Book Description

This spirited reading of the third volume in Susan Wise Bauer's four-volume series brings to life the stories and records of the peoples of historical times. Volume 3 examines major historical events from 1600 to 1850.

Designed for parents to share with elementary-school children, enjoy listening together and introduce your child to the marvelous story of the world's civilizations. An effective educational tool, use this audio edition as an accompaniment to the print book, a supplement to a traditional history curriculum, or on its own.

This CD audiobook features detailed track marks and an indexed booklet, allowing you to follow along with the printed version of The Story of the World or to enjoy as a stand-alone audio version. Read by professional voice actress and veteran homeschool mother Barbara Alan Johnson. Eight audio CDs in a sturdy plastic case. ... Read more

Book Description

Have you ever wondered what life was like on a pirate ship? This exciting, fact-filled voyage follows a crew of pirates as they work, fight, loot, and play on the high seas. You'll even meet famous pirates of fact and fiction. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A Pirate's Life for Me!: A Day Aboard a Pirate Ship
This book is so popular on the Seacoast of New Hampshire because, the real-life pirate of Brownie Macintoch, performer and songwriter, comes along with this book. He and Julie are a fixture of children's summer entertainment. (Check out www.juliebrownie.com)This book is a realistic portrait of a pirate without the details that are not necessary for young children. If this book interests a child, more books are available that have "those kinds" of details and others that are more gentle.

It Could Be Better!!!
First off I want to say I loved the sea chanty tape. The book would have been better if it had a story line or gave more explanations. I've been reading about pirates for a few years, and I know some of the statements were wrong according to the books I've read. However the pictures are colorful and bright. And most young children would enjoy this simple book about pirates even though it's not quite cohesive or accurate. I will recommend this book for the younger children who are interested in piracy and need an introduction to history. A few months ago I read an excellent novel to my 5th grade granddaughter that was based on documentation and included photos. It was titled THE DIARY OF A SLAVE GIRL, RUBY JO and was about the week Blackbeard and his men on 4 ships held Charlestonians hostage to obtain medicine for his crews.That book had a good story, wonderful slave children characters, was funny, and entertaining! I recommend that one to anyone 10 and up.

Great Pirate Book!
My 9 year old son (who loves pirate stories) and I enjoy this book so much. It offers a true depiction of pirate life with some graphic details that have made my son want to read other books containing pirate history and lore. I think the best children's books are the ones that make kids want to keep on reading and learning. I highly recommend this book.

An Okay Book for Preschool and Young Readers
This book includes a wonderful cassette tape with finger snapping toe tapping songs for just about everybody. The pictures are colorful and exciting, however the text doesn't explain who pirates were/are, and there are several factual errors. One big error is pirates burying their treasure. Often pirates plundered ships of their cargo of furniture, clothing, provisions (food), etc. and they kept what they needed and sold the rest. When they spent their earnings they once again set sail. However inaccurate this book is, it is a fairly good preschool and 1st and 2nd grade introduction to a small segment of history. Older children, however, should be given nonfiction books about piracy that include bibliographies. They should also be given fiction such as Robinson Crusoe that is based on the life of an actual pirate named Alexander Selkirk as well as The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo in which the protaganist witnesses Blackbeard and his men in 3 ships hold Charles Town hostage in May 1718.

Indy Mom
I bought this book for my son to learn more about pirates in the few weeks leading up to his 4th birthday when we will use a pirate theme. It's more of a factual telling about the life of pirates vs. a story and the violence one reviewer refers to is probably based on a picture of pirates coming over the bulwarks of a boat with cutlasses waving at fleeing victims. The book doesn't sugar coat the fact that pirates were thieves and pretty "naughty." It has really engaged my son in learning lots of pirate lore like what pets they had (parrots, monkeys and cats), what kind of treasure they were interested in, and their code of honor (a great intro for discussing our house rules), among other things. The book prompts lots of questions on his part. He has clearly enjoyed it and asks for it whenever pirates is the bedtime topic of choice. If you want something more playful, try Kathy Tucker's "Do Pirates Take Baths?" or David McPhail's "Edward and the Pirates." They won't be as educational, but they contrast (and complement) the realism of this book with a traditional fantasy-oriented approach. ... Read more

Book Description

Explore the many forms money has taken around the world and through history, from doubloons of ages past to contemporary credit cards. ... Read more

Book Description

Readers travel back in time to explore life in New York City 100 years ago, where there's not a television or computer in sight!This illustrated guide reveals how people both rich and poor dressed, traveled, dined. And entertained. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Simplistic, but informative
I read this book to my child on the recomendation of a friend. The book proved interesting for both father and daughter alike. McGovern delves into both commonplace and idiosyncratic aspects of the world as it was a hundred years, providing an intelligent yet fun way for children to explore history. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

What a great book!
This book is recommended for ages 9-12, but my 6-year-old ate it up and my 4-year-old enjoyed it too. I bought it because my girls are going through a knights and castles thing, and this was recommended as a good place to learn about them. I thought we'd just read that section and put it on the shelf until the other subjects came up. Well my 6-year-old saw things differently. She loves this book. She loves the way it is laid out and what she is learning from it. She had no interest in Vikings or Romans or Egyptians before this, but now she wants more on all these topics. And it is a fun book for me to read too. It is reminding me of things I hadn't learned since I was a child, and the diagrams are so clear that maybe I am learning things better than I did when I was a child.

