Review: Veritas Press Pages of History Volume 1: Secrets of the Ancients

Veritas Press has produced an excellent history textbook for logic stage students who are studying the Ancients.  I recently received a preview copy of Pages of History Volume 1: Stories of the Ancients which unfolds the tales of history like a fast-paced  novel.   History is, after all, a retelling of true stories from the past.  The antithesis of a dry textbook, authors Bruce Etter and Alexia Detweiler have given home schooling parents and students an engaging history lesson in the form of a thorough yet accessible book.

Veritas Press publishes unashamedly Christian material. This book starts with Creation and weaves the events from the Bible into the stories of history.  Best friends James and Lance find themselves transported to the Garden of Eden where they learn that even though people were created in the image of God (Imago Dei), mankind is now separated from God because of Adam's sin.  All of history is a stage on which God's redemptive plan for man is being carried out. Etter and Detweiler artfully chronicle the boy's adventures as they explore history from this vantage point.

Time periods, subjects, definitions and concepts are all introduced through the characters in the story through the narrative so kids hardly even feel like they are"doing history".  To me, this is one of the the best ways to learn.  It's much more appealing to find out what happens next in your history novel than to read the next chapter of a history book!  If you have a reluctant historian in your family Pages of History might be just what they need to bring history to life.

The book explores all of the major topics of ancient history that you would expect in a good textbook for this age group and it provides many opportunities to stop and have important discussions. For instance, Chapter 5 has an excellent segment concerning laws and codes (Hammurabi and the Ten Commandments) which leads to the concepts of fairness, natural law, the purpose of law and restitution versus detention.  (Good family dinner table discussions ahead!)

Children who read Pages will have a good understanding not only of world history but also of church history, a subject that is often left untaught or taught later in a student's studies. Additionally, it will be clear to them that the events of the Bible happened in history!  This seems like an obvious concept but sometimes children don't put the events of the Bible into historical context.  They don't realize that Abraham lived during the time of the Mesopotamians and that while the Greeks were developing their ideas of democracy, Israel was a divided kingdom to whom God was sending prophets like Amos, Isaiah and Habakkuk.

This book could be assigned for individual history reading but I think it would be even better if read aloud as a family.   The target audience is students ages 11-13 but it is appropriate for multi-age teaching. Younger children will enjoy listening to the story and I believe the adventure plot coupled with the history and Bible will lend itself to questions and dialogue.  To me, 9-11 (approximate grades 4-6) is the perfect age for this book.  It would be a good history supplement for logic stage students ages 12-13 (Grades 7-8) because it does raise more of the "why?" questions students of this age are dealing with.

If you are looking for a traditional history textbook with reading plans, project ideas, assignments, discussion questions, headings, timelines, charts, dates, terms, maps, quizzes and tests, this may not be the book for you. update see note** It wasn't designed to be that sort of history book.  This is a conversational book that is easy to read and that engages the reader or listener through the dialogue and plot.

** 11/19/2012 Since I originally posted I have new information. As you'll notice from the comments there IS a workbook that is going to be published to go with the book!  This will be a great help to families who would like to use the material as their main textbook.  Look for it plus Volume 2 and the audio book for Vol 1 in May of 2013.  

I would have enjoyed seeing more maps in the book since history always happens in a place.  Additionally, there are not very many pictures and the illustrations of the boys in the story are line drawings which are fairly simple.  I am a visual learner so visual appeal is high on my list but it may not be a problem for other people.  Overall, the content greatly overrides these minor negatives.

 At 445 pages, you can read about three pages a day and finish it in approximately 160 school days.  I don't think your kids will let you get away with just reading three pages a day though- it's just too much fun!

The book ends with a cliff hanger and a note:

"...to be continued."

Students and parents alike will be waiting on the edge of their seats for the next book, which I assume will start where this one leaves off after John Knox at the Reformation.

Pages of History: Volume 1 Stories of the Ancients will be released on Friday, November 22, but you can pre-order your copy today.  Go to this link.  (I will not benefit from your purchase.)

Nota Bene: You don't have to be a home schooler to enjoy this book. It would be an excellent Christmas or birthday gift for a grandchild, niece or nephew!

Got Adolescents?  If you've got children who are ages 10-15 you should check out my review of Focus on the Family's Passport2Purity- another fabulous resource.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments!