History Books

Celts (Usborne Beginners) by Leonie Pratt

This is a very refreshing book aimed at the younger reader up to about 7 years old. The Celts is beautifully produced by Usbourne and English Heritage. I recommend the hard back version as it will get plenty of use.

What undoubtedly makes this book appeal to the younger reader is the accompaniment of excellent cartoon style pictures. These really capture the colourful nature of Celtic life and warfare and make it accessible to young minds. The illustrations kept the attention of my four year old son and he asked lots of questions about them which led to us reading the text. It is packed with simple statements, about the Celts, which a beginner needs to know.

The format is simple and uncluttered and the photographs which are included are well chosen and more obvious because they only appear on every other page.

I think that this is the sort of book which will turn a younger child onto history. This is the most popular book sold on this website and it is my son's favourite too!

History book review: Nigel Cross 16/11/07

Who Were the Romans? by Phil Roxbee Cox

This book contains some fascinating information and simple illustrations for children. Each topic covers 2 – 4 pages and is composed of a series of questions which are answered in a paragraph or two each. The topics mainly cover every day living including: What did they look like? What were their houses like? Where did they go shopping? etc It has a more expansive section on Roman Gods and that includes a nice myth about the Gods and how we come to have the different seasons. There is also a short section on the Roman Army.

The best way to illustrate the style of the book is to give you an example of the content. Q. ‘Were there ever traffic jams?’ A. ‘Believe it or not the answer is yes. In the city of Rome itself, there were hundreds of stores and houses needing goods. These had to be delivered in carts, and the roads often became blocked. Later, to stop this, horse-drawn carts and chariots were not allowed into the city during the day.’

The book is best suited for ages 6-8 years. This is our best selling books about the Romans.

History book review: 26/01/08

The Captive Celt (Roman Tales) by Terrry Deary

The story of the British resistance leader Caratacus is one of the most interesting stories relating to ancient Britain and the Romans. It is good to see Caratacus getting some exposure as he has been a bit neglected in recent times as one of the great British heroes. The central plot of this historically based story is the interaction of a fictitious Celtic boy called Deri and the historical figure, Caratacus. The story is well constructed by Terry Deary but the most engaging and exiting parts of the story are when it is closest to the events described by Tacitus who was the historian who recorded this story for posterity.

There are shades of Horrible Histories when the druids deeds are described with some gruesome detail but the humour is kept well under control and does not distract from the story. Yes, there are funny elements in this book but the overriding focus of the book is telling an engaging and exiting story. The chapters are short and the book is aimed at children building reading confidence.

History book review: 22/04/08

Roman Things to Make and Do (Usborne Activities)

by Leonie Pratt

One of the strengths of this title are the number of items of costume and apparel that can be made for children to dress up in. These include: Simple instructions to make a toga, some nifty 3D Roman swords, curved Roman Army shields, an Emperor’s wreath, cuffs and bangles, an arty actor’s mask and even money bags and a scroll. These step by step instructions for children could come in very useful as craft lessons and in addition supply what you need for performing a play or perhaps a Roman feast.

I also like the paper chain of legionary soldiers. Educators could use these to illustrate how there were 80 soldiers in a century (although it probably began as a 100). The racing chariot painting activity provides drawing instructions showing how to build the painting up through the drawing stages. There is a City Collage which could be good if combined with a bit of research using Simon Biesty’s book - ‘Rome in Cross Section’. There are printed mosaics which again provide a good activity if some study of original mosaics is included.

The firing catapult is not only good for History and craft but also Science outcomes. There are gladiator figures to be made into puppets and a pop-up Roman God card which my children enjoyed making. They also enjoyed using their fingers to paint the faces of senators who are pictured sat in their stalls with their faces drawn individually. I have not let the kids loose on the A3 page of stickers yet. For classroom displays and activities or hours of useful fun learning this book is crammed with great things to make and do.

14/11/09

Boudicca (Famous People, Famous Lives) by Emma Fischel

This book provides a good introduction for younger children (K.S.2) learning about Boudicca and her tribes revolt against the Romans. It is one of the best selling books on our website.

The text is at the right level for children up to about eight years old. The information presented in the book is enough to tell the basic story. It's told in the style of a story and the author puts words in the mouths of Boudicca, her subjects and the Romans. The Roman writer Tacitus told the story in a similar style. This does add drama to the story but as these speeches are in quotation marks please explain to children reading this book that we don't really know what she actually said.

