unfrumpable. Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Hey all! Does anyone know if there are any children's books that focus on the history of England itself? My son is interested in learning about the process of how England went from having kings and queens to the government they have today, as well as general knowledge about their current government and how many areas/countries that England is still involved in. For example, he noticed the queen of England on a Canadian coin and was wondering why. We recently read this book about Elizabeth I which piqued his interest even more. http://www.amazon.com/Who-Queen-Elizabeth-June-Eding/dp/0448448394/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402460290&sr=8-1&keywords=who+was+queen+elizabeth Thanks! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 The Horrible Histories book might be a fun start. You can get them in North America from Ray at horriblebooks L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 DH is reading Our Island Story aloud with our kids right now, and they are loving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sally Day Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Another vote for Our Island Story here. Gripping and fun if not exactly a balanced unbiased take on our history! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I have a whispersync set of Our Island story, but the Kindle book doesn't seem to be for sale right now. This is the audio I have. http://www.amazon.com/Our-Island-Story-Complete/dp/B00435HAS8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402498826&sr=1-1&keywords=our+island+story+complete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Another vote for Our Island Story here. Gripping and fun if not exactly a balanced unbiased take on our history! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael12 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Have not had a chance to read, but I understand that Noel Streatfeild (Ballet Shoes) wrote an interesting history of England in "The Fearless Treasure" and then wrote a number of other historical books for children. http://www.whitegauntlet.com.au/noelstreatfeild/ChildFiction/BooksFearlessTreasure.htm Probably not at all comprehensive, but perhaps more attention-keeping than straight history books. The Streatfeild books that I have read are wonderful read-alouds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 The Horrible Histories book might be a fun start. You can get them in North America from Ray at horriblebooks L I had totally forgotten about the HH books. Of all the ones I do have, this isn't one of them. I went ahead and got the Kindle version. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 Thank you! I do have An Island Story and have read bits of it, but it's not exactly what I'm looking for. We've already covered a good amount of basic history within our world history studies. What's funny is that when I go to the Amazon UK site and type in government history and look under children's books,the selection is pretty slim. On the US Amazon site, there are pages and pages of books geared towards kids about American government history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 What's funny is that when I go to the Amazon UK site and type in government history and look under children's books,the selection is pretty slim. On the US Amazon site, there are pages and pages of books geared towards kids about American government history. I think that the system of government is taken for granted in the UK - we don't have any requirement for 'how the country works' studies. I think that this is to do with an old country based on precedent and slow change, rather than a younger country based on founding documents. I heard on the radio the other day that Magna Carta is studied more in the US than in the UK, and that rings true to me. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2girls&amom Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 My daughter loves this set of 10 books from Usborne: http://www.usborne.com/catalogue/book/1~CG~GS~7584/the-usborne-history-of-britain-gift-set.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 My daughter loves this set of 10 books from Usborne: http://www.usborne.com/catalogue/book/1~CG~GS~7584/the-usborne-history-of-britain-gift-set.aspx Those look cool too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 My personal favorite is the History of Britain and Ireland by Oxford University Press. It's a lovely hardcover book. I don't care for Our Island Story, because it has some anti-Catholic bias. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 It is not history, but historical fiction. My son turns up his nose at any form of history other than ancients, but really like historical fiction. Crispin by Avi The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes Bows Against Barrons by Geoffrey Trease Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease The Eagle of the Ninth series by Rosemary Sutcliff Warrior Scarlett series by Rosemary Sutcliff Seeing Stone trilogy by Kevin Crossley-Holland It is not straight history, but it might be engaging for him if he is interested in the time period. In other news, if you are interested in the time period, there are dozens of romance novels about historical English kings and monarchy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I forgot to say - you might not find too much in the histories recommended about the current relationship with Canada, etc. but a Google search on The Commonwealth should bring you up some lists of former colonies that have chosen to be members, some of which still have Queen Elizabeth as Head of State. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 I forgot to say - you might not find too much in the histories recommended about the current relationship with Canada, etc. but a Google search on The Commonwealth should bring you up some lists of former colonies that have chosen to be members, some of which still have Queen Elizabeth as Head of State. L Thank you, Laura. My ex had found a really good YouTube video explaining it all too. I'll see if I can find that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 My personal favorite is the History of Britain and Ireland by Oxford University Press. It's a lovely hardcover book. I don't care for Our Island Story, because it has some anti-Catholic bias. This looks really nice too! I found it least expensively on Amazon UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 It is not history, but historical fiction. My son turns up his nose at any form of history other than ancients, but really like historical fiction. Crispin by Avi The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes Bows Against Barrons by Geoffrey Trease Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease The Eagle of the Ninth series by Rosemary Sutcliff Warrior Scarlett series by Rosemary Sutcliff Seeing Stone trilogy by Kevin Crossley-Holland It is not straight history, but it might be engaging for him if he is interested in the time period. In other news, if you are interested in the time period, there are dozens of romance novels about historical English kings and monarchy! Thank you, I will check this list out. We've been reading a lot of the Who Was, Who Is, What Was books lately. Since my son has finally started reading a lot on his own, I've switched his bedtime reading to these books. :) And he loves them! I had only bought a couple to try out and after we finished them he requested more. It's really kind of fun to see where some subjects tie in with others in history and to come across stuff we already studied or are studying now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 DH is reading Our Island Story aloud with our kids right now, and they are loving it. That's what I was going to suggest. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 It is not history, but historical fiction. My son turns up his nose at any form of history other than ancients, but really like historical fiction. Crispin by Avi The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes Bows Against Barrons by Geoffrey Trease Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease The Eagle of the Ninth series by Rosemary Sutcliff Warrior Scarlett series by Rosemary Sutcliff Seeing Stone trilogy by Kevin Crossley-Holland It is not straight history, but it might be engaging for him if he is interested in the time period. In other news, if you are interested in the time period, there are dozens of romance novels about historical English kings and monarchy! Okay, I'm totally getting lost in all the Geoffrey Trease books. How do you like them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 Here is the video I was talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 We really enjoyed The Story of Britain from the Norman Conquest to the European Union. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0763651222/ref=wms_ohs_product_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1 There is a good preview on Google Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=o7aJ3EgPK_AC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+story+of+Britain+from+the+Norman+conquest&hl=en&sa=X&ei=L-GZU6nEHtKbyASSzoDwCg&ved=0CCMQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q=The%20story%20of%20Britain%20from%20the%20Norman%20conquest&f=false Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 We have loved the Eagle of the Ninth series by Rosemary Sutcliffe. DS and I are on the second book. One thing I like about well-written historical fiction is that it really helps immerse you in the time. Between Famous Men of Rome, Caesar's Gallic Wars by Olivia Coolidge and these Sutcliffe books, I feel like we've got a real grasp on Roman Military life. I know that doesn't help you with Britain, but it kind of chaffs my hide when people turn their noses up at historical fiction (not that you are but there are some....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 I am good with historical fiction. :) This thread is going to be bad for my Amazon and Thriftbooks cart though! I appreciate all the suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Here is the video I was talking about. Seriously, this guy's videos are a riot. I love them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Seriously, this guy's videos are a riot. I love them! I haven't watched any others, but I do love this one. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 My personal favorite is the History of Britain and Ireland by Oxford University Press. It's a lovely hardcover book. I don't care for Our Island Story, because it has some anti-Catholic bias. Thank you for pointing this out. You saved me an abandoned read aloud situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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