4.23

3

Apr 25, 2019

We enjoyed reading this aloud this year. I was sometimes disappointed that this book was less inspiring than say, Hillyer's Child's History. The last chapter on the Spanish Armada was unnecessarily boring.

3

Dec 25, 2012

A lot of information in this book. A bit choppy on the flow but the author explains why she put it together the way she did.
My child still had a big chore keeping it all together. But it IS a good book and appropriate for the late elementary, early middle school age.

4

Nov 04, 2010

I'm noticing that the closer we get to modern times, the more there is to argue about in the historical record. I assure you, I didn't agree with all of Susan Wise Bauer's presentation of the Middle Ages, but the only way to be perfectly satisfied would be to write a history myself and I don't have the time for that. Besides, I'm sure there are parts of it that frustrate Susan herself. Such is the nature of flawed humanity's attempts to document our past and - even more controversial - teach it I'm noticing that the closer we get to modern times, the more there is to argue about in the historical record. I assure you, I didn't agree with all of Susan Wise Bauer's presentation of the Middle Ages, but the only way to be perfectly satisfied would be to write a history myself and I don't have the time for that. Besides, I'm sure there are parts of it that frustrate Susan herself. Such is the nature of flawed humanity's attempts to document our past and - even more controversial - teach it to our children.

Some examples: Why are rulers and conquerors of ancient empires seldom censured while the Spanish conquering of new world is looked up so negatively. I don't think Alexander the Great offered peace treaties to everyone he encountered before battle, and neither did Julius Ceaser (who once sold thousands of captives from battle into slavery). Catholics and Protestants alike will surely find something to dislike in Bauer's presentation of the Reformation, and the introduction of Islam is sure to be controversial in today's age.

Even with these flaws, this is an excellent program and I can see why most home school programs use Story of the World in some way, shape or form. We continue to listen to these on audio in the car, supplementing with images and stories as we have time (sometimes I intentionally look for something to provide balance where I feel Bauer is not quite where i'd have been). We have enjoyed many discussions about characters, cultures and history, including the parts of the presentation that make Mommy or Daddy uncomfortable. Students develop interest in favorite stories and characters. This is an outstanding resource for our preschool exposure to the story of the world. We will happily use it again for elementary education.

As for the audio production, Jim Weise does an excellent job with the narration. True, there are a few tracks that seemed a bit rushed, but these are isolated incidences that can be explained by differences of creative preference.

Overall, highly recommended. On to Early Modern Times!!!!

-----Additional thoughts:
There is a quote, often attributed to Winston Churchill (though I'm not sure it originated with him), "History is written by the victors." What is interesting to me about the current state of education in Western Civilization is that the victors (those of the West) have initiated a systematic mea culpa in Western Civics instruction. This is strange, and seems unprecedented that a culture would censure itself to this degree. I agree we need to look at our history critically, but I don't agree with the tearing down of the foundations of our culture as a form of repentance or even reconciliation.

This trend also emerges in "Early Modern Times" where we are given a graphic story about a young South American boy working in a Spanish mine. The impression is the problem of slavery emerged with the Spanish in the Americas. However, the problem of slavery was indeed present long before Spain entered the Americas (though no one will deny the discovery of the new world gave the practice a new open market). In fact, I am currently reading a book called "Slavery: A World History" that describes the conditions of ROMAN mines in SPAIN and documents how Rome, the greatest civilization our planet has ever known (at least in terms of longevity) maintained the largest slave market in the world. Yet slavery in Rome was never mentioned as a concern.

The Story of the World: Early Modern Times, Wise Bauer, 2004
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more

4

May 01, 2015

This book is designed for elementary age students, so it was right up my alley. ;) It was a fun history book to read. My only complaint is that Mrs. Bauer, like many people around the world, incorrectly placed Baptists in the group of "Protestants". Baptist people have been around (by many different names) since the time Christ walked upon the Earth. We never were a part of the Catholic church, therefore, we did not come out from the Catholic church to "protest" it. We never reformed, because we This book is designed for elementary age students, so it was right up my alley. ;) It was a fun history book to read. My only complaint is that Mrs. Bauer, like many people around the world, incorrectly placed Baptists in the group of "Protestants". Baptist people have been around (by many different names) since the time Christ walked upon the Earth. We never were a part of the Catholic church, therefore, we did not come out from the Catholic church to "protest" it. We never reformed, because we needed no reformation. Other than that common inaccuracy, it is a good book. I enjoyed the chronological view of world history. I would like to read the other volumes in the series. ...more

5

Mar 05, 2019

This is the second book in “The Story of the World” series. It is a wonderful outlining of history told in story form to give children an overview of world history in an interesting and captivating way. We own the book and also listened to the audiobook. My kids would ask for it to be put on every time we got in the car.

