History

Belles On Their Toes

Book cover: Belles On Their Toes
Author(s): 
Frank Gilbreth
Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

This sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen is, if anything, even more hilarious. Both share a realism that only a true story can acquire. After Frank B. Gilbreth's death, his wife Lillian takes over his business as an efficiency engineer, traveling to conferences and teaching students in her home. The 11 Gilbreth children are growing up, and manage to find a hilarious situation in each new experiences. As usual, the Gilbreth family faces cigarettes, garden fertilizer, one piece bathing suits, and meetings with the president with equal aplomb and humor.

Augustus Caesar's World

Author(s): 
Genevieve Foster
We've found "Augustus Caesar's World" by Genevieve Foster to be a wonderful resource. The book covers the period from 44 BC to 14 AD with events and ideas for that time, all over the world. I feel the stories really give my son a great sense of life during this period. The illustrations are outstanding line drawing of characters, maps and especially the time lines. Just wanted to share a great resource.

The Children's Homer

Book cover: 'The Children's Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy'
Author(s): 
Padraic Colum
The Children's Homer is an epic adventure about the Trojan War and the homecoming of Odysseus. The two famous tales, The Iliad and The Odyssey, were originally written by Homer, a renowned poet in Ancient Greece. Mr. Colum retells these stories for us. My family used this book as a read-aloud, and enjoyed it immensely. We were all thrilled by the gripping stories and the detailed pictures. It's an excellent book to use when studing Anciect Greece. I would give it five *****rating.

The Singing Tree

Book cover: 'The Singing Tree'
Author(s): 
Kate Seredy
The Singing Tree, sequel to The Good Master, is a much more serious story and takes place during World War I. Sandor, Kate's father, is drafted into the war and eventually, the Good Master, Marton Nagy, must report as well. The majority of the book tells of how the family gets along during the war years without the men of the family. Of course, Jancsi the young master steps up and, aided by a journal his father left for him, manages the farm quite well.

D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths

Book cover: 'D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths'
Author(s): 
Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
This was first published in 1962 and is a wonderful book of Greek mythology. It tells the stories of the gods, goddesses, and heroes of Ancient Greece. Details of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey are included, as well as the Argo, the Argonauts, and Jason's quest for the golden fleece. Some of the references of the legends are sparce and would need further references. (I would recommend Padric Colum's books, The Golden Fleece and The Children's Homer.) The book is highlighted with beautiful drawings, elaborate family trees, and a large map.

The Small War of Sergeant Donkey

Book cover: 'The Small War of Sergeant Donkey'
Author(s): 
Maureen Daly
Chico Felippo is a young boy living in a small village in Southern Italy. It is 1944 and most of the war has moved north, but the American Army has a special "Remount Depot" nearby where donkeys are trained to assist the soldiers in the difficult mountain fighting. Chico loves these animals and becomes friends with many of the Americans as well as one particularly beloved animal, "Sergeant Donkey". The entire town suffers from a shortage of food because all of the donkeys which worked the fields had been seized by the Germans earlier in the war.

Cheaper by the Dozen

Book cover: Cheaper by the Dozen
Author(s): 
Frank Gilbreth
Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

It's the Jazz Age, roadsters are the rage, and an engineer in Massachusetts is raising a vibrant family of 12 children. Welcome to the world of the Gilbreths, where everything comes 'cheaper by the dozen'.

On the Banks of Plum Creek

Book cover: 'On the Banks of Plum Creek'
Author(s): 
Laura Ingalls Wilder
The dog, which has been trotting in the shadow of the wagon for maybe a hundred miles, lays down to rest. The family has just moved from indian territory to western Minnesota. Pa does a little negotiating and ends up trading the horses that helped them move for the sod hut of a Norweigan farmer who is ready to move farther west. So they begin their life at the new home. The delights of childhood liesure are described, not so much reminiscing as the matter-of-fact way that a child who simply enjoyed it would tell.

History Links: Unit Six – Ancient Greece

Author(s): 
Jennifer Alles
Barbara Little
Kim Staggenborg
Unit Studies, or integrated curriculum, present a wonderful opportunity to study one topic in depth while taking side-trips to study related topics. The History Links units have been prepared to help Catholic families study a broad range of subjects, over all grade levels, organized by historical time period, from a Catholic point of view. That doesn't sound too easy to do, but the authors have made it so.

Pages