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Child's History of the World
V.M. Hillyer, the first headmaster of Calvert School, spent many of his school years studying only American history. Believing that studying world history would broaden children's horizons and give them a better understanding of the world and history in general, he set about to write an understandable and comprehensive world history children could enjoy. A Child's History of the World functions to familiarize young children with some of the countless historical events and people of significance while reading like a good story. While many of the topics touched upon may not be the most important in overall world history, they are nevertheless significant because they can be understood by a child. The subjects are covered in chronological order, from the beginning of the world through the end of the Cold War. This gives the child a linear view of world history that allows details to be filled in later. The softcover text is 432 pages in length, and is written to pique interest by asking questions throughout the text. Black and white illustrations are interspersed with the textual information to enhance the content. This book is a resource for the History Odyssey level 1 courses, and is written from a different perspective. Although references are made to God and Jesus, the first four chapters talk about how things started and cave men. His suggestion that the earth began as a spark that was thrown from the sun, cooled to a cinder and became the earth as we know it is new for me. Chapter 5 is Chapter 5 is titled “Real History Begins,” so if you’re not interested in his version of how the earth began you can begin at chapter 5 and really not miss anything of historical value.~ Donna
