The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the...

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to ... | Susan Wise Bauer | One of the best children's narratives on the market

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The Story of the W...

	The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to ... Susan Wise Bauer Peace Hill Press, 2006 - 350 pages average customer review:based on 116 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Excellent resource

I homeschool a 4th grader and am using this book for the first time. I have found that the content is child-friendly, Christian based, and easily understood. The history is told in a narrative format, making it feel more like a story than a dry history book. I have been an educator in the traditional school system, as well as a college professor, and believe that this is a useful resource for any adult wishing to share history in a positive way.

One of the best children's narratives on the market

In my mind, S. Wise Bauer has attempted and succeeded: She has made history fun again. The children reading (or listening to) the books will not be writing a dissertation based upon what she has written-- but they will be inclined to pick up another history book, and another... Her writing will get them thinking and talking about history beyond dates.

That's why I like this series. I believe some of the negative reviewers have lost site of the purpose: To engage readers on an elementary level. If readers are following the classical model, they will see more detailed information about the events again (probably twice). This first go round just provides a point of reference for later study.

Examining historical events does not begin and end with one book or source. A true historian will pull together many resources in order to form a composite.

In defense of Bauer's writing, I think that some reviewers are expecting a grammar stage history "holy grail" of some sort. I have yet to find one. Every history book has it's pros and cons. In my mind, this one has more pros than cons.

Bauer does not claim to be the final resource or authority for grammar stage world history. As a matter of fact, she provides extensive lists of additional resources in her other books, like the Well Trained Mind and in the companion workbook. This is the main reason I give this book 4 stars. I wish I could give 4.5. Perhaps an abbreviated version of the resource lists should be included in each volume as an appendix if it is going to stand alone.

Overall, I think it's great for what it aims to do: spark discussion and develop life long learners.

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It's OK, but I'm wishing for more

My expectations for this book were too high, based on some reviews, although I was worried about comments about inaccuracies. I found it disappointing.

I think what I react against is that this book is just one of many which seem to say the only ancient history that's at all important is what happened in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. There is a chapter on India and a chapter on China, but they are hat-tipping kinds of chapters that don't give the awesome breadth of those amazing cultures. And I was super disappointed with the chapter on the Americas. Mexico, according to this book's geography, is part of Central America. North Americans are all termed nomads, as if they were wandering around aimlessly instead of in the amazing variety of communities that they really lived in - some villages, some awesome cities, and others who didn't settle in permanent villages still had definite territories they exploited.

There is actually more material given on characters of the Bible, which are not labelled as from the Bible but treated as actual historical characters, than there is on the ancient Americas, or ancient China for that matter.

This really doesn't seem to be the story of the world, but the story of western civilization, with a smattering of other cultures thrown in as an afterthought.

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