History is Back!

Yesterday we finished up Key to Decimals book 1 (Catherine aced it, thank you very much), did our spelling test and then retired to the couch for some reading. It's been either the Ancient Egyptians or Ancient Greeks for years around here so, thinking it was time to move on, I pulled out A Picture History of Ancient Rome by Richard Erdoes.

I picked this one up a couple of years ago at a local book sale. It was a library discard and probably around fifty cents. I wasn't really sure what the text was like but the illustrations were so good I had to grab it.



(Make sure you click on the picture to get a larger view)

Isn't that fantastic?Every picture had the kids excited about the story to come and talking about the elements of that picture. The only books I've read recently where the illustration were anywhere near as engaging were National Geographic publications like Our Universe and Geo-Whiz.

The gentleman who did the illustrations also wrote the book and he had the exact same talent with words as he did with illustrations. Catherine and Harry were hooked, I read half the book before I realized how far I'd gone and my husband came out from the kitchen where he was doing his homework to sit down and listen. The text is so simple, clear and crisp and the information inside is perfect for a solid introduction to the history of Ancient Rome.

Definitely one of the best books we've read this year and one we'll treasure.



Now go buy it. I promise you'll thank me.






Note to myself: Start flogging books that cost more than a couple of dollars!