Susan Wise Bauer has done a wonderful job of making ancient history accessible to child and adult alike. My second grader has absorbed history better with this text than with any other. She looks forward to reading the next chapter and answering questions and doing the fun projects from the activity book(an absolute must when using the text) . I have found that the activity book is like a FIAR curriculum. Each chapter is another unit study, touching on geography, historical significance, and cultural aspects of that period of time.
I also appreciate the non-biased approach Susan has taken. (BTW, C.E. has also been defined and accepted as Christian Era as well as Common Era - it depends on your own bias...)
This historical combo keeps my daughter's attention while helping her to remember facts, people and places in ancient times. I even found a note she had written during one of her play sessions addressed to King Narmer and talking about the ensuing battle! Who is King Narmer? Read the book!!!

My children (ages 7 and 9) and I just finished Story of the World Vol. 1 and so enjoyed it (we just started Vol.2, Middle Ages and also love it so far). The author did a wonderful job making world history interesting and understandable. This approach to history (chronologically, beginning with the ancients and moving progressively towards modern) creates a really nice, cohesive "big picture" of the flow of history that is sadly missing in our public school system (which for some reason teaches history in an out of order and out of context sort of way). Learning history progressively and in context helps it all to "make sense" (for children and us adults who missed out on a really good education in history ourselves!) and enables us to see connections and common threads between civilizations and time periods. History "unfolds," rather than occurs in isolated pockets of time, so it would makes sense to me to learn about it in the same way. Susan Wise Bauer sprinkled stories, myths, and legends from each civilization throughout the book, which not only brings the ancient peoples "to life," but also provides kids with something engaging and fun to remember the civilizations by. I would highly recommend this book (and the series) for parents who are homeschooling their elementary grade children, and also for parents who are wanting to supplement their publicly or privately schooled children's history education.

I am using this book with the curriculum guide with my kids and the question is who likes it better. History is my kids' favorite subject now and I can't wait myself to read more and more and more. This book would be best for elementary school children, although the language and the stories are not super simple! The stories in this book are soooo interesting. It realy is his-STORY, a story about people, instead of boring facts from a time long gone. The curriculum guide to accompany this book is an absolute MUST since it will direct you to more history and literature about what you just read in this book. There are also coloring pages, maps and numerous projects (doing an archaeology dig, building a model of the Nile, making a mummified chicken to writing in cuneiform on clay). So don't wait any longer, buy buy buy this book and the curr.guide!

Mary Anne has always been one of my very favorite character. This book has a great beginning, middle and end.
Mary Anne has always want to be the leader. She had fought a little but got ruined by her friends saying mean things. it was sad when they had a fight, but it really let you want to read more.
When they had a fight, it really let you taste each character's personality. All of them are quite strong, but the strongness are different. That's what I like about this book. Every character are different but sometimes same. The book discribed it well enough to let you understand.
I like the ending. I wonder was this book based on someone! (Especially that Jenny P, the spoilled kid.)I can't help laughing when Mary Anne cries!
The only way you are going to know the personality of each character and the trouble they each bring (or pleasure) is to READ THE BOOK!

The Baby-sitters have a huge fight about job-hogging. They start to call each other names such as a BABY, or a STUCK UP SNOB. Mary Anne's father treats her like a little kid, and Mary Anne decides to take charge. Mary Anne makes a new friend,Dawn. Dawn and Mary Anne look through their Mom and Dad's old yearbooks and then they find out that her father and Dawn's mother were high school sweethearts! If you want to find out what happens, read this book!!!!!!!

This is the first BSC book where their friendship is put on the test (not counting book #1, which also contains a fight, but not as serious as this fight). Mary Anne is being called a 'baby' and she's not happy at all about it. The rest of the BSC are mad at each other over everything and the BSC was to break up if this doesn't get better. Not to mention when the BSC almost ruined Jamie Newton's birthday party. Then, when Mary Anne goes on a job with Jenny P., Jenny gets a super high fever. Mary Anne called Dawn, a new friend of hers and they help Jenny work things out to the hospital. That's when Mary Anne's father realized that she wasn't a little girl anymore, so he let her stay out later on jobs. But does this mean the BSC are back together? Read the book and find out for yourself. I rate this book a nine because it was good, but not exactly excellent.