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As with most things, C.S. Lewis had a unique view of history. For him, the really important bits were the stories—he makes a distinction between actual historical realities and the idealized versions of them handed down which make heroes and villains of mere men and women. It's not that the stories are completely false, but their value is for character-building, not as factual data.

The tales of George Washington's bravery in battle, coolness under pressure, rigorous truthfulness, and unflagging piety may accurately preserve the essence of his temperament and nobility, but not all of them are strictly historical. The point of these stories isn't to impart facts, however, it's to offer an example of goodness for the rest of us to emulate.

Getting the facts right is still important, though. As Christians, we can't afford to have a false understanding of "the old days." Mankind is fallen, and the story of his sojourn on Earth is filled with war, suffering, disease, unfaithfulness, pride and envy; a study of history that omits those elements is both false and useless. False, because it is incomplete, and useless, because it tells us nothing of the human condition or our current situation.

It's a bit of a mystery to us why non-Christians are motivated to study the past. For believers, the end goal isn't just acquisition of facts about events and cultures, it's the instillation of a thoroughly Christian worldview, an understanding of the course of the human endeavour as decreed and guided by God Himself.

The story of Jesus Christ is central. It is the only history story that fulfills the character-building element Lewis looked for, while remaining absolutely true in every detail. Man is fallen and he does struggle against God, but through Christ there is hope of redemption, a chance to connect heaven and earth through the Atonement. Christ is the ultimate example of God's providence.

In the Reformed tradition, God's sovereignty is a very big deal. According to the doctrine of divine decree, God has ordered all things that were, are and will come to be for His own good pleasure and glory. His hand is thus present everywhere, in the privatest private life and the most public and widespread crisis. God is in control, providentially guiding nations, men, and the entire cosmos.

This very doctrine is perhaps what best explains the humanist's interest in history (whether he be atheist, agnostic, pagan). Man's natural bent is to make himself the hero of the story, to show how people can sway the trajectory of all things. God's version is quite different, and the two are naturally in conflict. Resolution may only be found in Christ.

For, while God decrees and guides all things, He has also (paradoxically) decreed man's free will and personal responsibility. Men do change the course of kingdoms, but it is only through God's agency. A proper Christian study of history takes both truths into account, and tells the stories of good guys and bad guys through the light of everything God's Word says about human nature and divine control.

We encourage you to take great comfort and joy in your study of history. Read books, watch movies (carefully noting that a lot of the story is likely to be inaccurate in detail), go on fieldtrips to forts and battlefields and birthplaces. Most of all, talk about these things. The end goal, after all, isn't to know a bunch of trivia, but to understand what God has done and continues to do.

No one knows for sure what the end of history will look like, except that every knee in heaven and on earth will bow to the returned glorious Christ, who comes to judge the living and the dead. What we believe about Him will determine whether that culmination will be filled with joy or loathing (everyone will be terrified). He is the author of history, and its centerpiece; honor Him in your study of it.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.

 

