History & Geography

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: start with creation stories from around the world and evolution. So with that in mind, here are books on those topics…

Creation Stories

• 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
• In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World, by Virginia Hamilton and Barry Moser
• How the World Began: Creation in Myths and Legends, by Gilly Cameron-Cooper

Evolution

• The Tree of Life: A Book Depicting the Life of Charles Darwin- Naturalist, Geologist & Thinker, by Peter Sis
• Annabelle & Aiden: The Story Of Life (An Evolution Story), by J. R. Becker
• The Story of Life: A First Book about Evolution, by Catherine Barr
• Older than The Stars, by Karen C. Fox
• Grandmother Fish: A Child’s First Book of Evolution, by Johnathan Tweet
• Amazing Evolution: The Journey of Life, by Anna Claybourne
• Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth, by Jay Hosler
• Evolution, 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
• Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution, by Steve Jenkins
• 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. An excellent, simple summary of evolutionary history, for the K-3^rd grade set.
• The Evolution Book, by Sara Stein
• Darwin/Museum of Natural History
• PBS “Evolution”
• An Updated Booklist for Evolutionists
• books by John Malam

Prehistory

• The Beginning: Voyages Through Time, by Peter Ackroyd; a DK book
• Right Here on This Spot, by Sharon Hart Addy
• The Story of Life on Earth, by Nicholas Harris
• The Story of Life on Earth, by Margaret Munro and Karen Reczuch
• Life Story, by Virginia Lee Burton
• Ugh, by Arthur Yorunks
• Your Mother Was A Neanderthal (Time Warp Trio), by Jon Scieszka
• Little Grunt and The Big Egg: A Prehistory Fairy Tale, by Tomie dePaola
• The Best Book of Early People, by Margaret Hynes
• Sunset of the Sabertooth, by Mary Pope Osborne (early chapter book, from the Magic Tree House series; some consider these twaddle. I always have felt that a little twaddle that encourages early readers is fine.)
• Quennu and the Cave Bear, by Marie Day
• A is for Aarrgh! by William J. Brooke
• First Painter, by Kathryn Lasky
• 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 (I Can Read), by Syd Hoff
• Cave Boy (Step into Reading), by Cathy Dubowski
• A Cartoon History of the Earth, by Jacqui Bailey and Matthew Lilly, which includes these volumes: The Birth of the Earth, The Dawn of Life, Life Finds Its Feet, The Day of the Dinosaurs, The Stick and Stone Age
• any favorite dinosaur books you might find

U.S. History:

• A History of US 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
• Don’t Know Much About History, by Kenneth C. Davis
• A People’s History of the United States, by Howard Zinn
• A Young People’s History of the United States, 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. Johnston
• Pocket 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
• The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History, by Jennifer Armstrong

World History:

• Pompeii…Buried Alive! (Step Into Reading), by Edith Kunhardt
• The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War (Step Into Reading), by Emily Little
• 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, by Judy Donnelly
• The Great Wall of China, by Leonard Everett Fisher
• 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” (DVD)–an excellent later documentary on the same nomadic people in the “Grass” documentary. You can also rent it on Vimeo here.
• History of the English Speaking Peoples, by Winston Churchill
• 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
• Kingfisher History Encyclopedia
• Picture That: Knights and Castles (Exploring History through Art series), Alex Martin
• The Egyptology Handbook: A Course in the Wonders of Egypt (Ologies), by Emily Sands
• Genevieve Foster books (Augustus Caesar’s World, George Washington’s World, etc…)
• A Little History of the World, by Sir Ernst Gombrich–read a review by a homeschooling mom here
• African Kingdoms of the Past series, by Kenny Mann
• Stone 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
• 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:

• See this page on this site for historical fiction series.
• A Nest for Celeste, by Henry Cole
• Galen: My Life in Imperial Rome, by Marissa Moss
• Sounder, by William H. Armstrong
• The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly
• Snow Treasure, by Marie McSwigan
• Torchlight, by Carol Otis Hurst
• Clara Rounds Cape Horn, by Gail Fabor & Michele Lasagna
• I Remember the Alamo, by D. Anne Love
• Jip: His Story, by Katherine Paterson
• Moon of Two Dark Horses, by Sally M. Keehn
• Jump Ship to Freedom, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
• Ahyoka and the Talking Leaves, by Peter and Connie Roop
• Mr. Revere and I, by Robert Lawson

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 (The author is Christian, so keep this in mind when reviewing recommendations)
• History Odyssey and History Quest
• “Lift the Lid” kits: Mummies, Pirates, Gladiators, Knights
• “Treasure Chest” kits: Ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, China, Aztecs, Holy Land, Vikings, Knights
• History Scribe
• 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:

• Adobe Express: Free Timeline Maker
• Timeline helps
• How to make a timeline easily!
• Timelines
• Free Book of Centuries Download
• How to Use a Book of Centuries
• Make a Book of Centuries and Timeline

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 Through Art, by Sharon Jeffus
• Map Essentials, by National Geographic
• Usborne Encyclopedia of World Geography
• Where on Earth: A Geografunny Guide to the Globe, by Paul Rosenthal
• A Child’s Geography of the World, by V. M Hillyer