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History CurriculumHistory Resources

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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1, 2, 3, Go!
by Huy Voun Lee
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
Fir from Scholastic Inc.
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Alvin Ailey
by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Hyperion Books for Children
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Always Room for One More
by Sorche Nic Leodhas
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
1966 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
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
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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)
American Made: The Colonial Child of 1740
by Marcia Fann
from Great American Coloring Book, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Angel Child, Dragon Child
by Michele Maria Surat
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
by Eric Carle
from Philomel Books
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in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
B is for Beaver
by Marie & Roland Smith, illustrated by Michael Roydon
from Sleeping Bear Press
for nursery-3rd grade
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$18.99 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Bird's Eye View: The Natural World
by John Farndon and Paul Boston
from Words & Pictures
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Birds of Killingworth
by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root
1st edition from Sun Dial Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Brave Girl
by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
from HarperCollins
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Brave Harriet
by Marissa Moss
from Harcourt Children's Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bringing in the New Year
by Grace Lin
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for Preschool-3rd grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Camille and the Sunflowers
by Laurence Anholt
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)
Charles Darwin's Around-the-World Adventure
by Jennifer Thermes
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Book of Art
by Lucy Micklethwait
from DK Publishing
for Preschool-1st grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Earth and Sky
by Stephen Krensky, Illustrated by James Watling
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$1.50 (2 in stock)
Children's Color Book of Jamestown in Virginia
by Priscilla Hunt
from The Dietz Pres, Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
by Elaine Murray Stone
500 Anv from Tyndale House
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Cloth Lullaby: The Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois
by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Color and Learn: Native America
Color & Learn
by Elizabeth Adams
from Educators Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Coming to America
by Betsy Maestro
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Coming to America
by Betsy Maestro
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd Grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Digging Up Dinosaurs
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Discovering Great Artists (old)
by MaryAnn F. Kohl & Kim Solga
from Bright Ring Publishing
for Preschool-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Draw the Titanic
by Andrew Staiano, illustrated by Jason Pederson
from Scholastic Inc.
for All ages
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Drum Dream Girl
by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael Lopez
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Etcher's Studio
by Arthur Geisert
from Houghton Mifflin
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Everybody Cooks Rice
from First Avenue Editions
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Families Around the World
by Jo E. Moore
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for Preschool-1st grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Firebird and Other Russian Fairy Tales
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)
Five Cent, Five Cent
by Edna Walker Chandler, illustrated Betty Stull
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Flight
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Mike Wimmer
from Philomel Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Four Feet, Two Sandals
by Karen Lynn Williams, Khadra Mohammed, illustrated by Doug Chayka
1st edition from Eerdmans
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
From Akebu to Zapotec
by June Hathersmith
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$6.00 (3 in stock)
George Washington Carver
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Gift of the Sacred Dog
by Paul Goble
from Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Going to Town
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Going West
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)
Gonna Sing My Head Off
by Kathleen Krull
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Gonna Sing My Head Off
by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Allen Garns
First Printing from Scholastic Reference
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney
2006th edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Hidden Tales from Eastern Europe
by Antonia Barber
from Frances Lincoln
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (3 in stock)
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)
Huzzah Means Hooray
by Laurie Carlson
from Chicago Review Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
I Can Read About Johnny Appleseed
by J. I. Anderson, illustrated by Drew Brook Cormack
from Troll Associates
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (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)
Ian and the Gigantic Leafy Obstacle
by Sheila Miller
from OMF
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
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)
Jazz on a Saturday Night
by Leo & Diane Dillon
from Blue Sky press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Jerusalem, Shining Still
by Karla Kuskin, illustrated by David Frampton
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (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, 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)
Johnny Appleseed
by Eva Moore
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (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)
Joshua in the Promised Land
by Miriam Chaikin
from Clarion Books
for Preschool-4th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Legend of the Willow Plate
from Parents Magazine Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Let's Find Out About Ice Cream
by Mary Ebeltoft Reid, photographs by John Williams
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-1st grade
in Food & Farming Around the World (Location: HISMC-FOOD)
$2.50 (4 in stock)
Let's Learn to Count in Hawaiian
by Keiki C. Kawai'ae'a
from Island Heritage Publishing
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Foreign Language (Location: FL-GEN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same!
Passport to Reading Level 3
by Grace Lin
Passport to Reading Level 3
for Preschool-1st grade
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor Book
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$4.99 $3.00 (3 in stock)
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)
Lion Dancer
by Kate Waters & Madeline Slovenz-Low, photographs by Martha Cooper
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
from NorthSouth
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Magic Leaf
by Winifred Morris & Ju-Hong Chen
from Atheneum
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mama, Do You Love Me?
by Barbara M. Joosse, Illustrated by Barbara Lavallee
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
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)
Marie
Little People, BIG DREAMS
from Quarto Knows
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Mary McLean and the St. Patrick's Day Parade
by Steven Kroll
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Meet Thomas Jefferson
by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$1.50 (3 in stock)
Mei Li
by Thomas Handforth
Reissue from Doubleday & Company
1939 Caldecott Medal winner
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Mei Li
by Thomas Handforth
from Doubleday & Company
1939 Caldecott Medal winner
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Mesmerized
by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
More Than Meets the Eye
by Bob Raczka
from Millbrook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mush!
from Millbrook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Dog Books (Location: SCI-MAMDOG)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
My Little Island
by Frane Lessac
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
My Name is Georgia
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
National Park Explorers: Everglades
by Sara Gilbert
from Creative Education
for Nursery-1st grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
National Park Explorers: Grand Canyon
by Sara Gilbert
from Creative Education
for Preschool-1st grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Native Homes
by Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
New Shoes
from First Second
for Preschool-4th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Noel for Jeanne-Marie
by Francoise
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Not Regina
by Christmas Carol Kauffman
Fourth Printing from Pathway Publishers
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Off to Plymouth Rock! with CD
by Dandi Daley Mackall
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Old Ironsides
by David L. Weitzman
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-SHIP)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
One Grain of Rice
by Demi
from Scholastic Press
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$21.99 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Patchwork Quilt
by Valerie Flournoy
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Pegasus
by Marianna Mayer & K. Y. Craft
1st ed from Morrow Eagle
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Peter the Great
by Diane Stanley
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Peter the Great
by Diane Stanley
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Peter the Great
by Diane Stanley
from InquisiCorp Corporation
Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln
Picture Book Biography
by David A. Adler
from Trumpet Club
Picture Book Biography for Preschool-1st grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Dwight David Eisenhower
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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