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¡Pío Peep!
by Alice Schertle, Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy
Bilingual from Rayo
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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by Barbara McClintock
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alma and How She Got Her Name
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from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alvin Ailey
by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
America is....
by Louise W. Borden, illustrated by Stacey Schuett
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Anno's Britain
by Mitsumasa Anno
1st edition from Philomel Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Armor
Usborne Beginners Level 2
by Catriona Clarke
from Usborne
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in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
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from Philomel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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by Marie & Roland Smith, illustrated by Michael Roydon
from Sleeping Bear Press
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by written by Marianna Mayer, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft
First Edition from HarperCollins
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in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
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1st edition from Holiday House
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in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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1st edition from Beach Lane Books
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
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1st edition from Sun Dial Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
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from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
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from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
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by Marissa Moss
from Harcourt Children's Books
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in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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by Don Brown
from Roaring Brook Press
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from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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by Chief Seattle, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
1st edition from Dial Books for Young Readers
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by Mary Andrews, Illustrated by Manning de V. Lee
from Rand McNally
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1st edition from Barron's
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Camille Pissarro
by Alix Wood
from Windmill Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Cat Who Walked Across France
by Kate Banks
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Preschool-1st grade
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Charles Darwin's Around-the-World Adventure
by Jennifer Thermes
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
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from DK Publishing
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in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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500 Anv from Tyndale House
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
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from Abrams Books for Young Readers
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
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by Linda Ashman, illustrated by S.D. Schindler
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
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from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
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from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
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Usborne Beginners Level 1
by Catriona Clarke
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
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by Teresa Bateman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
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by Barbara Shook Hazen
from Golden Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
Day on Skates
by Hilda van Stockum
from Bethlehem Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
1935 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
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First Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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from G.P. Putnam's Sons
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from Schwartz & Wade
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$18.99
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in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
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from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99
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by Lindsay Mattick
First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
2016 Caldecott Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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by Jacqueline Onassis, illustrated by Boris Zvorykin
from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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from Philomel Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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For You Are a Kenyan Child
by Kelly Cunnane
from Atheneum
for Preschool-1st grade
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from Dutton Children's Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Four Feet, Two Sandals
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1st edition from Eerdmans
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington: America's Patriot
Heroes of History for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
from Emerald Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Gingerbread for Liberty!
by Mara Rockliff, Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
Giraffe That Walked to Paris
by Nancy Milton & Roger Roth
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
God’s Very Good Idea
by Trillia Newbell and Catalina Echeverri
from Good Book Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$16.99
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by Bruce McMillan
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Going to Town
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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by Martin Waddell, illustratred by Philippe Dupasquier
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Book of Space Exploration
by Dinah L. Moche
from Golden Books
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Allen Garns
First Printing from Scholastic Reference
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Great Horseless Carriage Race
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for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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by Peter Sís
1/15/12 from Universe Publishing
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Press
for Nursery-1st grade
2008 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
from Scholastic Press
for Nursery-1st grade
2008 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker - Book and CD
by Robbie Robertson, Illustrated by David Shannon
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Home in the Woods
by Eliza Wheeler
from Nancy Paulsen Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Homespun Sarah
by Verla Kay, illustrated by Ted Rand
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hot Air
by Marjorie Priceman
from Atheneum
for Preschool-3rd grade
2006 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
How Grace Got Her Name
by Alice Elshoff, illustrated by Jennifer Curtis
from Moonglade Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
I Spy a Freight Train: Transportation in Art
by Lucy Micklethwait
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
If You Decide to Go to the Moon
by Faith McNulty
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
In the Belly of an Ox
by Rebecca Bond
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Inside-Outside Book of London
by Roxie Munro
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for Preschool-4th grade
in Great Britain / England (Location: HISMC-BRIT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Joe Louis
by David A. Adler, illustrated by Terry Widener
from Gulliver Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
John Ronald’s Dragons
by Caroline McAlister, Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$21.99
John, Paul, George & Ben
by Lane Smith
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Joke's on George
by Michael O. Tunnell; illustrated by Kathy Osborn
from Tambourine Books
for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Josephine Wants to Dance
by Jackie French
First Edition from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Journey
from Flying Eye Books
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
King Midas and the Golden Touch
by Charlotte Craft, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft
from William Morrow & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Knots on a Counting Rope
by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault
Reprint from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Lala Salama
by Patricia MacLachlan & Elizabeth Zunon
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Leah's Pony
by Elizabeth Friedrich, Illustrated by Michael Garland
from Boyds Mill Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Letters of the West
by Michelle E. Walch & John Maddin, illustrated by John Maddin
First Ediition
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
Linnea in Monet's Garden
by Christina Bjork & Lena Anderson
from R&S Books
Biography for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Little Humans
by Brandon Stanton
1st edition
for Preschool-1st grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
Lost and Found
by Oliver Jeffers
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
M is for Maple
by Mike Ulmer, illustrated by Melanie Rose
from Sleeping Bear Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
Magic Brush
by Robert B. Goodman & Robert A. Spicer (adapters), illustrated by Y. T. Mui, edited by Ruth Tabrah
from Island Heritage Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Make Way
by Angela Burke Kunkel, illustrated by Claire Keane
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99
Man Who Walked Between The Towers
by Mordicai Gerstein
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Man Who Walked Between The Towers
by Mordicai Gerstein
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Martin Luther
by Paul L. Maier
1st edition from Concordia Publishing House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Mei Li
by Thomas Handforth
Reissue from Doubleday & Company
1939 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Mei Li
by Thomas Handforth
from Doubleday & Company
1939 Caldecott Medal winner
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Monkey and the Crocodile
by Paul Galdone
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Moses
by Carole Boston Weatherford
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
2007 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
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