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?
117 Items found Print
Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10), Mass market paperback, Used Books & Materials
Adventures of Ulysses
by Bernard Evslin
from Scholastic Inc.
Greek Mythology for 4th-6th grade
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Albert Einstein: Young Thinker
by Marie Hammontree
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient Egypt
by Robert Nicholson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
by Jean Fritz & Margot Tomes
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Angel on the Square
by Gloria Whelan
from HarperCollins
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $5.50 (1 in stock)
Arrow Over the Door
by Joseph Bruchac
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Art of Keeping Cool
by Janet Taylor Lisle
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
2001 Scott O'Dell Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Ballad of Lucy Whipple
by Karen Cushman
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Before the Gold Rush
from McClelland & Stewart Limited
for 4th-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Ben and Me
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin: Young Printer
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Betsy and the Emperor
by Staton Rabin
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Blazing West: The Journal of Augustus Pelletier
by Kathryn Lasky
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Buffalo Bill: Frontier Daredevil
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Meryl Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.99 $3.50 (3 in stock)
By the Great Horn Spoon!
by Sid Fleischman
from Little, Brown & Company
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Cabin Faced West
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
Historical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Caleb's Story
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Coloring Book of Ancient Egypt
by Bellerophon Books
from Bellerophon Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.00 (3 in stock)
Concise Illustrated History of the American Revolution
from Eastern Acorn Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-6th grade
1955 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone: Young Hunter and Tracker
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Days of Knights & Damsels
by Laurie Carlson
from Chicago Review Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$15.95 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Escape From Warsaw
by Ian Serraillier, illustrated by Irwin Hoffman
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Eyes of the Emperor
by Graham Salisbury
from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Fireflies in the Dark
by Susan Goldman Rubin
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-6th grade
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
George Washington's Breakfast
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 1st-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
George Washington's Breakfast
by Jean Fritz
from Coward McCann
for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington, Spymaster
by Thomas B. Allen
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Ghost in the Tokaido Inn
by Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler
from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Good Master
Puffin Newbery Library
by Kate Seredy
from Puffin Books
Realistic fiction for 4th-6th grade
1936 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Guns for General Washington
by Seymour Reit
from Harcourt
Historical fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Harry Houdini: Master of Magic
by Robert Kraske
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
House of Dies Drear
by Virginia Hamilton
Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $4.00 (4 in stock)
House on Walenska Street
by Charlotte Herman
from Avyx, Inc.
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941
by Lauren Tarshis
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
by Bette Bao Lord
from HarperCollins
Immigration for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (7 in stock)
In Their Own Words: Abraham Lincoln
In Their Own Words
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
In Their Own Words: Lewis and Clark
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Indian Captive
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Ivan and the Informer
by Myrna Grant
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Ivan and the Secret in the Suitcase
by Myrna Grant
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express
by Kristiana Gregory
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Josefina Story Quilt
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Eleanor Coerr
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99 $2.50 (1 in stock)
Journey to America
Journey to America Saga #1
by Sonia Levitin
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Kidnapped Prince
by Olaudah Equiano
from Yearling
for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
King's Fifth
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Letters from Rifka
by Karen Hesse
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Lights In Lisuland
CF4Kids Trail Blazers
by Irene Howat
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in TorchBearers & TrailBlazers (Location: BIO-TRAIL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Little Farm in the Ozarks
Rocky Ridge Years Book 2
by Roger Lea MacBride
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Long Way to a New Land
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Joan Sandin
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99 $2.50 (3 in stock)
Long Way Westward
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Joan Sandin
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99 $2.50 (3 in stock)
Lost Star
by Patricia Lauber
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Magic Tree House #16 - Research Guide / Fact Tracker
by Mary Pope Osborne
from Random House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Magic Tree House (Location: SER-MTH)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Magic Tree House #38 (Merlin Mission #10) - Fact Tracker
companion to Merlin Mission #10 - Monday with a Mad Genius
by Mary Pope Osborne, Natalie Pope Boyce
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 2nd-6th grade
in Magic Tree House (Location: SER-MTH)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Magic Tree House #44 (Merlin Mission #16) - Fact Tracker
Magic Tree House
by Mary Pope Osborne & Natalie Pope Boyce
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Magic Tree House (Location: SER-MTH)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Matchlock Gun
by Walter Edmonds
from PaperStar Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
1942 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Meet Christopher Columbus
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.99 $2.50 (2 in stock)
Meet George Washington
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Joan Heilbroner
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Meet George Washington
by Joan Heilbroner
First Scholastic Printing 2001 from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Molly Pitcher: Young Patriot
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
from Yearling
Historical fiction for 4th-8th grade
1990 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Odyssey (retold)
Puffin Classics
by Geraldine McCaughrean retells Homer
Puffin Classics from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
On the Way Home
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
One Thousand Paper Cranes
by Takayuki Ishii
2001 Printing from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Parallel Journeys
by Eleanor Ayers, Helen Waterford, & Alfons Heck
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Pedro's Journal
by Pam Conrad
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Pocahontas and the Strangers
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Scholastic Inc.
Biographies for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Road to Agra
by Aimee Sommerfelt, illustrated by Ulf Aas
from Scholastic Book Services
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Roman Activity Book
by Sue Weatherill
from Barron's
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Saint Athanasius
by F. A. Forbes
from Tan Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Sam the Minuteman
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Nathaniel Benchley & Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
30th Anniversary from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
1986 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Second Mrs. Giaconda
by E. L. Konigsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
September 11
by Mary Englar
from Compass Point Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in 21st Century (Location: HISW-21)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Serpent Never Sleeps
by Scott O'Dell
from Fawcett Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Shades of Gray
by Carolyn Reeder
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
Scott O'Dell Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Shades of Gray
by Carolyn Reeder
from Avon Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
Scott O'Dell Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Shakespeare's Spy
Shakespeare Stealer #3
by Gary Blackwood
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Shark Lady
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Shoes for Everyone
by Barbara Mitchell
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.95 $6.00 (3 in stock)
Sink or Swim
by Steve Watkins
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
So Far From the Bamboo Grove
by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
from Beech Tree Books
Historical fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Sojourner Truth
by Patricia & Frederick McKissack
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Squanto
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Harriet Tubman
Dell Yearling Biography
by Kate McMullan
from Yearling
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of King Arthur
by Children's Dover Thrift, Tom Crawford
from Dover Publications
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$1.50 (3 in stock)
Story of Thomas Alva Edison, Inventor
Scholastic Biographies
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Thanksgiving Primer
from Plimoth Plantation Publication
for 4th-8th grade
in Holidays (Location: HOLIDAY)
$3.50 (5 in stock)
Thimble Summer
by Elizabeth Enright
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1939 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Thimble Summer
by Elizabeth Enright
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1939 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
by Ted W. Lawson
from Pocket Star
for 4th-7th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$9.99 $5.50 (1 in stock)
Three-Minute Speech
by Jennifer Armstrong, Illustrated by Albert Lorenz
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
To Be a Pilgrim
by Joyce Reason
1980th edition from Christian Literature Crusade
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Toliver's Secret
by Esther Brady
from Yearling
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
12