Rating: 
Summary: My son LOVES this book!
Review: "Can't we just do history?", my son asks almost every morning. He loves this book. It is just a series of engaging stories about history. I would recommend it for any kid. And there is nothing better for teaching first grade history. We use the activity book as well.
I am not a fundamentalist Christian. However, I believe that old testament stories are part of our culture and should be presented. I also believe that Christianity is important, and should be respected. I am quite comfortable with the old testament stories in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Although it's not perfect, it was a great intro for my kids
Review: After reading the reviews that were not happy with SOTW, I'll admit that if you're wanting a very serious, detailed account of the ancient civilizations, SOTW won't suit you. HOWEVER, if you are/were a history dunce like me, this was EXACTLY what you needed to get you and your kids rolling on the history buff train.Her book was designed to be an intro to history for young children, not an in-depth study. It was very easy to add detail and make distinctions as parents saw fit, which is the reasoning behind the "simplistic" and "vague" stories. She realizes that many parents prefer to put their own emphasis on various aspects of history and cultures, so she leaves the details up to the parents. A few minutes searching through her online discussion boards will bring up and clarify any questions you may have. Anyone who looks for a perfect history curriculum is fooling themselves: most history experts EXPECT to find errors somewhere in every history book [see reviews of other history books for examples of that fact or ask a local professor]. That being said, we thoroughly enjoyed reading and playing with SOTW. The novel was fun, engaging, and easy to read. When my son picks up the book to read again for fun, i know we have a winner. The activity guide is well worth the money: the maps are clear and easy to use, the coloring sheets are OK, the activities and games are interesting, the reading suggestions are suitable for the age levels, and the discussion questions are well-thought out. If you are new to history, don't know what to teach, or are trying to teach several ages at one time, this is a perfect unit study-type of spine. We added science and art as we studied each culture. It is not laid out with daily lesson plans, but is easy to adapt for once-a-week use or daily use.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect to fill the gaps
Review: All myths are treated the same in this great started book for myths. The reading is very child friendly. No more weight is given to one myth over another. Balance is give with facts guiding the reader not superstitions. The myth of Jesus is given equal weight as the myth of Budda. I found this to be a great learning tool in my homeschool curriculm. I have studied comparitive religion, cultural anthropology, as well as philosphy at the University of Michigan and I think this begining reader level book will give my children a great leap toward critical thinking as well as a greater understanding of the myths that some people still believe today. This gave us a great springboard into why some people still follow these backward ancient superstitions. I have several other books that address one cultural superstitions each but this is by far the most complete.
For a simple book I recommend:
What About Gods?
by Chris Brockman
IN additon to this fine read. Sold here at amazon
Rating:
Summary: If you enjoy teaching your children, you can use this
Review: Almost everyone has a great opinion of this package, and for all very good reasons. But what I like most about it is that it really works for my needs. I LOVE homeschooling, and I love spending time with my kids. This program works for me in that it presents the basic information you'll need to teach, and then gives you LOTS of suggestions for supplementing, which is our favorite aspect of homeschooling -- that is, taking a subject and doing lots of free learning aside from the curriculum. If that describes your style, you'll love this History package!
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Summary: Breathing New Life into Ancient History
Review: As a history major, I have always prided myself on the fact that I could find fascinating a subject that left many bored. However, when we began my daughter's first grade history lessons using the "Usbourne Book of World History" (using the lesson plan laid out in the excellent "Well Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise), even I found the material a bit dry; it is, after all, an encyclopedia. Apparently, Susan Wise Bauer felt similarly about its limitations, as she went out and wrote her own history tome. "The Story of the World" is so fantastic, it takes my breath away! The read aloud text on ancient times presents history in small chunks, and is written in an engaging, story-like manner that delights my children, who are 4 and 6 years old. This delightful manner in no way means that the subject matter is "watered down"; Bauer still introduces children to the facts and terminology that are relevant to the subject. For instance, the chapter on "The First Writing" explains the origins and meanings of "hierolglyphics", "Mesopatamia", "cuneiform", and "papyrus".
