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?
439 Items found Print
Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10), Trade Paperback, Used Books & Materials
Adventures in Ancient Greece
by Linda Bailey
from Kids Can Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Munford: Munford Meets Lewis & Clark
by Jamie Aramini
from Geography Matters
for 2nd-4th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!
by Theodore Taylor
1st Gulliver Books pbk. ed from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Alexander the Great
by Robert Green
from Grolier Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (3 in stock)
Almost Home
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$7.99 $5.00 (4 in stock)
America in the Time of Abraham Lincoln
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
from Heinemann Library
for 1st-4th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
American Revolution
America at War Series
by Alden Carter
from Grolier Publishing
Historical Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.95 $5.00 (4 in stock)
Ancient Celts
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient Civilizations: China
Ancient Civilizations
by Valerie Bodden
Reprint from Creative Paperbooks
for 3rd-6th grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egypt Activity Book
by Robyn Hamilton
from Edupress
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egyptian Art
by Susie Hodge
First Printing
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egyptians
People of the Ancient World
by Lila Perl
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-7th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient Greece Activity File
by DK Publishing
Book and Access from DK Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greece!
by Avery Hart & Paul Mantell
from Williamson Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient Greek Art
Art in History
by Susie Hodge
from Heinemann Educational Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greek Art
from Heinemann-Raintree
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greek War and Weapons
by Haydn Middleton
from Heinemann Educational Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Maya
by Lila Perl
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Roman Art
by Susie Hodge
2nd edition from Heinemann Educational Books
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Rome Activity Book
by Mary J. Keller
from Edupress
for 3rd-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Science
by Jim Wiese
from Jossey-Bass
for 4th-6th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
And the Word Came With Power
by Joanne Shetler, Patricia Purvis
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
for 2nd-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.50 (2 in stock)
Andie's Moon
Historical House: 1969
by Linda Newbery
from Educational Development Corporation
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Anna and the King (adapted)
by Margaret Landon
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Anne Frank's Story
by Carol Ann Lee
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Antarctica: Escape from Disaster
by Peter Lerangis
from Scholastic Reference
for 4th-8th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Apprentice
by Pilar Molina Llorente
Reprint from Sunburst Book
for 2nd-4th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Arabs in the Golden Age
by Mokhtar Moktefi & Veronique Ageorges
from Millbrook Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Archaeology for Kids
by Richard Panchyk
illustrated edition from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Archaeology (Location: HISRF-ARCH)
$7.50 (3 in stock)
Around the World in a Hundred Years
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Atlas of North American Exploration
by Glyndwr Williams, William H. Goetzmann
Oklahoma Paperbacks Ed from University of Oklahoma Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Aztecs
Journey Into Civilization
by Robert Nicholson and Claire Watts
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bat 6
by Virginia Euwer Wolff
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Behind the Blue and Gray
by Delia Ray
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Benazir Bhutto
by Englar, Mary
1st edition from Compass Point Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Best Little Stories from World War II
by C. Brian Kelly
1996 Printing from Montpelier Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Big Annie of Calumet
by Jerry Stanley
from Hampton-Brown
for 4th-8th grade
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Birchbark House
by Louise Erdrich
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Bite of the Gold Bug
by Barthe DeClements
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$4.99 $2.50 (2 in stock)
Blackthorn Winter
Monroe Family Chronicles #1
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Boston Jane
by Jennifer L. Holm
from Scholastic Reference
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Boy in the Alamo
by Margaret Cousins
from Corona Publishing Co.
Historical fiction for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Boy of Old Prague
by Shulamith Ish-Kishor
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Boys and Girls of Colonial Days
by Carolyn Bailey
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
for 4th grade
in CLP Phonics & Reading (Location: REA-CLP)
$9.50 $6.50 (1 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman, David Frampton (Woodcuts)
2nd edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Buried In Ice
by John Geiger, Owen Beattie, Shelley Tanaka
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Bury the Dead
by Christopher Sloan
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
By the Dawn's Early Light
by Steven Kroll
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
in War of 1812 (Location: HISA-19WET)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Carolina's Courage
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.00 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Castle
by David Macaulay
from Graphia
Architecture for 4th-8th grade
1978 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$16.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Cathedral
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
Architecture for 4th-8th grade
1974 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$12.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Catherine, Called Birdy
by Karen Cushman
Reprint from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1995 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Cecily's Portrait
Historical House: 1895
by Adele Geras
from Educational Development Corporation
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte Sometimes
by Penelope Farmer
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$5.00 (3 in stock)
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$10.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum
from Simon and Schuster
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum
from Simon and Brown
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Stories
Tales of the Wild West Volume 6
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
Sowers Series
by Bennie Rhodes
from Mott Media
for 4th-6th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
City
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$14.99 $7.50 (2 in stock)
Civil War
by Janet Cassidy
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th Grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War
by Pat Wesolowski
from Unknown Publisher
for 4th-8th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Civil War Days
American Kids in History
by David C. King
1st edition from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
for 3rd-6th Grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$16.95 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Civil War Handbook - Confederate Captain
by Robin Robinson
from Silverleaf Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War Handbook - Union Lieutenant
by Robin Robinson
from Silverleaf Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War Heroines
by Jill Canon
from Bellerophon Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Cleopatra
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial America
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Kids
by Laurie Carlson
1st edition from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Colonial Times 1600-1700
by Joy Masoff
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Colonial Town: Williamsburg
by Bobbie Kalman
Revised from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Coloring Book of Rome
by Bellerophon Books, Nancy Conkle
from Bellerophon Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$3.00 (3 in stock)
Coloring Book of the Olympics
by E. Knill
Csm from Bellerophon Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Columbus Discovers America - Coloring Book
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$4.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun
by Rhoda Blumberg
from HarperCollins
Historical Non-Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1986 Newbery Honor Book
in Japan (Location: HISMC-JAP)
$9.99 $7.00 (2 in stock)
Cowboys
Tales of the Wild West Volume 4
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Cowboys of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Sandpiper Books
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Cowboys of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
by Avi
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 4th-8th grade
2003 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Crusaders, Aztecs, Samurai
by Anne Millard
from Usborne
for 4th-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$3.15 (1 in stock)
Cry From Egypt
by Hope Auer
from Great Waters Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.50 (2 in stock)
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$25.00 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel's Story
by Carol Matas
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Darkness Over Denmark
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-7th grade
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Davy Crockett
by David Crockett
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Davy Crockett, Young Pioneer
by Laurence Santrey
from Troll Associates
for 1st-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Deirdre
by David Guard; illustrated by Gretchen Guard
2nd edition from Celestial Arts
for 4th-6th grade
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Did It Take Creativity to Find Relativity, Albert Einstein?
by Gilda Berger, Melvin & Gilda Berger, Melvin Berger
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Dispelling the Tyranny
Struggle for Freedom Series #2
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.95 $7.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: American Revolution
by Stuart Murray
from DK Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Douglas Macarthur: American Hero
Book Report Biographies
by Barbara Silberdick Feinberg
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Down Ryton Water
by E.R. Gaggin
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-6th grade
1942 Newbery Honor
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Early Civlizations: Viking Life
by John Guy
First Edition from Scholastic Reference
for 3rd-5th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Earthquake!
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Titanic & 20th Century Disasters (Location: HISW-20DIS)
$3.00 (3 in stock)
12345