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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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¡Viva México!
by Argentina Palacios, illustrated by Howard Berelson
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
About Our Flag
by Elinor Rees; illustrated by Jerome W. Bowen
from Melmont Publishers
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Acadia National Park
Road Trip: National Parks
by Kathleen Connors
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Algonquin
by Natalie M. Rosinsky
from Compass Point Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Art of the Spanish in the United States and Puerto Rico
by Shirley Glubok
from Macmillan
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Athenians In the Classical Period
Life Long Ago
by Leonard Weisgard (pictures and text)
from Coward McCann
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$48.00 (1 in stock)
Bears, Pirates and Silver Lace
by Anne B. Fisher; illustrated by Phil Nesbitt
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Ben Franklin
See and Read: Beginning to Read Biography
by Estelle Friedman, illustrated by James Caraway
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin
Makers of America
by Ruth Cromer Weir, illustrated by Rus Anderson
from Abingdon Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Boom Town
by Sonia Levitin, illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith
from Orchard Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
California Plant & Animal Communities
by Barbara J. Collins
from California State Department of Education
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Carl Linnaeus
Great Minds of Science
by Margaret Anderson
from Enslow
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Christmas on the Prairie
by Joan. Anderson
from Clarion Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Cliff Dwellers of Walnut Canyon
by Carroll Lane Fenton and Alice Epstein, illustrated by Albert Orbaan and Carroll Lane Fenton
from The John Day Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial People: The Silversmith
by Wil Mara
from Marshall Cavendish Education
for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Countries of the World: Sweden
by Janet Riehecky
from Bridgestone Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cuba
Countries of the World
by William P. Mara
from Bridgestone Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Latin & South America (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Dakota Dugout
by Ann Turner; illustrated by Ronald Himler
from Macmillan
for 2nd-4th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Drinking Gourd
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by F. N. Monjo
from HarperCrest
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Edgar Degas
Artists Through the Ages
by Alix Wood
from Windmill Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Empire State Building
by Meish Goldish
from Bearport Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Follow the Dream
by Peter Sís
from Dragonfly Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Fourth of July Story
by Alice Dalgliesh, illustrated by Marie Nonnast
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
George Washington Carver
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
by Santana Hunt
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Her Story, Her Words
by Frances E. Ruffin
from Rosen Central
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Homes: Shelter and Living Space
by Joanna Foster, illustrated by Kathleen Heiden
from Parents Magazine Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
How Many Donkeys?
by Regina & Haig Shekerjian, illustrated by Bob Binkley
from Scott, Foresman & Co.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
How People Learned to Move About
by Shirley Chilton, Roy Chilton, Robert Chilton; illustrated by N. Kay Stevenson and Kathleen McCarthy
from Elk Grove Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
How Tevye Became a Milkman
by Gabriel Lisowski, Sholem Aleichem
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
How They Built the Statue of Liberty
by Mary J. Shapiro, illustrated by Huck Scarry
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Indians of Mexico
A Book to Begin On
by Margaret C. Farquhar, illustrated by Mel Klapholz
First Edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Jane Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees
by Bette Birnbaum, Illustrated by Frederick Porter
from Raintree
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Junipero Serra
Fact Finders
by Tyler Schumacher
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lafayette: French-American Hero
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lake Huron
Fact Finders
by Anne Ylvisaker
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$2.00 (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)
Liam's Watch
by Pamela Dell
from Tradition Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Life and Work of Auguste Rodin
by Richard Tames
from Heinemann Library
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Work of Frederic Remington
by Ernestine Giesecke
from Heinemann Library
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Work of Henry Moore
by Sean Connolly
from Heinemann Library
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Man Named Washington
by Gertrude Norman, illustrated by James Caraway
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (1 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)
Michelangelo
Masterpieces: Artists and Their Works
by Shelley Swanson Sateren
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Minstrel in the Tower
by Gloria Skurzynski
from Random House
Historical Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Mission to Mars
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Stage 2
by Franklyn M. Branley, Illustrated by True Kelley, Foreword by Neil Armstrong
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Monsters of the Middle Ages
by William Wise, illustrated by Tomie de Paola
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Nefertiti: The Mystery Queen
by Burnham Holmes
from Raintree
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
New Nation
by Betsy Maestro
from HarperCollins
for 1st-4th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
New True Book of Bald Eagles
by Emilie U. Lepthien
from Children's Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
New True Book: The Chippewa
A New True Book
by Alice Osinski
from Children's Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$4.00 (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)
Nothing to Wear But Clothes
by Frank Jupo
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Noy Lives in Thailand
by Astrid Lindgren, photos by Anna Riwkin-Brick
from Macmillan
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Numbers Old and New
The Reason Why Series
by Irving and Ruth Adler, illustrated by Peggy Adler
from The John Day Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Okolo of Nigeria
by Peter Buckley
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Ol' Paul the Mighty Logger
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Orcas Around Me
by Debra Page, illustrated by Leslie W. Bowman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Our Country's Story
by Frances Cavanah, illustrated by Janice Holland
from Rand McNally
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Patrick Henry
The Founding Fathers
by Stuart A. Kallen
from ABDO Publishing Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Paul Gauguin
Artists Through the Ages
by Alix Wood
from Windmill Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$6.00 (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)
Pet Dragon
by Christoph Niemann
First Edition first Printing from Greenwillow Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$5.00 (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)
Picture Book of John Hancock
by David A. Adler, Michael S. Adler
from Holiday House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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 (2 in stock)
Ponce de Leon
by Trish Kline
from Rourke Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Puerto Rico
by Kathy Feeney
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Rockets to the Moon
by Erik Bergaust
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Ronald Reagan
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sor Juana
by Elizabeth Martinez
from Millbrook Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
South America
from Bridgestone Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Geography Reference (Location: GEO-REF)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Stephen Foster
Lives and Times
by Peggy Pancella
from Heinemann Library
for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Take a Number
by Jeanne Bendick, illustrated by Marcia Levin
from Whittlesey House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Take a Trip to Antarctica
by Keith Lye
from Franklin Watts
for 2nd-5th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Take a Trip to Panama
by John Griffiths
from Franklin Watts
for 1st-3rd grade
in Latin & South America (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
This is Historic Britain
by Miroslav Sasek
First Printing from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Thomas Edison: Inventor
Spirit of America: Our People
by Cynthia Klingel and Robert B. Noyed
from Child's World
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Three Boys and a Lighthouse
by Nan Hayden Agle and Ellen Wilson, Illustrated by Marian Honigman
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Tom Edison Finds Out
by Sadybeth and Anson Lowitz
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Tudor Farmhouse
What Happened Here?
by Elizabeth Newbery
from A & C Black Ltd.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Viva Mexico! The Fiestas
by George Ancona
from Marshall Cavendish Education
for 2nd-6th grade
in Latin & South America (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
What's So Great About Francis Scott Key
by Marylou Morano Kjelle
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
You Will Go to the Moon
by Mae and Ira Freeman, illustrated by Lee Ames
Revised from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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