There are appropriate illustrations on every page. These are in the style of the front cover but they are all line drawings with no colour. Each page has the equivalent of a paragraph of text and the book has 48 pages.

History book review: Nigel Cross 12/11/07

Romans (Usbourne Beginners)
By Katie Daynes

This book provides a good overview of Roman life for children beginning their study of the Romans. It is accessible to the young reader with vivid cartoon illustrations and interesting simple sentences. To provide you with a flavour here is an excerpt which is interspersed after each sentence by three absorbing panoramic cartoons:

‘The streets of Rome were often packed with people. Vehicles were only allowed at night.

At dawn, street cleaners swept the streets and sellers arrived with their goods.
By noon, the streets were very busy. Rich Romans were carried in boxes called litters.

At night, the vehicles arrived. People carried torches because there were no street lights.’

On the accompanying page:

‘This mosaic shows musicians playing to people on the street.’

This photo is of a real mosaic showing what looks to be a family of streets entertainers playing the pipes, tambourine and symbols.

Every other page includes a photograph of Roman remains, artefacts or a re-enactment scene to provide a realistic dimension.

My 6 year old son who is a competent reader can read this book on his own and tends to pick up the book and read a few sections at a time. There is a short glossary at the back of the book and links to some websites suitable for this age group (5-7 years).

The contents of the book include: People of Rome, At home, On the streets, What to wear, Going shopping, farming, banquets, at the baths, gods and goddesses, building power, at school, in the army, games and races.

Review: Nigel Cross 15/11/09

Celts (Britain Through the Ages)
By Hazel Mary Martel

The Celts focuses on Celtic life in Iron Age Britain. However, it does stress the connectedness of the Celts here with Celtic Europe and include a map of the Celtic tribes of Europe. It also has a simple time line of the Celts in Britain.

The book is divided into themes through which Hazel Mary Martel informs her young readers about most of the things which they need to know in order to gain a solid understanding of this great culture. The themes include: Everyday Life, Arts and Crafts, Trade and Transport, Religion, Attack and Defence, The Roman Conquest & Roman Britain. It also includes Myths and Legends and Celtic Survival.

The illustrations and photographs support the text well.

I am quite a fan of Hazel Mary Martel's work as it is historically accurate and her narrative is clear. Most pages also include fact boxes of interesting information or origins of Celtic and Roman words which have survived in some form. The quotations from classical sources also stand out.

Review: Nigel Cross 1/10/07

The Romans Activity Book (British Museum Activity Books)
By John Reeve, Patricia Vanags

This has long been a popular book with teachers. The book is made up of black and white activity sheets which could be photocopied.

Activities include: labeling modern country names against some Latin place names, matching deeds done by the Roman Emperors against the correct man and locating famous Roman places on a map of Roman Britain. Other activities include buying items from a Roman market using Roman coinage and drawing the centre of a mosaic.

Perhaps one of the best activities is the idea of making a sequence of Roman writing tablets from cardboard and writing a letter like those found at Vindolanda (a fort located at Hadrian's wall).

History book review by Nigel Cross 27/01/08

Cuda of the Celts (Yellow Go Bananas)
By Susan Ashe

From the title and look of this book I was half expecting it to be historically inaccurate. However, as it sells quite well on this site I thought that I had better try it out. I was surprised that the story was well worked to include lots of information about the interaction of the Celts and the Romans in Britain; the initial conflict and later assimilation of their cultures.

This fictional story centres on a Celtic girl called Cuda and her interaction with a Roman boy called Marcus. It is the time of Boudicca's Revolt and Cuda's tribe sack Camulodunum. Marcus' family are killed when the town is sacked. The way that this is dealt with in the book is interesting. Cuda asks her father whether children were killed by the Celts and her father says that he would never kill a child. But then we learn from Marcus that his sister and mother are both killed by the Celts and it is obvious that they will kill Marcus too, if they catch him.

It has a Hollywood ending and Cuda ends up living in luxury with the Romans. Again, this makes for an interesting discussion.

The short fact and activity sections at the back of the book are of limited value.

