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Famous Men of Greece ?'s
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I have a couple of quick questions for those of you who have used Famous Men of Greece.
Is this a book that you would recommend using with a second grader?
Also, if not what would you recommend in it’s place?
Thank you so much for your help!
We used it. But, we are not into all the mythological god’s that is talked about in the beginning. And for us it was very graphic. So, we just skipped that part of the history and picked up again when it got past all the gods. I don’t mind my kids being exposed to the fact that the Greeks had beleifs in these false gods and a little about who they were, but this was too much for us. I’ve never been one that really liked history, so it took me by surprise when my DD8 would ask for history class and the Famous Men of Greece book. I would use it again, and again just skip the section of history about the mythological gods (Hercules, etc). Because DD seemed to enjoy this book we are planning to use Famous Men of Rome this next year.
We just finished using it last year. We did not enjoy it at all. I wasn’t concerned with the mythology or false gods because we don’t have a problem exposing our children to those concepts and then discussing them with a biblical worldview. In addition, because mythology, gods, Hercules, Medusa, etc. are so much a part of the Greeks history, I felt like I would be leaving too much out if I omitted those chapters. My problem was that the book did not hold my attention, much less my children’s! I felt like it was boring and not well written, which is surprising, considering it’s from Greenleaf Press. I am almost embarassed to say that it felt like a chore to take the book out each week and read the lesson for that week. I did it anyway, but none of us really enjoyed it or got much out of it. I can honestly tell you that my children probably wouldn’t be able to tell you much about Greek history. (Blush.)
I am sorry that I don’t have any suggestions for you instead of Famous Men of Greece. History spines intimidate me, and I hate spending money on something that ends up being useless. I also don’t have a lot of time to research alternatives, which is why I rely on and trust the SCM team so much for its recommendations. This is the one and only time I’ve been disappointed, so I definitely don’t hold it against them!
A few others on another thread recommended Guerber’s versions of the same title. Apparentely Shearer revised Guerber’s originals, and hers are much better. I have purchased a Guerber version of Famous Men of Rome for us to try this coming year.
I believe the Famous Men books were originally written by John H. Haaren and A. B. Poland. I have the original ones which are republished by Memoria Press with colored pictures. I like their typesetting and format better than the Greenleaf version as it looks more professional to my eyes anyway.
As to the OP, I haven’t used the Greek book yet but we have used all the rest. We liked them a lot but we were using it with high school. I would use Story of the World with elementary age children. We used it with our children and now I am using it again with my granddaughter.
Not a fan of the Famous Men books here either, however we have the Famous Men of Modern Times done by Memoria Press and DS, 13, is loving it, and he didn’t like (and none of us really did) the prior Famous Men books we have used: of the 16th and 17th Centuries and Middle Ages by Greenleaf Press.
If I was buying over again, I would look for the ones put out by Memoria Press. Here is a link to their Greek books: http://www.memoriapress.com/descriptions/classical/daulaires.htm
Their books have full-color illustrations which has really pulled in my son, and the lessons are really well-written in my opinion. I found our “Modern Men” book used for a great price on half.com
I would look there first for purchasing if you are interested in them. I really like Greenleaf Press, but I just don’t think their Famous Men books are as well-done and the price is comparable to Memoria and yet Memoria are in full-color and the illustrations are just so much higher quality.
From now on, I’ll look to Memoria for the Famous Men books. 2 cents for what it is worth!
Are the Memoria books any different, content-wise, from the Greenleaf Famous Men books? I have both the MA and RR Famous Men books from Greenleaf, and would consider getting the others if they’re that much better.
Well I can’t really say except that we like them better. I don’t know that content is any differnt but aestheticaly they are way better. I have the Famous Men of 16th/17th and Middle Ages from Greenleaf and we waded through them. I decided to try the Famous Men of the Modern Times from Memoria b/c I saw someone suggest it as a substitute and I was desperate to find one. And then I found it CHEAP on half.com. The seller indicated minor moisture damage, and my son had no issue with this and it was literally less than $5 so I decided to take a chance. It is really as described and pages are a bit crinkled but not bad and no ink issues, so I’m happy with it. Cover is intact and it is much like the Greenleaf but the color illustrations especially of the paintings and things are so much better.
I would always have to pull up color illustrations in the 16th/17th century book we used with Module 4 last year b/c we couldn’t tell much from the ones in the book. This was a bit frustrating at times, and I would have liked the color in the Memoria books as I know my DC would have too. For some things, b/w is fine but when looking at a famous painting, the color is so helpful.
So, I can’t compare in other words book-to-book b/c I don’t have the same time periods to compare, but I can tell you I’m on the loookout for the Memoria color books to replace my Greenleaf ones as we’ll cycle back through Modules 4 again.
HTH
Have you used the FM books in module 4? I had another history plan ready to go but am now reconsidering using SCM…
jlcs, one option you might consider for a second grader is Hillyer’s A Child’s History of the World. There are several chapters on Greek history. I could give you the chapter titles if you’re interested.
Just wanted to add that I didn’t realize until just now when I looked that A Child’s History of the World is a bit pricey. Sonlight has is for $28. It may be a good option only for those who already own it or who are not on a very tight budget.
We used the Memoria Press version of Famous Men easily with the SCM until we ran out of them. The original ones only went through Greece, Rome, and the Middle Ages with the Modern Times one covering all the rest. Greenleaf wrote and published Renaissance and Reformation and 16th & 17th Century. These have some of the people that are in the Modern Times book but they took the Modern Times book and added a lot to it and expanded it to become a set of two books so far with more planned. However they don’t seem to be very timely about getting these published. The set won’t be finished in time for us to use them all.
The titles of the chapters in Greenleaf and Memoria Press were the same for Greece, Rome and Middle Ages. There could be a difference between them other than the colored pictures in Memoria’s version but we were happy with the Memoria ones that we had.
@Evergreen, we did use the Famous Men books as outlined in the SCM Module 4 this last year. Had I known though about Memoria’s books, I would have used those instead. I like them that much better. I agree with Sue that they seem to overlap a lot and have the same basic info. though yes, the Famous Men of Modern Times from Memoria has more than what the Greenleaf has that I can tell so far.
My oldest son is using it as one of his individual reading books with Module 5. I am just following the SCM Module suggestions and having him read those chapters. I may some of the ones that are not assigned later or we may read some aloud. We just got started so not sure. You can see the TOC for the Memoria books and do a comparison if you already have the Greenleaf books, or they may have the TOC on-line as well.
I really like some of Greenleaf’s books but the color in Memoria is a big advantage for us b/c of the use of so many original paintings and artwork. Nothing like seeing it in color. Hope this helps!
@leah and others, I found A Child’s History at a used sale for $8!!! It is like brand new. I would look for it used if you are interested in owning it. I’ve seen it on amazon for a great price used as well as half.com
Here is the Memoria Famous Men of Greece book for $5 plus $4 s/h on ebay! Might be worth a look.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2228&item=320959111629
Is anyone familiar with the free Kindle edition on Amazon? http://www.amazon.com/Famous-Men-Greece-ILLUSTRATED-ebook/dp/B007WU6KS2/ref=tmm_kin_title_1
I downloaded it a while ago, but have no idea how it compares with the printed one from Greenleaf Press or Memoria.
Would love input because FREE is a very good price. 🙂
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