The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child—Volumes 1-4

by Susan Wise Bauer

Peace Hill Press

This is one of my 100 Top Picks!

See the complete review in 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum.

Susan Wise Bauer, author of the Well-Trained Mind, has written this series of history books to support the classical method of education she promotes in that book.

Four books in The Story of the World series cover history from ancient through modern times through narration and storytelling. Although the books are written to be read aloud to children in grades 1-4,they can also be read independently by children in 5th and 6th grades. These books offer a selective retelling of history from around the world. The story format means that there will be more information on topics or people selected for inclusion, while other topics and people are skipped. Nevertheless, stories offer a decent representation of countries and civilizations around the world in addition to key stories of western civilization. Books are available in hardcover, paperback, and spiralbound editions.

Each volume has a companion activity book (published by W.W. Norton but also available through Peace Hill Press) that include lesson plans, questions, narration exercises, reading lists, map work, and activities designed to enhance each chapter in the books. These are large books, with 275 or more pages each. Activity guides refer to some other books such as The Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World and The Usborne Book of World History. So you might want to purchase at least one of these as a source for more complete historical information than is found in History of the World books. Activity guides have reproducible student pages, which you are free to copy for your family or class group. If you prefer, you can purchase packets of these student pages ready-to-use. There are also test booklet for each of the four volumes.

The four books are:
Volume 1: Ancient Times (earliest nomads through the last emperor of Rome)
Volume 2: The Middle Ages (fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance)
Volume 3: Early Modern Times (Elizabeth the First of England to the Forty-niners/Goldrush)
Volume 4: The Modern Age (1850 to the present)

The presentation is not overtly Christian, although it recognizes and includes Christianity. For example, stories of gods and goddesses from other civilizations are retold without value judgments as to their validity. However, the author’s own Christianity is still evident in the heavy weighting of biblical stories—lengthy accounts about Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and the beginnings of Christianity, as well as the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The Protestant viewpoint is most evident in the second volume in the chapter on Martin Luther.

Although there are a few black-and-white illustrations and maps, this is not a colorful history picture book for “browsing” but a basic history resource from which you can build a complete study for the early grades. (Note: Revised editions of the first two volumes have added new maps, illustrations, timeline, and pronunciation guide. Otherwise, the stories remain the same as in the first editions. These are still compatible with first edition activity guides.)

The combination of book and activity guide offers an appealing approach to history that should adapt for all types of learners. They are valuable contributions that fill a need for Christian-friendly but classically oriented history study.