Can you think of any good books about ancient life?

[caroljenn]

Dd is just finishing up her Ancient history studies and we are going to move on to Medieval history soon. She's read some pretty heavy (for a STEM student) lit already- Odyssey, Gilgamesh, Bulfinch's Mythology, and I am thinking it would be nice for her to have a quick, somewhat easy read about life in ancient times. She's been obsessed with Egypt since she was young, so she knows a lot about that already. Maybe something Greek, Chinese, etc.? Something ancient and different? Thanks for any help you can give!

[Candid]

Let me give you two levels.

 

The higher level would be:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ancient-City-Classical-Athens/dp/0195215826/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360017570&sr=8-1&keywords=peter+connolly

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egypt-David-P-Silverman/dp/019521952X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360017691&sr=1-1&keywords=david+p.+silverman

 

Those are both pretty tough (Connolly is easier)

 

But you can also go down a level and get more illustrations and less words:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Greece-Peter-Connolly/dp/0199107645/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1360017570&sr=8-5&keywords=peter+connolly

 

http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Ancient-Egypt-Puffin-Classics/dp/014133259X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360017753&sr=1-1&keywords=tales+of+ancient+egypt

 

For an easier level but pretty thick try:

http://bookshelfcentral.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17_28_36_57_443&products_id=2252&zenid=vhlmhkvfk97lo9crqm73pdvt80

[caroljenn]

Hey Candid- thanks so much - I forgot about Bookshelf Central - that's a great place to look for a lot of stuff. Thanks for the reminder!

 

I will check these out. Thanks again.

[regentrude]

My DD enjoyed A Day in Old Athens and A Day in Old Rome by William S. Davis.

[elegantlion]

Black Land, Red Land by Barbara Mertz is a fascinating look into Egyptian life. It's a pretty easy read. She has has another book called Temples, Tomb, and Hieroglyphs which I haven't read. She also writes mystery novels under the pen name Elizabeth Peters. They are also set in Egypt.

[Kathy in Richmond]

The higher level would be:

http://www.amazon.co...=peter connolly

 

 

 

We've enjoyed most of the books Candid mentioned, especially Connolly's volume above. There's enough in there to last a long time!

 

Your daughter might also enjoy the Time Life series on Lost Civilizations (Rome, Greece, Egypt, China, etc). The level is below Connolly's level. They're quick, fun reads with lots of illustrations, about 150 pages each.

You can't go wrong with Edith Hamilton and her books "The Roman Way" and "The Greek Way".

[Rosie_0801]

The First Ladies of Rome was a fun book.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Black Land, Red Land by Barbara Mertz is a fascinating look into Egyptian life. It's a pretty easy read. She has has another book called Temples, Tomb, and Hieroglyphs which I haven't read. She also writes mystery novels under the pen name Elizabeth Peters. They are also set in Egypt.

 

I loved Red Land, Black Land because she spends time on why we know what we know and what is conjecture. And on the fact that Egyptian culture covers centuries, during which there were changes.

[caroljenn]

Thanks ladies! I will check all of these out. I found one of the Time Life books on Amazon for a penny- love that price!