Chronological History

Sometimes we speak of world history as though it belongs to people. It doesn't—it belongs to God, and though people play prominently within the historical narrative, it always remains under God's auspices and control. The problem with losing the right perspective isn't that we'll get the facts wrong, it's that we'll fail to understand what they mean, what the purpose of past events is, and what we can look forward to.

Human history began all at once in the same place: the Garden of Eden, where God made Adam and Eve as the crown of all Creation. He told them to fill the earth and take dominion of it, and He also told them not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They ate the fruit anyway, and mankind was removed from paradise and introduced to tension, pain, and resistance.

The story of the world is in many ways simply the story of adversity. For the enemies of God, it's adversity in the form of the failure and futility of purely human endeavor; for God's people, it's the story of fighting for the truth against secular philosophies, fighting for holiness despite the pervasiveness of sin, and fighting for the Gospel in the face of persecution and death.

Jesus Christ is our only hope. He is the Prince of Peace, the defeater of Death, and the King of the Universe, the saver of souls and the punisher of wickedness. His kingdom is the restoration and glorious fulfillment of the paradise from which Adam and Eve were removed, and we work, wait, hope and pray for the quick fulfillment of His will in all things.

This is our framework for history. While it's important to study things like the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the ancient Near East, it's only important when investigated through the lens of God's ultimate sovereignty and plan. The story of mankind is the story of redemption, and only when we analyze battles, kings, treaties, and catastrophes from God's perspective can we truly make sense of them.

Otherwise, it's all fairly irrelevant and useless. Sure, there's Napoleon's dictum that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it, but a quick survey of the past will show that each successive generation does repeat the sins of their fathers, and that without Christ's real physical life on Earth as a centering point, there's no real cause for optimism or hope of any kind.

Christ's love not only makes the trajectory of history cause for hope; it reveals the truly great moments of the past, events that to the secular eye seem insignificant or even pernicious. We're speaking of the progress of the true Church, of course, and of each soul that God calls and makes His own through the agency of His Holy Spirit. These are the milestones we look for and celebrate.

We carry a lot of world history products. Because it's the story of God's work in the world and our human responses, we believe it's important to know and understand. Not everything we carry is Christian; there are plenty of secular resources here. We encourage you to use whichever ones work best for your situation, but that you do so with a view to understanding the will and work of the One who made history in the first place.

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.

