A Child's History of the World Paperback – July 8, 2016

This is the only age-appropriate intro to world history for very young children I've found. Though some of the language and vocabulary is a bit tricky, your young children will still come away knowing a bit about the Trojan War, Julius Caesar, the Vikings, the Golden Age of Islam, and even some of the great civilizations of Africa. Hillyer's style is very warm and presents one or two history "stories" per chapter. The chapters are short enough for young children to sit through - perhaps 4-6 pages each. While generally a secular book (or at least, non-sectarian), the publication date leads Hillyer to assume that his listeners are Christian. Evangelical families can easily omit a few pages here or there that are not suitable for them, and secular families should also be able to easily omit phrases such as "as we do now" after a sentence explaining that the early Jews worshiped one God. Despite having to adapt a few little phrases, I could not do without this book in our homeschool. My 11, 9, and 7 year old are already more culturally literate than many adults! Don't stick to fluffy "social studies" for your children; teach them the great stories of history instead. We own two hardcover copies in addition to the kindle version - it's that good!

I am three-quarters of the way through the text, working it in as a narrative to our homeschool history studies over the course of two years (third and fourth grade)....so, we use this as a base narrative and supplement A LOT with library books, other reference books we own, our own research and independent studies. We enjoy the highly-readable text, and we frequently pause to talk about and then spend time researching specific aspects in more depth. This book works well as a base, not the be-all-end-all for history. I don't think any book fitting the bill for elementary-level narrative style could (or should) be comprehensive, so you'll naturally see gaps and bents in the narration. Nothing that worries me, though. It's enjoyable to read, does not contain fundamentalist religious views, nor conflicts with our Christian beliefs, fits with a Charlotte Mason style of teaching and lines up with our wish to be (nearly) historically factual. I find it valuable to show children how history can't be understood or gleaned from one, or just a few, sources....so, again, we use this as only one part of our study of history.

I purchased this book after being enchanted with an excerpt I read. The book is equally beautiful. It is a story of the world, told in a simple style with words that make wonderful pictures in children's minds and make connections with their hearts. Is this a comprehensive history of the world? It is all you need to teach your children history? Absolutely not, and it was never intended to be. What this book does is pique the interest of children in the greater world around them. It helps them to see where they fit in the scheme of things and it feeds their curiosity and desire to learn more. This is very much the way I found a desire to learn more about English history and that lead to an interest in European history and then into Ancient history. Children who this book is read to will want more too. As children learn more they will see that much has been learned since the writing of this book in 1924. It will be a great spring board for children to learn how to research and read more on their own. I highly recommend this charming history of the world.

I like this book because it gives a good overview of the history of the world. It gives just enough information to bring about an interest in the child to learn more about a certain topic without giving too much that it becomes long and drawn out. Even though this is not narrated with a Biblical worldview, I found it to be helpful in establishing a timeline for some of the most important events in history. It's stories are short and to the point. If the readings are shared with a mature Christian, a Biblical worldview can always be interjected as needed. It may be a great way to begin critical reading skills. All in all, I feel that it can be useful as a spine for your history curriculum.

Update:Do not get this edition. It's awful! I barely could get through the introduction. The fuzzy words makes it a headache to read. If you want to get this book, please buy anther version. Even the cover looks like it was photocopied! :( :(Original post: Really disappointed! The only clear print in on the copyright page and front and back cover. The inside print is very fuzzy, as if it were a poorly photocopied. On one page it seemed like someone put a sticky note (covering the words) and photocopied it. :(Christian world perspective which we are okay with, but the there is nothing after the Cold War. Saids copyright 2013, I think it's more like 1975. The little that I read seemed engaging enough, but need to read the rest to see if it deserves two stars, otherwise just one star (this photocopied version).If you want to get it, don't purchase this version. We are living overseas now or I would return it for sure.

I bought this book to use with homeschooling this fall. I love it!!! It is so easy to read and understand. It makes learning history enjoyable. Depending on your faith there may be a few spots to skip or explain more with your child. But it's worth it for the rest of the value. It could even be read as a bed time story for younger kids and wouldn't even know it was educational! Haha! I'm hoping my daughter enjoys it as much as I do. We are using it to supplement our chosen curriculum. If I had books like this about history when I was young maybe I would have appreciate history classes more and learning about things.

The quality of the book is deficient; it appears to be printed from a slightly blurry picture, so most pages suffer from this effect.The content itself is accesible when read to a child. However, it lacks friendly illustrations and or pictures that would complement the storytelling.

Great book to understand world history for children. My kids really like the stories and can recall the events. The book has only a small number of pictures which makes it hard for younger kids to stay focused but I have read this alongside other history books with pictures or found pictures to show the kids after we read. Overall we really like the book.

Great book for children to understand history.

It is really a easy reading and clear time line history book for kids. I read with my son together every night. Strong recommend.

The book paper quality is just so so, but content is really good. Good for my year 5 boy.