Four books in one, excellent information!
WOW, this is a compilation of four different civilizations, it includes ALOT of information on understanding how these ancient groups lived. I have learned alot of interesting facts every time I haved looked through the pages. The illustration in it is amazing, there is not a corner left empty in this huge book! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Adds the benefits of the Internet to a traditional book!!!
This book is a comprehensive survey of history from the creation of the Earth to the begining of the Millenium.It is divided into 4 sections:Pre-History, Ancient World, Medieval World, and the Last 500 years. It is a very visual book, with lots of photographs and illustrations to complement the concise text...But what makes it an INCREDIBLE resource is that it is internet-linked. There are hundreds of websites listed in the book that expand on the information presented. The research team at Usborne books has come up with age-appropriate websites from extremely reputable universities, museums, and institutions throughout the world to complement what is in their encylopedia. Let me give a few examples. For Ancient History there is a link to the University of Pennsylvania where a person can print out his/her name in hierglyphics. For modern day, there is a fabulous site at the BBC where you can read about the rise of Hilter and take a quiz afterwards. There is another site where you can listen to famous speeches throughout the ages. IT IS SO INCREDIBLE. And the best part is you can access all the listed sites through Usborne's website. The publisher's site will keep the links up to date if addresses change. This is a terrific resource for any student. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

an illustrated history of childhood
This is how history should be taught to children -- colorful, informative, relevant. Within the framework of 16 two-page spreads about kids from different times and places, the authors present a good deal of historical information. This is the kind of book that will help young readers determine what is the same about being human and what changes over time and distance, and may well spark an interest in a particular period or history in general.

The book begins with a world map placing the sixteen children who will be featured, and then each child is shown (in chronological order) with a short paragraph of autobiographical text. Typical pages show the layout of a house, toys, school, and a miscellany of topics interesting to other children such as play, health, transportation, cooking or music. The emphasis is on colorful illustration and graphic depictions. Periods covered are Egypt 1200 BC, Athens 500 BC, China 150 BC, Rome AD 120, Norway AD 950, Mali, West Africa 1400, Spain 1450, Florence 1490, Mexico 1500, India 1600, Japan 1650, Australia 1700, France 1789, England 1840, Plains Indians 1850 and the United States 1920.

The book finishes with a short discussion of archaeology and history, a simplified timeline and a glossary.

This is another beautiful book from Dorling Kindersley, and a worthwhile introduction/supplement to your child's history lessons.

A Visual Tour Through History
If you sometimes wonder about how children lived in the past, this book shows 16 children living in their time in history. The illustrations are detailed, fill the pages and are accompanied by a text explanation.

On page 24 we find Giovanna living in Renaissance Italy in 1490. The text tells of how she sits for a portrait and how her mother is a fine singer. Giovanna's favorite possessions, like a printed storybook, a pendant and jewelry box are shown. They are pictures of real items from the Renaissance.

The first colorful page shows all the children standing on a map of the world. The following pages show the lives of children growing up in Egypt, Greece, China, the Roman Empire, Viking Norway, Mali Empire, a Spanish Castle, Renaissance Italy, Aztec Mexico, Moghul India, Tokugawa Japan, an Australian Desert, France, Industrial Britain, the American Plains, and 1920s America.

A fun Timeline puts the book in perspective and a glossary explains words like Aboriginal, Castle, Legionaries, Samuri, Shogun, Tea ceremony and Fjord.

Children will see the pictures, learn about the life of a child and discover how their life is so different today. This book was produced after consulting history experts and offers a fresh approach to history for young readers. The authors have degrees in history and education. Together they have written over 25 books for children on a wide range of subjects.

Simply fascinating and educational. Children will just love this book because it shows history in such a creative way. ... Read more

Book Description

"Written for the youngest audience...the text is very simple yet manages to convey all the major events in Liberty's creation....The full-color watercolors show amazing detail and are extremely rich."--Horn Book. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Lovely story of Lady Liberty
I also use this book in my classroom and third graders love it. They are fascinated with the size and grandeur of the Statue of Liberty. This book tells the history of the Statue in simple text and large, vivid illustrations. (Did you know that he made it to look like his mother?) I recommend this book for 7-9 year olds. It will expand their horizons and leave them hoping that someday they will see the Statue in person.

Wonderful Story
My 2 year old is facinated with the Statue of Liberty. So before we visited her in person, I wanted to find a simple worded book with lots of captivating pictures and found this one. It really does an excellent job of telling the story of how America obtained Lady Liberty. We would highly recommend this book to any American Patriot!!