4

Nov 25, 2013

I really enjoyed this book. It captivated my 9 year old as well. My 6 year old got bored with it. In the beginning it seemed as though there was so much information that it was difficult to keep track of everything. However, by the end, we were wishing that it had gone more in depth into some areas. However, it has opened up new areas for us to study. The book touched on many areas of the world during this time period. I think that we will need to do the book over again in order to remember all I really enjoyed this book. It captivated my 9 year old as well. My 6 year old got bored with it. In the beginning it seemed as though there was so much information that it was difficult to keep track of everything. However, by the end, we were wishing that it had gone more in depth into some areas. However, it has opened up new areas for us to study. The book touched on many areas of the world during this time period. I think that we will need to do the book over again in order to remember all of the information.
Overall, I think this is a great book. I think it would do well for children studying the middle ages, especially if used with other study materials. However, we didn't use the workbook/study guide with this. Maybe if we had done that as well, we would have gotten more information. Even as an adult reading this book, I learned a lot and really enjoyed it. I think almost all ages could enjoy this. Some things my son found somewhat sad. And as with my daughter, very young children may lose interest. ...more

5

Oct 08, 2015

Unfortunately, I've survived to adulthood with an embarrassing lack of historical knowledge. Not even my liberal arts general education university classes taught me history. Now that I'm homeschooling, I needed at least a basic understanding. THIS BOOK HAS BEEN FANTASTIC FOR THAT PURPOSE. I obviously can't assess its accuracy, but my husband and I have thoroughly enjoyed the overview of all of world history and the way Bauer offers perspective and some repetition. We talk about the books Unfortunately, I've survived to adulthood with an embarrassing lack of historical knowledge. Not even my liberal arts general education university classes taught me history. Now that I'm homeschooling, I needed at least a basic understanding. THIS BOOK HAS BEEN FANTASTIC FOR THAT PURPOSE. I obviously can't assess its accuracy, but my husband and I have thoroughly enjoyed the overview of all of world history and the way Bauer offers perspective and some repetition. We talk about the books frequently, and I'm thrilled that basic pieces of history, tiny little references from daily life, are finally substantive for me.

I really needed an historical framework or overview, and this simple, engaging book has been ideal for that purpose. Now, when I read other specific books, I have a context to fit them into and a way to mentally file the information. I'm excited to share this series with my son when he's ready. Actually, with all the discussion between my husband and me, he's learning and hearing a lot of it already. ...more

5

May 04, 2016

"What if you owned a magic carpet? You could use it to fly around the world---and back in time."

Thus begins this chronological narrative of The Story of the World Volume 2: The Middle Ages-From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance. The story is informative and interesting to read. My third grader did not find it at all boring. In my opinion, the boon to this particular curriculum is the geography component. We used a globe and an atlas with each chapter to locate continents, "What if you owned a magic carpet? You could use it to fly around the world---and back in time."

Thus begins this chronological narrative of The Story of the World Volume 2: The Middle Ages-From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance. The story is informative and interesting to read. My third grader did not find it at all boring. In my opinion, the boon to this particular curriculum is the geography component. We used a globe and an atlas with each chapter to locate continents, countries, and capes. The places were easy to locate as maps are provided in the book. This book is simple enough to use with a grade-schooler, interesting enough for a middle-schooler, and yet, complex enough for a high-schooler. If you have a hands on learner you might want to purchase the work book. It contains time line figures, projects, and a list of library books. The library books don't necessarily add to the narrative, but they provide pictures for young students. The library list also provides titles of literature written during the time period under study. These have been adapted to grade level and they provide a gentle introduction to the Classics. All of the components together make for a rich experience in studying the story of the world. ...more

5

Aug 08, 2014

The Story of the World – History for the Classical Child- Volume 2- The Middle Ages by Susan Wise Bauer

