Living Book Resource List for Ancient History

Once upon a time I thought that the only way to learn history was through a dry and dusty textbook. And, because I loved history, I put up with dry and dusty textbooks during my high school, college, and early teaching years. But when I discovered Charlotte Mason and living books as a young homeschooling mom, I realized that reading about history could be exciting, dramatic, and interesting.

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Since my days of discovery, we’ve used a history-centered curriculum for most of our homeschooling years. We follow a cycle through history so that we cover a different time period each year. And the other parts of our curriculum- Bible, literature, science, art, music- are all centered around the historical time period that we’re studying.

We’ve primarily used My Father’s World to do this. I’ve also used TruthQuest. With each of these, we’ve learned about the time period by reading real, interesting, exciting, living books. This fits me perfectly because I love to read aloud. And, it fits the kids well because history is more fun this way than in reading a textbook and answering a few comprehension questions each day.

I’m down to only two children who are doing their core schoolwork with me. Ashlyne and Rachel are both middle schoolers this year. I’m holding on tight to these last couple of years of reading aloud and working together. We’re back to the beginning of the history cycle with ancient history this year, and I’ve been on the lookout for great living books to use in reading about ancient history.

One caveat about ancient history: When you’re studying ancient history, it really matters what your worldview and beliefs about creation and the beginning of the world are. I like to choose books that agree with a young earth, creationist view of the beginning and that focus on Biblical history. But, I don’t choose only those books. My children are older, and from the time they were in upper elementary school, I’ve read books from different viewpoints. This has given us good opportunity for discussions about different worldviews.

If you’re studying ancient history and want some great books that will make history alive and interesting, here’s a resource list. These books would be good for elementary and middle school students. Sometimes I’ve noted the worldview of a book if it matters in the context of the book.