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[Paisley Hedgehog]

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[Omma]

I have one that I got used via Amazon this past Christmas... I bought it for $46 (counting shipping), but Amazon gave me $50 for getting their Visa card, so I got it for free, really! :D

 

Brenda

[Jenny in Florida]

Our church has a tradition of recognizing new readers during a service early in what would be their first grade year. The tradition is for each child's parent(s) to present the child with a special book. Some people choose a copy of a book they especially loved as a child or a book the child being recognized has been asking to read. In general, the idea is to choose a book that will be meaningful to the child and to say a few words during the service about why you selected it.

 

Our daughter--as with everything--did the new readers recognition kind of early. I think she was 4 (almost 5) at the time. My husband and I talked and talked about what to give her and just couldn't come up with anything. Finally, we chose the KHE, because our daughter was very interested in history and was ALWAYS asking questions. We wrote a note to that effect in the book and read it during the service. Then, we handed her the encyclopedia. She could barely hold the thing, and it provoked lots of affectionate laughter.

 

In fact, that moment still gets talked about during coffee hour.

 

Anyway, it wasn't until five or six years later that I connected my daughter's book with the KHE recommended in the WTM. We did use it as a resource for one year, but mostly it's just her book.

[Chris in VA]

I've got the red one, but I'm really looking forward to seeing the new recommendations. I looked up the DK one people have been recommending--it's $50 new--yikes! But it's GORGEOUS. We'll see when the time comes--I still have a couple of years.

[Sandy in Indy]

I have the "white" one....in fact, I've purchased three in the last four years. (One for me; two for friends.) The highest one was $35; lowest was $20.

 

I've used it for reference for me, but ds isn't at the point to use it himself. I like the timeline it includes (which I believe was removed or altered in the "red" version).

[Karie]

I bought the red one initially, and then last year I was at a home school curriculum fair and someone was selling the white one for only 10.00! I snagged it pretty quick! I like the looks of the white one better.

[jejily]

Just yesterday, I recommended to a friend and fellow hs'ing mom that she buy the KF encyclopedia, either the 2004 (red) or the 1993 (white) editions. Then, I went to Amazon to see if there even were any of the 1993 versions available (there weren't) -- and about fell out of my chair when I saw the price on the red book starting at $295!!! :eek:

 

That is absolutely insane.

 

There were some other red book versions going for $65.

 

What is driving this price gouging? I got my red book for around $25 about 9 months ago, and the white book used for $10 just two months ago, both at Amazon.

 

If anyone is interested in buying the red book, it's available for $25 plus shipping at Scholastic: http://preview.tinyurl.com/KF-History-Encyclopedia

[abreakfromlife]

I grabbed a white one off Amazon a few months ago when someone posted on here that there were a bunch cheap on there, because they usually are crazy expensive. Now that the red one is discontinued, too, I'm really glad I have one of them!

[nukeswife]

I have both and got them from Amazon for about $40 for the white one and $30 for the red, but just a heads up. If you're recommending the red one you might want to suggest they check Barnes and Noble. I went there a week after getting mine in the mail (from england no less) which was about a month ago and Barnes and Noble had 3 of them just sitting on the shelf.

[Mary in GA]

My red Kingfisher is falling apart. The spine has come off. My old white one is in much better condition although it was used long.

[nmoira]

I have the red one, but don't intend to use it (we're currently using Usborne); it's dry and seems disconnected to me. I've been flirting with the History: The Definitive Visual Guide for a few months now, and will probably use this.

[sweetbaby]

I have the red KF and I will be purchasing the DK History: The Definitive Visual Guide

[Melissa B]

I have both, but there are ALWAYS deals to be found on the internet - you just need some patience. I bought the white one from abe books or alibris just last fall for $12.00 and that included shipping. And I bought the red one for $5.00 a few years ago from another homeschooler - part of a history bundle. There are plenty of those books, both white and red, floating around!

[dangermom]

I picked up the red KF book used for a few bucks when my oldest was small--I think right after I'd read WTM and decided to homeschool. We haven't really used it much yet, but we've got it--it was too cheap to pass up!

[Tree House Academy]

I have both the red one and the white one.

[Kristiana]

I have the red one only because it was $8 at the thrift store one day.

[Lakeside]

Is there a difference between the "red" version and the "white" version, besides one being newer than the other?

[Lori D.]

White one here (bought about 8 years ago for $10-15 at a "book remainders/closeouts" store). Our KF has mostly been used as occasional reference material. During the elementary and middle school years, we tended to use SOTW, several other history overview books, a lot of library books on specific historical events, historical fiction, and film documentaries. Plus, for two years the focus was US history and so we used other resources, and another year we set formal history aside to do a world culture/geography/comparative religions focus. :001_smile:

Edited January 19, 2009 by Lori D.
added info

[bookmomma]

I have the red one. I bought it a year ago from Amazon for about $30? I thought that was a lot, but when I received it in the mail, I then realized that it was worth every penny. I bought this one first, then bought Usbourne Internet-linked Encyclopedia of World History. I use both. My boys are very interested in history (thanks to SOTW) and love the color photos.