Statue of Liberty
The text and especially the illustrations in this book were just what I needed to explain to my kindergarten students what it would be like to visit the Statue of Liberty. The illustrator shows an aerial view of the statue on Liberty Island, the ferry needed to reach the island, and New York City in the far background. He continues with pictures showing the construction of the statue to the impressive fire works celebration on the Fourth of July. The author explains the building of the statue as well as the purpose. If you had only one book to explain the Statue of Liberty to school age children, I would recommend using "The Story of the Statue of Liberty" by Betsy Maestro and illustrated by Giulio Maestro. ... Read more

Book Description

A terrific home reference and travel companion for children eager to know more about America, State by State Atlas shows in maps, pictures, illustrations, and fact boxes how each state fits into its part of the union. Arranged regionally to give readers an overview of the distinct areas of the country, this book creates a clear and easy to understand way of learning American geography and culture. Each state's landscape, industry, agriculture, population, history, and folkways are explored in a vibrant information book children will want to use throughout their school age years. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Makes for an attractive, appealing presentation
The State-By-State Atlas is organized by region and features information about each state's landscape, industry, agriculture, population and history, using digital color maps and photos to help emphasize geographic facts. The emphasis on color embellishments makes for an attractive, appealing presentation.

Neat book!
This is a great book, very informative and well organized...I just have one gripe...Pennsylvania is listed as the 32nd state, when actually it was the 2nd...Minnesota was also listed as the 32nd state, which was correct...call me anal but I'm teaching a class on the 50 states so I have to be accurate, and depend on my references to be accurate as well!

Point me...in the direction of Albuquerque....
I suppose most of the young readers who pick up the DK "State-by-State Atlas" will not remember the old song "Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque" by the Partridge Family, but is certainly is relevant to this book. The first thing I did when I initially flipped through this atlas was to check out the state where I know live (Minnesota) and the state where I went to high school and my first couple of colleges (New Mexico). The map of the Land of 10,000 Lakes lists only four cities: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, and Austin, so I thought there was some sort of limitation on cities that could be listed, although I was pretty sure that Mankato, Bemidji, and several other places were bigger than Austin. That particular southern Minnesota city is best known for being the intersection of two major interstates, but highway are not shown on these state maps, only geographical features. Then I turn to the two-page spread on New Mexico and despite having one-quarter the population of Minnesota there are three times as many cities listed. They even list Rio Rancho, the suburb to which my family moved when my father retired and which is now a city in its own rights. The only problem is that while Rio Rancho is off to the northwest of Albuquerque, the state's largest city is not even listed.

Now you understand why the title for this review is a quote from an old Partridge Family song.

DK's "State-by-State Atlas" is organized by region (e.g., the Midwest States, the Southwest States), so that young readers can appreciate which Americans might identify themselves as Midwesterners or Southerners. This also makes sense from a geographical perspective as the regional approach helps to explain how a river system or mountain range can affect the weather of a region, its ecology, and what the inhabitants of an area do for recreation (e.g., why Texans do not ski at home). At introductory section to each region shows a map of the states being covered, a time line of key dates, and brief sections describing the climate, landscape, lifestyle and economy. For each state there is a map, a list of State Facts (bird, flower, tree, capital, population, statehood, largest cities and land area), pictures of key sites, and a short biography of a famous person associated with that state (e.g., Garrison Keillor and Georgia O'Keefe for MN and NM).

The result is a nice little introduction to each state that would prove of more benefit to students looking at a particular region than an individual state. Young readers will get a sense of the flavor of each state and certainly some ideas as to what areas they can research further on line or in other books, such as, for example, what happened to the 448,607 people who lived in Albuquerque when it disappeared from the face of the earth... ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Look and Learn
This is the 2nd book in this series I have purchased.This is a great book, though I prefer the World Tour book over this one.This is mostly because I was expecting something else.I was expecting a book detailing events in history.This book goes though various times in history:

Early people - 15,000 B.C.
First Farmers
Living in Cities
Pyramids
Going into Battle
At the market
The Bath House
Winter Feasts
Village Life
Castle Life
Inca Homes
A Chinese Party
Indian Wedding

Busy Ports
At the Ball
Factory Town
Prairie Homes
Deparment Stores - 1930's

The book is well done - colorfully illustrated and fun for all ages - from my 4 and 9 year old, to myself!Each page has about 20 things for you to find, in a search and find style, and a short description or explanation of each item and how it relates to the time period.All in all, it's an excellent series!

Entertaining along with educational!
This series is wonderful.Very entertaining for children to find the picture but the education that goes along with this is magnificent!The Great History Search leaves hours of entertainment for the entire family and really sparks the History curiosity in the child.This book is my 10 year olds favorite in the series.The illustrations are very detailed and get those little minds thinking.

Fun and also instructive
Detailed illustrations of lives of people in various periods. Illustrations are quite fun to see. Close up of characteristic figures are closed up with descriptions.

I bought this book for my 10-year-old son, who loves to play "Age of Empire" and becomes curious abouthistory. He loves it because of the closed up pictures even though he can'tread English yet. The illustrations convey the atmosphere of each age well. ... Read more