Caravel books to cover world history. Is this overkill? Just trying to get my thoughts together and looking ahead... Edited January 26, 2011 by Poke Salad Annie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 My ds read through the AHJL series last yr. He absolutely LOVED them and insists that he learned more history last yr than he ever had in the past. I have only used 1 of the Horizon Caravel books, Charlemagne, but it is excelllent. I would definitely recommend it w/o hesitation. Overkill? It depends on your goals. I am not a cyclical history person. Nor do I like textbooks. I love reading through whole books on topics b/c snippett history drives me as crazy as excerpt lit and surface science. I would rather have the big picture of fewer topics than skim many. FWIW......there are also world history titles available in the Landmark books. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I have purchased all of the Horizon Caravel books that I can find. They are outstanding, and I highly recommend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) Thank you. The very sad part about all of this is, I had a chance to get several of the Horizon Caravel books at a thrift shop on a day they were clearing out books for 10 cents. Looking over them, I decided to only buy the Alexander the Great book. I had already chosen many books, and felt I had plenty. So now, of course, I am back in the search for these very books. Oh well, life in the rear view mirror... Edited January 26, 2011 by Poke Salad Annie needed to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Here's a list, not sure if it is complete. Google is my friend. http://www.valerieslivingbooks.info/horizon.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancyb Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 My ds read through the AHJL series last yr. He absolutely LOVED them and insists that he learned more history last yr than he ever had in the past. I have only used 1 of the Horizon Caravel books, Charlemagne, but it is excelllent. I would definitely recommend it w/o hesitation. Overkill? It depends on your goals. I am not a cyclical history person. Nor do I like textbooks. I love reading through whole books on topics b/c snippett history drives me as crazy as excerpt lit and surface science. I would rather have the big picture of fewer topics than skim many. FWIW......there are also world history titles available in the Landmark books. HTH Was that your 5th grader? How did you do that? Did you have a spine? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 My ds read through the AHJL series last yr. He absolutely LOVED them and insists that he learned more history last yr than he ever had in the past. What kind of writing did he do while reading these books--outlining, summarizing, something else? Did he read them more for the pure enjoyment, or did you require any assignments from the reading? Just trying to think this through, and not really sure how we'll use these books, but I do want to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Annie, go to Seashell Books. Their search system is imperfect so check under American Heritage Junior Library first, but also check under the individule titles. I just kept cutting and pasting from Valerie's list. If you buy $25 dollars worth of books, shipping is free. This is how I got my Caravel books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thank you. The very sad part about all of this is, I had a chance to get several of the Horizon Caravel books at a thrift shop on a day they were clearing out books for 10 cents. Looking over them, I decided to only buy the Alexander the Great book. I had already chosen many books, and felt I had plenty. So now, of course, I am back in the search for these very books. Oh well, life in the rear view mirror... Oh, that stinks! I found mine piece by piece since I wanted them in mint condition. Yes, I was stupid and paid too much money... they are one of the few purchases I have made that I didn't regret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Annie, go to Seashell Books. Their search system is imperfect so check under American Heritage Junior Library first, but also check under the individule titles. I just kept cutting and pasting from Valerie's list. If you buy $25 dollars worth of books, shipping is free. This is how I got my Caravel books. Thanks! That looks like a very nice list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) Was that your 5th grader? How did you do that? Did you have a spine? Thanks! What kind of writing did he do while reading these books--outlining, summarizing, something else? Did he read them more for the pure enjoyment, or did you require any assignments from the reading? Just trying to think this through, and not really sure how we'll use these books, but I do want to try. My ds was in 8th grade last yr. He just read, read, read for the most part. In middle school I assign 1 major writing assignment per week from either lit, science, or history. Since he spent about 2 1/2-3 weeks/bk, he wrote an essay on the book when he finished it. No, I didn't use a spine. I saw no need to. THe books sort of overlap in small areas and build on each other in such a way that he ended up with a clearer understanding of American history than he had had before. He did read a few Landmark books in there too. I think "Remember the Alamo," "Lee and Grant at Appomattox," and one on the Louisiana Purchase (can't remember the title off the top of my head.) He would say that reading them was pure enjoyment, but no, it was history. :D Edited January 27, 2011 by 8FillTheHeart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 My ds was in 8th grade last yr. He just read, read, read for the most part. In middle school I assign 1 major writing assignment per week from either lit, science, or history. Since he spent about 2 1/2-3 weeks/bk, he wrote an essay on the book when he finished it. No, I didn't use a spine. I saw no need to. THe books sort of overlap in small areas and build on each other in such a way that he ended up with a clearer understanding of American history than he had had before. He did read a few Landmark books in there too. I think "Remember the Alamo," "Lee and Grant at Appomattox," and one on the Louisiana Purchase (can't remember the title off the top of my head.) He would say that reading them was pure enjoyment, but no, it was history. :D Thank you very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 EightFillstheHeart, there are over 40 books on Valerie's list. Are the American Heritage books as dense as the Caravel books? My ds would think that the perfect history class if he could just read and write an essay every couple of weeks. Did your ds map, do a timeline, or work on primary sources? You know, all those "in the box" activities.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I would say the books are pretty much on par with each other. I only own the one HC book, though. One thing to keep in mind is just how much info these books cover. For example, the Charlemagne book covers the Moors, the Saxons, Catholicism, Druids, etc. They cover far more than just suggested by the title. And, no, he really didn't do much more than read and write the occassional paper. When it comes to science and history prior to high school, I am pretty (ok, very) laid back. For us, it is about exposure and laying the foundation for future connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Annie, go to Seashell Books. Their search system is imperfect so check under American Heritage Junior Library first, but also check under the individule titles. I just kept cutting and pasting from Valerie's list. If you buy $25 dollars worth of books, shipping is free. This is how I got my Caravel books. We've had good luck picking these up in used book stores, library book sales and antique stores that carry books. Also libraries that have been around for a while often have them. In fact it is one of the redeming features of several of the base libraries we've used. If you like the AHJL and the Horizon Caravel books, you might look at Landmark histories and biographies (some were reprinted in paperback and a few are still in print); We Were There books (these are more of a historical fiction story, but are very good); The Story of series by Grosset & Dunlap (for example, The Story of the Madam Curie). If this is the sort of book that you like, you will find that there were several similar lines from different printing houses. After a while, they will pop out at you on the shelf since they have a similar size and format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 There are also some nice American Heritage topical books that aren't in the Junior Library series. I think I've seen volumes on the American Revolution, the Westward Movement, The Sea and Ships and the Civil War. They are a similar format to the AHJL but might be a little higher reading level and broader in topic. If you have younger readers, you might want to look at the Cornerstones of Freedom series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 There are also some nice American Heritage topical books that aren't in the Junior Library series. I think I've seen volumes on the American Revolution, the Westward Movement, The Sea and Ships and the Civil War. They are a similar format to the AHJL but might be a little higher reading level and broader in topic. If you have younger readers, you might want to look at the Cornerstones of Freedom series. Are you referring to the "American Heritage Book of....." series? I own several of those as well as several "American Heritage Picture History of....." They are equally excellent, but too much on a single topic for my middle schoolers. (though they would probably be a good match for history loving, strong readers that want to study specific topics in great depth). For example, I own the AH Picture History of the Civil War. It is ~600 pgs. I also own the Golden Book of the Civil War (which is very similar in content to the former) but is only ~200 pgs. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Are you referring to the "American Heritage Book of....." series? I own several of those as well as several "American Heritage Picture History of....." They are equally excellent, but too much on a single topic for my middle schoolers. (though they would probably be a good match for history loving, strong readers that want to study specific topics in great depth). For example, I own the AH Picture History of the Civil War. It is ~600 pgs. I also own the Golden Book of the Civil War (which is very similar in content to the former) but is only ~200 pgs. HTH I am probably thinking of both the American Heritage books and the Golden Books series. Unfortunately, most of my books are either in storage or on a cargo ship somewhere between continents. I do seem to recall that the Civil War AH history was two volumes, so it probably is too much for logic stage. But I think there were some young readers editions of the other books. I'll try to remember this thread when the books are back in my hands again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Potter Posted August 19, 2023 Share Posted August 19, 2023 I'm having to downsize my library, since we are moving out of state. Plse help me compare and decide between Landmark, Cornerstones of Freedom and American Heritage Jr Library. I want to keep them all, but I'm not sure I can justify it. Next, I need to work through my biography series(es). Ugh! Which is your favorite & why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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