[angela&4boys]

I'm waiting for SWB to decide what she will recommend in the 3rd ed. of TWM.

[siloam]

Is there a difference between the "red" version and the "white" version, besides one being newer than the other?

 

Shannon,

 

Here is what I posted to someone a while back about the two:

 

I have both the old, "Illustrated" white cover version and the newer red cover. I prefer the white for two reasons. First the text is in more paragraph form, though still abbreviated where the red version has sub headings, so you can literally scan the page and figure out what is being covered (which is also why it doesn't work for outlining-it basically is already done for you). Second is the layout of text. In the white it is more vertical, so you have a intro page to a time period, then you have a timeline pages that lists different areas (Americas, Europe, Africa, ect.. and an overview of major events) and the next page is a map of the world with the most important events highlighted and texts running vertically down one side. The rest of the section will pick an portion of history, have a half page vertical timeline on events then text on the other half of the page and how ever many more pages needed to cover the topic. The timeline has a yellow backgroud so it really stands out from the rest (visually appealing). The red version has a timeline at the top of almost every page running horizontal. They will have a red bar that shows what section of time that page covers. This timeline is only numbers and not events. The pages that don't have it are the intro to a specific time, and the map page where they give an big picture overview of what was going on at the time. The red book doesn't have the timeline page that shows major events broken down by area of the world. Not does it generally have any list of events in the sections either (once in a while it will have a little key dates box). The other distinctive difference I see is the newer version then often groups information by country more than the old did.

 

 

Heather

[homeschoolmomtutu]

I have both...I didn't realize how elusive the white one was? I actually bought it a few years back online and then realized there was an option of another newer one in the TM so I bought that one too...I like them both, they are different enough, and we use them both :)

[Lakeside]

Shannon,

 

Here is what I posted to someone a while back about the two:

 

 

 

 

Heather

Thanks, Heather! I wish I had discovered that before I bought the red one.:glare: Oh, well!

 

I had a similar frustration with the Kingfisher First Animal Encyclopedia. I had apparently ordered the newer version and while I was waiting for it to arrive I checked the book out of the library. Well the library had the older version and I could not believe how much information was left out of the newer version. I had mistakenly assumed that a newer encyclopedia would have more information, not less!

 

Thanks again for explaining the difference!

[homeschoolmomtutu]

Just yesterday, I recommended to a friend and fellow hs'ing mom that she buy the KF encyclopedia, either the 2004 (red) or the 1993 (white) editions. Then, I went to Amazon to see if there even were any of the 1993 versions available (there weren't) -- and about fell out of my chair when I saw the price on the red book starting at $295!!! :eek:

 

That is absolutely insane.

 

 

WHAT!!! That is insane...I think I am going to go list mine right now:lol:

[laughing lioness]

We've had the white one for years. It is well-loved and used often. My 9yo frequently is assigned topics from VP cards to look up, as well as history sentences. It's one of his favorite books:)

[Cornerstone Classical]

I'm another one that has the red one.:D

[JulieD]

Scholastic.com still has the red one listed. I got one a couple of weeks ago. It was $30 including shipping. I haven't used it a lot yet, but we've looked at the pictures.

 

Julie D.

[WTMCassandra]

Right when the boards were exploding with the red one going out of print right after WTM 1st ed. came out, I walked into a Borders and saw it sitting on a shelf! So I bought that sucker posthaste, even though I knew my children wouldn't use it for years. My husband thought I was a little nutty until the prices started spiking on the net.

 

Then, when the white one came out, I bought one of those too! My children switch using them to write outlines--it's handy to have two. I also have the Dempsey-Parr, which sometimes I let my younger one use because the text is less dense. But I guess I'm a sick puppy--I just ordered the DK book. Ha!

[Peela]

I have the red one- we don't use it. My kids just dont seem to relate well to those types of books- they are too busy somehow.

I am using the K12 History Odyssey book instead, and I read it aloud. the kids have NO interest in the pictures.

[Haiku]

Then, I went to Amazon to see if there even were any of the 1993 versions available (there weren't) -- and about fell out of my chair when I saw the price on the red book starting at $295!!! :eek:

 

 

The red book is selling for $19.77 and is eligible for free super-saver shipping, and the white book is selling for $39.50. That's as of 3 minutes ago.

 

Tara

[inashoe]

I have the red one - but find it doesn't have enough content or depth for my 5th grader.

He is using the DK History and is loving it :001_smile:

I will use the red one when my next kids do SOTW 3 and 4. They are currently using the Usborne for SOTW 2.

[Tohru]

Wow! I had no idea.

I bought my red one for about $20.

 

And my white one is actually bound as a series of 10 books, plus a separate index. Since it's broken up into thinner books it is more user friendly, but takes more shelf space.

 

Be careful when buying the white book to make sure it isn't just one out of the series because some were sold like that. Not many people are aware of the series binding.