Even if this is a book destined for a very different segment of the population, I must confess that not only I loved it, but I found things I did not know. For instance-
The Mongols drew blood from their horses to avoid starvation
Kublai Khan became emperor and he attacked Japan, but two storms saved the Japanese from a possible Mongol invasion. They called these storms the Kamikaze, hence the The Story of the World – History for the Classical Child- Volume 2- The Middle Ages by Susan Wise Bauer

Even if this is a book destined for a very different segment of the population, I must confess that not only I loved it, but I found things I did not know. For instance-
The Mongols drew blood from their horses to avoid starvation
Kublai Khan became emperor and he attacked Japan, but two storms saved the Japanese from a possible Mongol invasion. They called these storms the Kamikaze, hence the name in World War II for the pilots…winds from above.

Marco Polo travelled with his father to China, during the rule of Kublai Khan. After his death, there were some leaders who imposed an embargo on trading. They would execute whoever built ships.
When they came back, Marco Polo and his father were in rags. Their relatives said they were beggars and impostors, but Marco and father opened the rags to produce gems and precious stones.
There are interesting passages on the Jewish Diaspora, rabbis and synagogues…
The wise rabbi of Seville saved his people from expulsion with three questions and answers: how many stars in the sky- one million fifty three, the difference between a lie and the truth – a palm wide between ears and eyes and finally eating the paper with the forced evacuation

Islam
- In fact, we learn that Islam had a lot of inspiration from Judaism and Christianity.
- This is evident in the fact that both Jesus and Moses are prophets accepted by the
- Moslems, albeit they are held in much lower esteem than Mohamed- the One
We learn some stories about the crusades and Richard the Lion Heart, who was captured and jailed on the way back, only to be liberated and killed in a silly incident in France.
Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible appear in the telling of history for the use of the children, and adults? Look at this reader who was fascinated by the amusing telling of historical facts, adapted so that truth would not be falsified, but just made more interesting and palatable for a younger audience
The siege of Constantinople has some intriguing events- with the ships that appeared to sail on land, only because they were pulled by thousands of animals. The eclipse played a psychological role.
The cruelty of various rulers is not hushed up, just to make it all pleasant for children. When the emperor sent messengers to the Turkish sultan, they have all been beheaded.
The greatest sultan was Suleiman the Magnificent, ruling over the greatest empire of that time. His name came from …the Jewish hero Solomon. Suleiman is the name of a controversial series that provoked the ire of Turkish rulers, who act somewhat like sultans. Supposedly, the sultan was a saintly figure, who would not indulge in the life depicted on screen- womanizing, hedonistic pleasures could not have been in the habit of the great ruler. Or so they claim, in some of the Turkish ruling circles, some of which have been involved in huge corruption scandals…
Nothing new under the sun?
The Chinese history is introduced, with their different customs: gold is the imperial color. The emperor lives in huge buildings which are only for his own personal use.
Joan of Arc is introduced, with the history of her heroism and special skills. When she came to meet the king, they had another man dressed as the royal ruler, with the crown on his head. But Joan went straight passed him to kneel in front of the real king. This was considered a proof of the special powers Joan had, although priests were brought in to test and see if the maid is not a witch after all. She died burned at the stake and the king of France did nothing to try to help her.

The extraordinary story of Mali. This wretched state is in a state of civil war and France intervened to try to save lives, in the recent months. But Mali had a period of glory, when it became a rich empire, by taxing the trade between its north, which was rich in salt and the South that had gold. The ruler of Mali made a pilgrimage to Mecca and gave so much gold along the way that the price of gold plummeted.

Great entertainment
...more

5

Nov 30, 2017

I love this series of books! They’re awesome for history-they combine history, stories, anecdotes to make it come alive!

4

Sep 20, 2019

Worked well for history until we hit King Henry VIII and Luther at which point the Protestant bias left me doing a lot of filtering when we read aloud.

5

Feb 17, 2017

Perfect, I love history. If you love history, you will love it.

4

Aug 09, 2019

Reading for a second time. This is with the oldest two as we embark on the world after the ancient.

4

Jun 03, 2017

Not quite as good as the first volume. It seems to be aimed at younger readers again than the first. Still, a wonderful overview of global history interesting enough for an adult!

