This is the combined, hardcover volume of the Children’s Picture World History series, covering the first civilizations to 1914 A.D. Given to her as a gift, this volume was eagerly devoured from cover to cover by our then 5th grade daughter, who scarcely put it down and opened every sentence with “Did you know...?”. Previously showing very little interest in history as a school subject, we were impressed at the ability of this book to hold her interest. The text is highly readable and the illustrations captivating. If you are force-feeding history to your upper-elementary or junior high student, this may be the answer. Please note that this is a secular publication. You may want to edit or omit some of this volume, particularly the earliest part. Depending on the age of your children, you may let them “edit” themselves - or use the discrepancies between the secular and Christian worldview as the basis for discussion.

Customer Review

 
Amy G. from TN wrote the following on 01/09/2007:
The Usborne World History Book is an informative and well-illustrated book that is one of our favorite reference books in our endeavor to learn about the past. I have a 2nd grader who has used this book for three years now and she still isn't tired of looking through it. She learns something new every time she picks it up. Sometimes she has learned things I didn't expect her to learn till she was much older, such as the severe consequences of breaking laws under the Code of Hammurabi...but she found it very interesting. I must say that this book, although illustrated mostly with cartoon-like drawings, is quite graphic for sensitive readers. For example, when it discusses the Assyrian Army, it shows a picture of the decapitated heads of dead citizens and soldiers holding some of these bleeding heads in their hands. It even shows one soldier cutting a man's throat. There is also quite a bit of nudity in this book, but it is presented for historical accuracy and not portrayed in an overly explicit manner. This book is written from a secular viewpoint and begins with "the first settlers" who according to this book lived around 10,000 B.C. and "gradually...realized that seeds dropped on the ground grew into plants." If this book is being used as a read aloud for younger children, the parents can easily edit the wording in the first few pages to support Christian beliefs. If the children are older and can read it themselves, the book contains many great conversation starters for family discussion and debate. This is not a book that I like to just pick up and read straight through. It is not in a storybook format as is "The Story of the World" and "A Child's History of the World," but it is an excellent resource to use as a go-along for other curricula. We have used it with a "Child's History of the World" and with the Veritas History program. This book is easy to read, and the neat illustrations make the text come to life. This book has several timelines, which are helpful when studying history chronologically. One thing that would be helpful that this book lacks is a pronunciation key for some of the names and words that we don't hear every day. We have used the Usborne World History Book quite successfully with multi-age students...this book has held the interest of "students" ranging from 4-years-old all the way up to 75-years-old. You never stop learning! This book is great for visual learners who don't mind a lot of information on one page. For someone who gets overwhelmed or easily distracted, this book might be too "busy." However, one thing that is helpful is that many of the pages have numbers next to the illustrations so that you will know in which order to read the captions. Compared to other history books, this one is much more interesting due to the great illustrations and hands-on activities. Some of the activities include directions for painting a Chinese wall-hanging, sewing an applique, making a working model of a catapult, designing a model shaduf, and making a water clock. These are great fun and helpful for the kinesthetic learner! The Usborne Book of World History is definitely a good value for the money. This book can be used for many, many years of learning, and will most likely spark the interest of anyone who picks it up.