Ancient Books

UPDATE:  I have used some of these books and added still many others as our year progressed.  To find out what other books we used at different times please click on the time line links on this pages "Timeline" and "Booklist".

I guess I should have said "Books about Ancient People and Times", but I liked the pun.

Though we will not be participating in Classical Conversations this coming year, we will still be studying "The Ancients".  What that will look like for my family is a question I have been struggling with for weeks.  As I stated in a previous post, one big obstacle to overcome is creating a timeline to use as a jumping off point. 

I'm happy to say I am 95% of the way finishing my timeline and gathering the supporting resources.  My husband suggested I should have a plan this year and I agree; working off the hip isn't best for any of us.  I hope to have it all together by the end of the month and will post the final plan then.  In the mean time, I wanted to share lists of books/resources I've gathered up for us.  I've broken my timeline into eight sections from Creation to the end of the New Testament.  I hope to spend about a month on each time period.

Here are the books I've chosen to complement our history and reading studies. (Red=illustrated, Purple=includes pictures, Blue=available on Kindle/epub)

General Books to be used in multiple time periods:

• Unveiling the Kings of Israel by David Down
• Unwrapping the Pharaohs by David Down 
• Everything You Need to Know About World History Homework by Anne Zeman (This is the source of the CC Memory Work).
• Time Traveler by Judy Hindley
• Art in History: Ancient Egyptian Art by Susie Hodge
• Lost Civilizations by F. Bourbon (Coffee Table Picture book)
• Ancient Mexico by Maria Longhena (Coffee Table Picture book
• Ancient Egypt Drawing Book by Ralph Masiello
• Draw and Write Through History:  Creation through Jonah by Gressman and Dick
• Draw and Write Through History:  Greece and Rome by Gressman and Dick
• Ancient Civilizations & the Bible Elementary Activity Book by Diana Waring
• History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations 

1.  Creation to Tower of Babel (4004-2201 BC)

• In the Days of Noah by Earl & Bonita Snellenberger
• Noah's Ark by Jerry Pinkney
• Tower of Babel by Jon Taylor
• Dig This!  How Archaeologists Uncover Our Past by Michael Avi-Yonah.
• Digging to the Past:  Excavations in Ancient Lands by W. John Hackwell
• The Sumerians by Elaine Landau

2.  Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by Pharaoh Menes to Code of Hammurabi (2100 - 1750BC)

• Cat of Burastes by G.A. Henty (1250 BC but it will take time to read 300+pages)
• The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo
• Secret Cities by Mike Corbishley
• The World of Architectural Wonders by Mike Corbishley
• The Great Pyramid by Elizabeth Mann
• Reading Egyptian Art by Richard Wilkinson
• Science in Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Woods

3.  Middle Kingdom in Egypt to Hykos Invasion of Egypt (1700-1450BC)

• Joseph by Brian Wildsmith
• Exodus by Brian Wildsmith
• Tales and Customs of the Ancient Hebrews by Herbst
• Peeps at the Many Lands - Ancient Egypt by James Baikie

4.  Joshua to Israel Divides into Two Kingdoms (1485-931BC)

• Black Ships Before Troy:  The Story of The Iliad by  Rosemary Sutcliff
• The Trojan Horse by Emily Little
• Ox, House, Stick - History of Our Alphabet by Don Robb

5.  Homer and Greek Mythology to Greece Colonized (900-750BC)

• Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki
• Tut's Mummy Lost and Found by Judy Donnelly
• Tutankhamen's Gift by Robert Sabuda
• Ancient Greece by Anton Powell
• d'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
• The Children's Plutarch - Tales of Greece
• Usborne Greeks by Susan Peach and Anne Millard

6.  Israel and Judah Fall to King Xerxes of Persia (600-450BC)

• Children of the Fox by Jill Paton Walsh
• Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfeld
• Ancient Rome by Mike Corbishley
• The Children's Plutarch - Tales of Rome
• Stories from the History of Rome by Beesly
• Our Little Athenian Cousin of Long Ago by Julia Cowles and John Goss

7.   Greek Philosophers to Rome Rises to World Power (450-146BC)

• Our Little Spartan Cousin of Long Ago by Julia Cowles and John Goss
• Our Little Carthaginian Cousin of Long Ago
• Our Little Macedonian Cousin of Long Ago
• Stories from Plato and Other Classic Writers
• The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky

8.  Cleopatra to End of New Testament (70BC to 96AD)

• Cleopatra by Diane Stanley
• Our Little Roman Cousin of Long Ago
• A Triumph for Flavius by Caroline Snedeker
• The Beast of Lor by Clyde Robert Bulla
• City by Mike Corbishley
• Pompeii  Buried Alive by Edith Kunhardt
• Pompeii - 2000 years ago and today by Alberto C. Carpiceci
• Roman Diary by Platt & Parkins 
• Famous Men of Rome by John Haaren*

In addition to reading and narrating these books, I plan to integrate a lot of hands-on activities.  The last five books in the "General" section above include activities and drawing and I will also be using links from http://www.squidoo.com/BibleLessons for doing lapbooks, notebooks, etc. A friend suggested I should look up how to mummify a chicken too...... I'll have to think some more about that, I hear its rather stinky.

* I might use this as a year-end/next summer/cross over project in conjunction with this study guide and flashcards from Memoria Press.  It is at a slightly higher grade level than the other books I chose from the collection of EPUB books I received from Yesterday's Classics.