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Below are secular (non-religious)
history books and videos, (or otherwise void of strong religious
bias) that have been recommended by fellow secular
Charlotte Mason homeschoolers.
First, let me share the WONDERFUL
suggestion I received from another secular CM'r that was
to start with creation stories from around the world and
evolution. So with that in mind, here's books on those
topics...
Creation, Evolution, &
PreHistory Resources:
An Updated Booklist for Evolutionists
In the Beginning:
Creation Stories from Around the World, by Virginia
Hamilton and Barry Moser
Evolution: The Story of
How Life Developed on Earth, by Joanna Cole (illustrated
by Aliki)
Born With a Bang, Book
One, The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story, by Jennifer
Morgan
From Lava to Life, Book
Two, The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story, by Jennifer
Morgan
Mammals Who Morph, Book
Three, The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story, by Jennifer
Morgan
Out of the Ark: Stories
from the World's Religions, by Anita Ganeri--there is a
section with creation stories...cultures/countries
covered: Australia, India (Hindu), Japan (Shinto),
Christian, Polynesian Island of Nauru, Africa, Native
American (Cheyenne), China, Incan
The
Rainbow Bridge, by Audrey Wood and Robert
Florczak--BEAUTIFUL picture book! Native American (Chumash)
creation story
The Four Corners of the
Sky: Creation Stories and COsmologies from Around the
World, by Steve Zeitlin
Indian Creation Stories,
by Julia M. Seton
The
Greek News by Powell & Steele
Greek
Myths for Young Children (Usborne)
Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfeld
The
Usborne Time Traveler
Tut's
Mummy Lost & Found
The
Great Wall of China by Leonard Everett Fisher
Aesop
for Children by
Milo Winter
Pompeii: Buried Alive by Kunhardt SL2 (Easy Reader)
The
Trojan Horse by Little (Easy Reader)
"Life
Story" by Virginia Lee Burton
"Life
on Earth: The Story of Evolution" by Steve Jenkins;
picture book
"The
Story of Life on Earth" by Nicholas Harris; another
picture book.
"The
Story of Life on Earth" by Margaret Munro and Karen
Reczuch; another picture book, a bit more advanced than
the previous one, but still very good for very young
scientists;
"The
Kingfisher Book of Evolution" by Stephen Webster; more
of a logic stage book, but filled with lots of pictures;
with more advanced books, we generally look at the
pictures and read the accompanying captions (instead of
the text). I used it to help answer the kids' questions.
"Our
Family Tree: An Evolution Story" by Lisa Westburg
Peters. Excellent, simple summary of evolutionary
history, for the K-3rd grade set.
"Evolution, from the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science
series
"The
Evolution Book" by Sara Stein
"The
Beginning: Voyages Through Time" by Peter Ackroyd; a DK
book
"The
Best Book of Early People" by Margaret Hynes
"One
Small Blue Bead" by Byrd Baylor
"The
First Dog" by Jan Brett
"Mik's
Mammoth" by Roy Gerrard
"The
Cave Painter of
Lascaux" by Roberta Angeletti
"Stanley" by Syd Hoff (An I Can Read book); not
historically accurate but cute; ditto for "Cave Boy" by
Cathy Dubowski
"The
Dawn of Life", "A Cartoon History of the Earth" by
Jacqui Bailey and Matthew Lilly (Kids Can Press), which
includes four volumes: "The Birth of the Earth", "The
Dawn of Life," and "The Day of the Dinosaurs", "The
Stick and Stone Age"
"Right
Here on this Spot" by Addy
"Ugh"
by Yorunks
"Your
Mother Was A Neanderthal" by Jon Scieszka
"Little
Grunt and The Big Egg" by Tomie dePaola
"Sunset
of the Sabertooth by Mary Pope Osborne (early chapter
book, from the Magic Tree House series; some consider
these twaddle...)
"Quennu
and the Cave Bear" by Marie Day
"A is
for Aarrgh!" by William J. Brooke
"First
Painter" by Kathryn Lasky
"A
First Book of Myths: Myths and legends for the very
young from around the world" retold by Mary Hoffman
"How
the World Began: Creation in Myths and Legends" by Gilly
Cameron-Cooper
"Becoming Human" website
Darwin/Museum of Natural History and
also
PBS "Evolution" and the
educators'
resource section
Voyages Through Time: In the Beginning (Voyages Through
Time) by Peter Ackroyd
any
favorite dinosaur books you might find
books by
John Malam
U.S. History:
A History of U.S. series,
by Joy Hakim|
(Be aware there are many criticisms of Joy's work,
here is an example...despite these criticisms, many
homeschoolers still feel the positives outweigh the
negatives in her books.)
