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History of England


unfrumpable.
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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! :)

 

 

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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.

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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.

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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

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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!

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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

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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....)

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