TheApprentice Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 but covers some world history. My 8th grade son is using SOTW 4, Kingfisher Encyclopedia and Joy Hakim's History of US. He started reading History of US this week and is really loving it. He's decided that SOTW 4 is not interesting enough. So since we are doing world history, is there anything out there in a series format resembling History of US? And we really don't want another textbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 The World of Abraham Lincoln by Genevieve Foster? It's a narrative that covers what's happening in the rest of the world at the same time, much like SOTW, but written to an older audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 What is it that he likes about HOUS? They are also textbooks it is the conversational tone? If so, then maybe.... A Little History of the World or Story of Mankind? HOUS is very easy to read. The chapters are very short and focused, and there is a lot of space on the page. It is presented very well and they are appealing. SOTW 4 is very text dense and the chapters have a lot going on in them. They are not written in the same light conversational style as HOUS. Would he maybe find the audio of SOTW 4 more appealing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheApprentice Posted August 30, 2013 Author Share Posted August 30, 2013 Yes, he likes the tone of HOUS better, along with the pictures and captions. So since we are covering world history, I was looking for something similar to HOUS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 I am not aware of anything as conversational in style. In part it is because it looks like you are studying modern history (Using SOTW 4). There just isn't much covering modern or 20th century history for that age. I know Pandia Press suggests History of Mankind, but I don't think that is particularly close in tone to History of US We are also studying modern global history and I am mostly using the k12 Human Odyssey book. I am pulling in some History of US even some SOTW 4, even though we used it when he was in 4th grade. There just isn't that much covering global modern history. If you were studying ancient history I might suggest you take a look at the Oxford Press series "The World in Ancient Times", but those are also very much textbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 My son likes reading Mystery of History - definitely from a Christian viewpoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 For an overall view, you might simply do a quick read through of an approachable book. A couple of suggestions: A Little History of the World by E. H. Gombrich From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. This is an unusual work for Yale: a children's history originally published 70 years ago. But it is a work one can quickly come to love. Gombrich, later known as an art historian, wrote this primer in 1935, when he was a young man in Vienna (it was soon banned by the Nazis as too "pacifist"). Rewritten (and updated) in English mainly by Gombrich himself (who died in 2001, age 92, while working on it), the book is still aimed at children, as the language makes clear: "Then, slowly the clouds parted to reveal the starry night of the Middle Ages." But while he addresses his readers directly at times, Gombrich never talks down to them. Using vivid imagery, storytelling and sly humor, he brings history to life in a way that adults as well as children can appreciate.The book displays a breadth of knowledge, as Gombrich begins with prehistoric man and ends with the close of WWII. In the final, newly added chapter, Gombrich's tone sadly darkens as he relates the rise of Hitler and his own escape from the Holocaust—children, he writes, "must learn from history how easy it is for human beings to be transformed into inhuman beings"—and ends on a note of cautious optimism about humanity's future. (Oct. 13)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved Another possibility (if you're not easily offended by liberal content) might be Larry Gonick's Cartoon History books. My then 7th/8th grader enjoyed these. Cartoon History of the Universe Volumes 1-7 The Cartoon History of the Universe II, Volumes 8-13: From the Springtime of China to the Fall of Rome (Pt.2) The Cartoon History of the Universe III: From the Rise of Arabia to the Renaissance (Cartoon History of the Earth... Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 You could certainly use Hakim's Story of Science books. They're about science, but put into a historic context... Both K12 Human Odyssey or OUP World in Ancient/Medieval times are not so textbook-ish and have a good narrative feel to them. How about Horrible Histories? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.