This Country of Ours, by
H. E. Marshall
Early American History
Literature Guide, by
Beautiful Feet Books
Don't Know Much About History, by Kenneth C. Davis
People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.) by Howard Zinn
The
Radical Reader: A Documentary History of the American
Radical Tradition by Timothy Patrick McCarthy and
John McMillian
PBS series "Freedom"--and there is a
soundtrack
The Making of America: The History of the United States from 1492 to the Present,
by Robert D. JohnstonPocket History of the United States, by Henry Steele Commager & Allan Nevins
The Growth of the American Republic, by Henry Steele Commager
Genevieve Foster books (Augustus Caesar's World, George Washington's World, etc...)
The First Book of American History by Henry Steele Commager
Growth of the American Republic by Henry Steele Commager, Samuel Eliot Morison, and William E. Leuchtenberg
The American Story: 100 True
Tales from American History, by Jennifer Armstrong
World History:
DVD Series: Journals
Through History (There is an excellent 2 dvd set of
Ancient China and of Ancient Egypt)
Documentary: "Grass"--b/w
silent documentary on a nomadic tribe in 1925
Documentary: "People of
the Wind"--excellent later documentary on the same
nomadic people in the "Grass" documentary.
Cartoon History of the Earth, by Jacqui Bailey
and Matthew Lilly
Churchill's History of
the English Speaking Peoples
Genghis Khan and the Making
of the Modern World, by Jack Weatherford
The Story of Mankind, by Hendrik Willem Van Loon (also other works by Van Loon
including "America", "Geography", "Arts" and "Lives")
Our Island Story (also
called "An Island Story"), by H. E. Marshall
A
Picturesque Tale of Progress (Complete 9 Volume Set),
by Olive Beaupre Miller
The Story of Religion, by
Betsy and Giulio Maestro (other of their books are good
too, I'm told)
For Canada history: "Dear
Canada" series and "Our Canadian Girl" series...also:
Underground to Canada, by Barbara Smucker...The Last
Safe House by Barbara Greenwood
Rosemary Sutcliff books
(fiction)
Kingfisher World History
Encyclopedia
Picture That: Knights and
Castles (Exploring History through Art series)
The Egyptology Handbook: A
Course in the Wonders of Egypt (Ologies), by Candlewick
Press
Genevieve Foster books (Augustus Caesar's World, George Washington's World, etc...)
A Little History of the World, by
E.H. Gombrich--read a review by a homeschooling mom
here.
Voyages Through Time series
by Peter Ackroyd
African Kingdoms of the Past
series, by Kenny MannStone Age Farmers Beside the Sea: Scotland's Prehistoric Village of
Skara Brae, by Caroline Arnold
Young Oxford Book of Archaeology
Books by Marc Aronson
Scotland's Story--published by Galore Park
Kings & Things: A Light-Hearted Romp Through British History--published by Galore Park
Schoolhouse Rock DVDs (history rock)
The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller, by Carlo Ginzburg
Past Worlds Atlas of Archaeology by Collin Renfrew
Archimedes and the Door of Science (Living History Library) by Jeanne Bendick
Missionary Travels in South Africa by David
Livingstone--not necessarily secular, but a lot of info
on Africa, mid 1850s--very dry, supplement with outside
materials
General History Resources:
History For Kids Website
A Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales
Evan-Moor History Pockets
Historical Fiction:
Henry Winterfeld books
Galen: My Life in Imperial Rome, by Marissa Moss
The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare
Living History Library--historical fiction series
"My America" series, for
youngers and "Dear America" series for olders...
Rosemary Sutcliff books
Carolyn Meyer books
History Curriculum & Resource
Books/Sites:
Story of the World
Series, by Susan Wise Bauer
All Through the Ages:
History Through Literature Guide, by Christine Marie
Miller
History Odyssey
A Child's History of the World, by Hillyer
Little History of the World, by Sir Ernst Gombrich
"Lift the Lid" and "Treasure Chest" kits
History Scribe
Living Learning Books
Books to Supplement History--not
a secular list, but includes a lot of secular materials...and also check out her page on
movies to supplement history.
Jim Weiss stories/books on cd
Book of Century/Timeline
Resources:
Timeline helps
How to make a timeline easily!
Timelines
Geography Resources:
Wish You Were Here, by
Kathleen Krull
Paddle to the Sea, by
Holling Clancy Holling
Teaching Geography
Through Art, by Sharon Jeffus and Richard Jeffus
Geography Matters
Map Essentials by National Geographic
Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia
Where on Earth: A Geografunny Guide to the Globe, by Paul Rosenthal
The Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex, by Nathaniel Philbrick
A
Child's Geography of the World by V. M Hillyer
1857
Africa Map
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