momto2Cs Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Have you read any "unusual" books for history that were really enjoyed? My children and I are looking at reading this book -- An Everyday History of Somewhere, Being the True Story of Indians, Deer, Homesteaders, Potatoes, Loggers, Tress, Fishermen, Salmon, and Other Living Things in Northern Califfornia -- and I'd love to find more interesting books on nearly any area of history. Another book we really enjoyed was The Story of Salt. So share any history books you've really enjoyed with your kids! Mine are 11 and 13 now, but I'll take suggestions for older kids as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 We read The Story of Money and will be repeating this again as we revisit the Middle Ages and Renaissance eras. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0688133045?pc_redir=1399974949&robot_redir=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 For a bit older or paraphrase, but interesting, seeds of Change, 6 plants that transformed mankind: http://www.amazon.com/Seeds-Change-Plants-Transformed-Mankind/dp/1593760493/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400127219&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=6+plants+that+changed+hob+house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Napoleon's Buttons-largely science, but a good bit of history thrown in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar7709 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Love these types of books! Story of Salt is great, both the child and adult versions. I'll be watching this thread! A few more that we like here (mixed formats and levels): Poop Happened Oh, Yikes! Sugar Changed the World Written in Bone The Amazing Potato A Street Through TIme and the sequels Plus there's of course the Horrible Histories, Around-the-House History, and You Wouldn't Want to Be... series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Black Potatoes, about the Irish Potato Famine and its effects, was highly readable and fascinating. I had no idea how integral the potato became to the Irish diet, nor how the English Gov't responded (ineffectually). Also liked The Real Revolution, re the American Revolution. Again, history I did not know before. Both are prob fine for your 12yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtney_Ostaff Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I love books like that! Here's a short list of some I have read. YMMV for your kiddos: Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World The Story of Sushi The Secret Life of Lobsters The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell The American Way of Eating Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us The Omnivore's Dilemma The Emperor of All Maladies The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion The Swerve: How the World Became Modern A History of the World in 6 Glasses Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined The Mismeasure of Man Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed Debt: The First 5,000 Years At Home: A Short History of Private Life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Love these types of books! Story of Salt is great, both the child and adult versions. I'll be watching this thread! A few more that we like here (mixed formats and levels): Poop Happened Oh, Yikes! Sugar Changed the World Written in Bone The Amazing Potato A Street Through TIme and the sequels Plus there's of course the Horrible Histories, Around-the-House History, and You Wouldn't Want to Be... series. Black Potatoes, about the Irish Potato Famine and its effects, was highly readable and fascinating. I had no idea how integral the potato became to the Irish diet, nor how the English Gov't responded (ineffectually). Also liked The Real Revolution, re the American Revolution. Again, history I did not know before. Both are prob fine for your 12yo. Interesting, sugar and potatoes were 2 of the 6 plants in Seeds of Change! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I really like A Really Short History of Nearly Everything. That is the kids' version of A Short History of Nearly Everything. also a good read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Thank you all so much! We're taking next year off from any sort of chronological history, and I want to keep us stocked with interesting books, so this is very helpful. I did put Poop Happens on hold at the library just now... it sounds hilarious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristi26 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 These are awesome suggestions! I have none to add but want to be able to find the thread again. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I'll second Oh, Yikes! and I'll add Larry Gonick's Cartoon History books. These are the ones for World History; there are more. 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...
Kfamily Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Here are a few: The Arabs in the Golden Age by Mokhtar Moktefi Great Tales from English History (Volumes 1,2,3) by Robert Lacey In the Land of Ur: The Discovery of Ancient Mesopotamia by Hans Baumann Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London by Andrea Warren The Longitude Prize by Joan Dash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar7709 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I thought of a few more: Built to Last Phineas Gage Blizzard! and The Great Fire by the same authorNathan Hale's Hazardous TalesToys! Amazing Stories Behind Great Inventions Girls Think of Everything The kids and I are currently reading The Griffin and the Dinosaur, which is another one of these books I'm listing that are kind of about where history and science intersect (my favorite!), and it's by my favorite children's author for that sort of thing, Marc Aronson. I won't list my adult favorites, there's too many and there would be a big overlap with Courtney's post above (great list!). Except that she didn't include Connections, The Poisoner's Handbook, or anything by Simon Winchester, Victoria Finlay, or Mary Roach. No list like that is complete without Mary Roach. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Following with interest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Adding SO many titles to our "must read" list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Do Gertrude Hartman books count as unusual? I *really* like _Builders of the Old World_ and _Medieval Days and Ways_. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 The Dirt on Clean, about bathing, cleanliness (or not), and plumbing, was fascinating. The Family: A World History. Geez, the family values we hear about are surprisingly recent. Oops, I haven't read this. I read a similar sounding book about the family in England, but can't find the title. Dover has a book on the history of undergarments. On my reading list. ETA I found the book I was looking for. The Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500-1800. Excellent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar7709 Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 New from the author of "Poop Happened", heard about it on NPR this morning: Bugged: How Insects Changed History Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basketcase Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 Fabulous list! Thanks to everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 New from the author of "Poop Happened", heard about it on NPR this morning: Bugged: How Insects Changed History I was just going to post this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdobis Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 So many good suggestions! Some of these are already on my list, but I'm gonna check out the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smudge Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Wow! Thanks everyone! I am copying and pasting a new reading list like mad here....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 So many books to read now! Thank you all for the great suggestions!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justme824 Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I'll be referring to this thread...thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderRed Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Great thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie4 Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Following too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Keeping Clean: A Very Peculiar History, part of a series of 3, I think, including one on mummies and the other about vanity. We have both of the first two and DD liked them. Even I learned quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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