Did you find this review helpful?
123 Items found Print
Active Filters: Preschool (Ages 4-5)
A is for Atom
by Greg Paprocki
Brdbk from Gibbs M. Smith
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
Fir from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Alexander the Great
by Andrew Langley
Reissue from Oxford University
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
America's White Table
by Margot Theis Raven, illustrated by Mike Benny
from Sleeping Bear Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egyptian Design
by Ed Sibbett, Jr.
from Dover Publications
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in History of the World Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISW)
Antarctic Antics
by Judy Sierra
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
Apples to Oregon
by Deborah Hopkinson
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Armor
Usborne Beginners Level 2
by Catriona Clarke
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
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)
Boy Who Loved Bugs
by Molly Sanchez, illustrated by Larissa Sharina
from The Good and the Beautiful
for Preschool-2nd grade
in GATB Science & Health (Location: CUR-GABSc)
Bracelet, The
by Yoshika Uchida
from PaperStar Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Brave Girl
by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Bugle, A Puppy in Old Yorktown
by Mary Andrews, Illustrated by Manning de V. Lee
from Rand McNally
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
C is for Castle
by Greg Paprocki
Brdbk from Gibbs M. Smith
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
Children's Color Book of Jamestown in Virginia
by Priscilla Hunt
from The Dietz Pres, Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$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)
Come to the Castle
by Linda Ashman, illustrated by S.D. Schindler
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Coming to America
by Betsy Maestro
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
Country Artist
by David R. Collins
from First Avenue Editions
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Cowboy Small
by Lois Lenski
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Cowboys
Usborne Beginners Level 1
by Catriona Clarke
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
Damon, Pythias, and the Test of Friendship
by Teresa Bateman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
David and Goliath
by Barbara Shook Hazen
from Golden Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
Diana's White House Garden
by Elisa Carbone, illustrated by Jen Hill
from Viking Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in WWII: U.S. Homefront (Location: HISA-20WW2H)
$12.00 (1 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)
Finding Winnie
by Lindsay Mattick
First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
2016 Caldecott Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
First Thanksgiving
by Jean Craighead George
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.99
First Thanksgiving Feast
by Joan Anderson
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$5.00 (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)
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! OSI
by Mara Rockliff, Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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)
Hanna's Cold Winter
by Trish Marx & Barbara Knutson
from Purple House Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$11.95
Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Press
for Nursery-1st grade
2008 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
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)
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)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Home in the Woods
by Eliza Wheeler
from Nancy Paulsen Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
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)
$9.00 (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 Have a Dream
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$2.00 (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)
J is for Jazz
by Greg Paprocki
Brdbk from Gibbs M. Smith
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
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)
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 Steven Kellogg
from HarperTrophy
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
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)
Journey
from Flying Eye Books
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Kumak's Fish
by Michael Bania
from Alaska Northwest Books
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)
Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
from NorthSouth
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.95
Lost and Found
by Oliver Jeffers
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
M is for Monocle
by Greg Paprocki
Brdbk from Gibbs M. Smith
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
Mama, Do You Love Me?
by Barbara M. Joosse
Reprint from Chronicle Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
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 (4 in stock)
Martin Luther
by Paul L. Maier
1st edition from Concordia Publishing House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Meet Thomas Jefferson
by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$1.50 (3 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)
Mona Lisa: The Secret of the Smile
by Letizia Galli, translated by Nicholas B.A. Nicholson
from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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
Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion
by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Julia Sarda
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.99
Mr. Emerson's Cook
by Judy Schachner
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.99
Not Regina
by Christmas Carol Kauffman
Fourth Printing from Pathway Publishers
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Old Ironsides
by David L. Weitzman
from Purple House Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-SHIP)
Over in the Arctic
by Marianne Berkes
from Dawn Publications
for Preschool-1st grade
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland
by Tomie dePaola
from Holiday House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Pegasus
by Marianna Mayer & K. Y. Craft
1st ed from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Pegasus
by Marianna Mayer & K. Y. Craft
1st ed from Morrow Eagle
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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 George Washington
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Picture Book of Paul Revere
by Alexandra Wallner, David A. Adler, John Wallner
1st edition from Holiday House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
Picture Book of Rosa Parks
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
Picture Book of Rosa Parks
by David A. Adler; illustrated by Robert Casilla
1st edition from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Pieter Brugel
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Pilgrims' Party
A Really Truly Story
by Sadybeth & Anson Lowitz
from Lerner Publishing Group
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Pocahontas: A Little Indian Girl of Jamestown
Tip Top Elf Books
by Frances Cavanah, illustrated by Manning de V. Lee
from Rand McNally
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Polar Bear Night
by Lauren Thompson
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Prehistory to Egypt
by Gloria Verges, Maria Rius, Oriol Verges
1st edition from Barron's
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
R is for Railway
by Greg Paprocki
Brdbk from Gibbs M. Smith
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$9.99
Rare Treasure
by Don Brown
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Sacajawea: Wilderness Guide
by Kate Jassem
from Troll Publishing
Biography for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sacajawea: Wilderness Guide
by Kate Jassem
from Troll Publishing
Biography for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sailing Off to Sleep
by Linda Ashman
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Samuel Eaton's Day
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-fiction for Nursery-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Sarah Morton's Day
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-fiction for Nursery-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Sarah Morton's Day
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-fiction for Nursery-3rd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Saving the Liberty Bell
by Megan McDonald, Illustrated by Marsha Gray Carrington
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$19.99
Seeker of Knowledge
by James Rumford
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$7.99
Senators of Rome
Copper Lodge Library
by Mary MacGregor, edited and introduced by Stephanie B. Meter
from Classical Conversations
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Classical Conversations (Location: CUR-CC)
$17.80
Sky Boys
by Deborah Hopkinson
from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
So Tall Within
by Gary D. Schmidt, Illustrated by Daniel Minter
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Sor Juana
by Elizabeth Martinez
from Millbrook Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Star of Fear, Star of Hope
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Statue of Liberty
A Step into Reading Book Level 1
by Lucille Recht Penner
from Random House
for Preschool-1st grade
in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP)
$4.99
Story of Mae Jemison
by Amy Drorbaugh, illustrated by Marta Koshulinska
from The Good and the Beautiful
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Story of the Flight at Kitty Hawk
by Len W. Meents, R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
12