After listening in rapt pleasure to the text, children will delve into the accompanying curriculum guide and activity book. The guide provides thought provoking questions on the text, and offers an example of the type narration that the child should give (the child is expected to briefly narrate back to the parent what they just read about in the text). The guide book provides map work, coloring pages, puzzles, and review cards which can be copied from the book for use, and also includes wonderful craft ideas (most of which, as an inherently lazy person, I found very "do-able" without undue effort). This week, we carved a cuneiform monogram into clay, made a hieroglyphic scroll on paper, and left them outside to see which will prove to be more durable over time; this will illustrate to the children why the papyrus documents of Egypt did not survive the centuries, but the older cuneiform tablets of Sumer did. For our next project, we plan on mummifying a chicken from the grocery store using the directions from the guide.
I love this history program, and history is now my daughter's favorite subject. I can't wait for Ms. Bauer to write the next volume (this volume covers earliest nomads to the fall of the Roman Empire). The only downside is that the cirriculum guide comes as a thick packet of pages, rather than being bound into a book. However, the pages have pre-cut holes and are easily stored a binder, and this makes it very easy to copy pages from the guide. ... I feel that this course would be a bargain at twice the price.
Rating:
Summary: Great way to interest your young students in the world!
Review: As a homeschooling mother of two (a 1st-grader & a preschooler) I did not initially think world history was a possible subject. But after having read through this book & its companion workbook, I decided to give it a try. They have been great! How many 4-yr-olds do you know who can talk about King Tut's treasure? How many 7-yr-olds eagerly talk about Phoenician trade routes & ancient Egyptian tombs? The crafts and maps in the workbook make this a truly palatable subject for all students!!
Rating:
Summary: I found this book to be wonderful...
Review: because it was not TOO Christian in its viewpoint although it did discuss important Christian historical events and myths. Most history books I find for homeschooling are so steeped in Chistianity, they are historically inaccurate. As for the previous reviewers comments, Jewish and Christian history can be discussed from historical documents other than the Bible. In my opinion, having a well balanced discussion of various cultures makes this book perfect for young children. I thank the author for giving those of us who homeschool for reasons other than religion something to utilize effectively.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoy Learning!
Review: Due to present economic circumstances, this Dad is currently the "history teacher" at our house. Mrs. Bauer's book has been great for our school. I'm reading to a 6 and an 8 year old. The chapters are short enough that they don't wear us out, and they always stimulate our interest and yield valuable conversations. We read with our globe sitting on the table in front of us so we can find the geographical locations discussed, and we supplement our readings with others when we want to dig deeper. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a broad overview of history, and especially to someone who is teaching children.
Rating:
Summary: great resource!
Review: I *highly* recommend Bauer's history books for homeschoolers or any parent wanting to give their young children a good introduction to history. Bauer has struck a perfect balance between making history comprehensible and interesting to a young mind, without being boring or "cutsie." She also manages to deal with the gore and unpleasantries of history as lightly as possible without ignoring them. I am thrilled with this series, and had sought long and hard for a single-series history resource for homeschooling my children-- I did not want to take a literature approach where you read dozens of different books. I also wanted a course that was more or less secular. While Bauer's books are certainly in the "western tradition," they are not explicitly religious per se. The only warning I would give is that your child at least has to be at a late 2nd grade/ early 3rd grade level (regardless of age) to be able to absorb the information.
Rating:
Summary: Susan Wise Bauer has revolutionized the "subject" of history
Review: I am using this book with the curriculum guide with my kids and the question is who likes it better. History is my kids' favorite subject now and I can't wait myself to read more and more and more. This book would be best for elementary school children, although the language and the stories are not super simple! The stories in this book are soooo interesting. It realy is his-STORY, a story about people, instead of boring facts from a time long gone. The curriculum guide to accompany this book is an absolute MUST since it will direct you to more history and literature about what you just read in this book. There are also coloring pages, maps and numerous projects (doing an archaeology dig, building a model of the Nile, making a mummified chicken to writing in cuneiform on clay). So don't wait any longer, buy buy buy this book and the curr.guide!
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