First Book in American History

My first grader loves this book! It is narrative in tone -- think Story of the World meets American History. I highly recommend it!

This reminds me of The Story of the World, but only for US history. Each chapter is a great read-aloud for a 3rd grader. Then there are a few questions at the end of the chapter. The style of writing is interesting without being hokey. My kindergardener was happy listening too it also and I learned new things as well!

When our son was 9, I think my sister sent us an Eggleston book that my son liked. Anyway, after that, I bought this book, and he loved it. It contains mostly biographies. These men as children had different lives than our children, but the feelings they felt are exactly the same. No other book has touched him as this book did (fiction, non-fiction, etc). He asked me repeatedly to buy him another Eggleston book, but there were no others that I could buy until recently (he's 12 now). He has developed a tremendous love for history, and this book was probably a big part of that. Along the way, some things you get are ok, some are good, but there may be that one thing that stands above everything else. This was that one thing for us. So I decided to come back and put in this review.

Wow! I can't rave about this little book enough. I'm reading it to my two 5th graders, my 4th grader, and my first grader as an adjunct to our classical homeschooling history. It is so compact and yet so thorough. The pictures are lots of fun...little old line drawings and woodcuts. There are at least two per chapter and they ADD rather than distract. Each chapter is about a famous figure in American History. Eggleston's style is amazing--literate, and yet straightforward. The questions after each 3-4 page chapter are direct and helpful...no twaddle. The vocabulary words are a big bonus. I want to be clear: Eggleston's little miracle book isn't just an antique curiosity , filled with embarassing 1920's racial slurs or hero-worship. It's an honest, time-tested, balanced book...the opening chapters on Columbus alone prove this. And it's very versitile. I can see this being a story or textbook, with either the questions and vocab included in as a unit, or ignored completely. This is how we use it: I read to the kids, and they summarize each chapter on paper. Then I ask the included questions, and we discuss. Another note: please, please don't be put off by the odd cover of this little gem! The binding is made to last. It would be a great gift to any child.