4

Feb 07, 2018

I enjoyed volume 1, but I think this one was even better. The kiddos were fascinated, and I learned SO much! A good, balanced, overview, easy-to-read but never condescending. The author ROCKS at putting together these books!

5

Apr 20, 2019

Great read aloud for young elementary aged kids (grades 1-3) and perfect for older student (grades 4-7) to read. It tells the story of human history and civilizations in a mostly chronological way that is clear, educational, and compelling. My students (mostly 6-7 graders) love it.

5

Nov 22, 2019

We listened to the audio version of this book and my 8 year old loved it. I like how much history was included, but intertwined with stories and anecdotes, making it accessible yet very informative. It has been enjoyable for the entire family to listen to as we go places together. Wonderful resource.

5

May 06, 2019

I highly recommend this book. It is highly readable, acquainting children (and yourself!) with world history. I used it for homeschooling in conjunction with the printable maps, questions, and activities, but it's great just as a read-aloud to share with your kids at any time because it's very engaging.

5

Aug 16, 2017

This was the book we did for our history this year. The second book in the series, it covers world history from the fall of Rome until the end of the 16th century. The chapters are not to long and good for reading out loud. The kids all paid attention as I read and could usually answer the comprehension question in the accompanying activity book. I learned a lot reading this.

4

May 05, 2018

This was a great overall review of the Dark Ages. Definitely some author coloring but that’s usually the case. My older kids (ages 11&13) used supplemental books to read on their own (we read this one aloud as a group) in coordination with this time period and were able to add more to the brief chapters. The Dark Ages were indeed dark and...bloody. Some info was too much for my 6-year-old.

3

May 05, 2018

Written in the same style and pace of the first one, this is a terrific second installment for The Story of the World series. Jim Weiss' performance is superb, just as it was for the first one. I wasn't impressed with Bauer's interpretation of the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther's understanding of grace. But other than that, I really enjoyed this second installment.

4

Aug 30, 2018

I used this as part of my children's homeschool curriculum. We are a very non-religious family, and I had heard this serious is troublesome. I have not had any issues with it. My kids enjoy the story format and the pictures. We also use the activity book for maps, color pages, and crafts. The review book is great to reinforce the ideas of each chapter.

4

Mar 13, 2018

Review for I, II and III: We met with another family to read through this together. I love it, but it loses a star because my children are not as enthusiastic about it, I'm not sure why. It works well as an audio book in the car, but it seemed more of a chore to them if I read it as part of a school day. I definitely want to go through the series again - maybe will do it as a bedtime read next time.

5

Jan 03, 2018

The Story of the World books have been such a wonderful addition to our homeschool days. We look forward to our adventures in history and love building our studies around a timeline of the world. Kiddo and I look forward to beginning volume three this week.

I highly recommend taking your time when reading these books. It takes us about a year to a year and a half to get through them as we stop and read biographies and historical fiction pieces and watch documentaries that fall into the segment of The Story of the World books have been such a wonderful addition to our homeschool days. We look forward to our adventures in history and love building our studies around a timeline of the world. Kiddo and I look forward to beginning volume three this week.

I highly recommend taking your time when reading these books. It takes us about a year to a year and a half to get through them as we stop and read biographies and historical fiction pieces and watch documentaries that fall into the segment of times Bauer discusses. One of our favorite side projects was reading through a set of Shakespeare plays abridged for children. ...more

5

Jun 21, 2019

We listened to the audio book. Great spine book for understanding history. My kids (ages 9, 7, and 5) want me to turn this on every time we get into the car before I can even fasten my seat belt. And, the bonus, is that it is so well written that I enjoy it as much as they do. It's giving me a greater understanding of names and places that I've always heard about, but couldn't have explained their place in history before now. We will listen to this or read it multiple times. We attempted Volume We listened to the audio book. Great spine book for understanding history. My kids (ages 9, 7, and 5) want me to turn this on every time we get into the car before I can even fasten my seat belt. And, the bonus, is that it is so well written that I enjoy it as much as they do. It's giving me a greater understanding of names and places that I've always heard about, but couldn't have explained their place in history before now. We will listen to this or read it multiple times. We attempted Volume 1 before Volume 2. If you're like us and had a hard time getting hooked into Volume 1, start with Volume 2 and then go back. Not sure why, but it worked better for our family! ...more