History book review: 28/07/08

Boudica (Brilliant Brits)
by Richard Brassey

This is the most engaging book on Boudica for children studying at Key Stage 2. The painted cartoon style drawings are witty and they paint a vivid story which will stay with the reader. The look of terror on Boudica's face as her army is routed is one example. Whilst there is artistic licence in the illustrations the text accurately informs the children about what is currently understood about Boudica and the rebellion against Rome. It also explores some popular misconceptions about Boudica including the mispelling of her name as Boadicea. This is attributed to the writing style of a medieval monk and it was thereafter mistranscribed. The focus of the book is the telling of the story of the revolt through the cartoon illustrations and the text which is succinct but engaging. My five year old son liked the simple map of Britain at the time of the revolt. The illustration of Boudica based on Dio's description of her is also very useful. If you want a history book or just a story book to engage children (6-8 years) then I recommend this one.

History book review by Nigel Cross 25/02/08

Ancient Rome (Eyewitness Guide)
by Simon James

Dorling Kindersley the publishers of this book produce extremely good educational books. Simon James is a well known author of Roman books and this book is full of accurate and well researched material. The book is illustrated almost entirely of stunning photographs which present real information rather than an artistic impression of life. This book contains 72 pages so unlike some children's books this is quite a substantial volume with a wide variety of topics. This book is more about Roman Life rather than ‘Ancient Rome' as titled. Each topic covers two pages and the text is relatively short and it is therefore quite suitable for older primary school children who want a more in-depth understanding of the Romans. The photographs, which are delightful, dominate each page and are accompanied by detailed notes. There is a glossary in the back of the book to help with unfamiliar terms and there is also a timeline of the Roman Emperors and information about where to find out more information.

History book review: 27/01/08

The Celts (British Museum Activity Books)

by Mike Corbishley

This activity book produced by the British Museum is a must for teachers, home educators and children interested in the Celts. My young children (aged 4 - 6 years) were delighted at the first sight of this book as it full of scenes of Celtic life which can be coloured in. These pages can also be photocopied for educational use.

The first activity is related to a map of Celtic lands which as you can see in our own interactive map covered a very extensive area. Children are asked to unscramble the names of the modern countries and to fit them onto the corresponding area of the map. This provides a good introduction to the topic of the Celts.

In the section on Celtic Warriors you can make your own horned helmet. It was the Celts and not the Vikings who are known to have worn these!

I like the activity on Druids. The reader is asked to draw a Druid which is a good idea because no one really knows what they looked like and this illustrates the limitations of our knowledge. However, you might want to look at my own article on Druids to help provide some clues as to their possible appearance. For example, it includes Tacitus' description of their appearance during the Roman attack on Anglesey. 4/11/09

The Bebob Ballad of Boudicca (History Song Sheets)

by Suzy Davies

The Bebob Ballad of Boudicca song sheet is produced on card which covers three A4 sheets with musical score and accompanying lyrics. On the reverse side the lyrics are shown alone as a simple song sheet consist of 25 lines. 7 lines of which are a repetition of this stanza:

'Buh-buh-buh buh Boudicca, Buh-buh-buh buh Boudicca'.

There are two verses of uninformative story line. Perhaps it was an attempt to keep things simple for the young children who might be singing it. Or perhaps Suzy Davies didn't know much about Boudicca. That may be harsh but there are not many facts in the story and therefore to get the name of the Emperor of the time wrong really stands out. Two sections of singers chant for either Boudicca of the Iceni or Claudius for the Roman side. Whilst Claudius was the emperor at the time of the invasion he was dead by 54 AD and Boudicca's revolt was in 61AD when the Emperor of the time was Nero.

The TES (Times Educational Supplement) is quoted on the front cover with these words: "Reinforce history by singing about it". However, the lyrics are amateurish and rather than reinforcing history it promotes inaccuracy and confusion. In it's Amazon listing it is called a 'fact filled song book' but it really is not filled with facts.

Within the lyrics one group of singers has to sing "What are the Romans? Rubbish!". In my opinion those words sum up the quality of the historical research and presentation rather well.

This is a shame because the idea of the publication is good. The CD which comes with the publication also does it's job. The bebop music is actually quite good and catchy and I am sure that kids would love performing this piece. The CD has 12 tracks starting with the full performance and a well sung version of the song and then it is broken into sections for the children to learn and practice.

In addition to the information supplied in the publication there are online teaching notes and sheets for the tuned and untuned percussion parts:

http://www.acblack.com/songsheets/history.htm

If I had to teach using this resource then I think that I would, in conjunction with the children, try to produce some better lyrics to go with the music.

The reviews in Amazon provide an alternative viewpoint.