different,Well, I’ve put it off long enough. After planning one thing, I have determined that we will be doing something entirely different, so now I am trying to sort out what I need to order for our 2015-16 school year. I have settled on doing Matthew-Acts & ancient Rome this year with my 6th and 9th graders. We took a brief pause last year and spent some time in Canadian history, which had been part of my plan for this year, but I have since decided to go back to the ease of the guides that have made the previous two years so much smoother. I like having it all laid out for me, especially with a busy work and ministry schedule on top of homeschooling. SO for those of you who have already covered this time period, I am looking for book recommendations particularly for my 9th grader, who devours books of his own choosing (adventure, survival, etc) but turns his nose up at anything I assign: the guide lists Caesar Augustus’ World or Beric the Breton and (another book I was silly enough not to write down the name of). Which did you use and might you have a preference? Also, do you have other options that you have come across that would be enjoyable? We have read The Bronze Bow, so I will be looking to substitute that one, also. Thanks so much.
Not sure if he would like it, but Makayla will be reading The Eagle of the Ninth by Sutcliff (it is a trilogy, she’s required to read the first. I suspect she’ll read all 3 but it’s up to her.) It is a trilogy about Roman Britain. Not sure if it will fit that module, we’ve not done that one, but wanted to mention it just in case.
I just finished reading The Eagle of the Ninth – very adventurous and interesting. I am reading the other books, too, because I discovered that I personally enjoy Rosemary Sutcliff’s books. =)
There are several Jacob Abbott books out there: Romulus, Hannibal (the Punic Wars – he used elephants as a war tactic), Julius Caesar, and Cleopatra.
Some G.A. Henty books include The Young Carthaginian, Beric the Briton, and For the Temple.
Albert Church wrote To the Lions, Helmet and Spear, Lords of the World, and Burning of Rome, among others.
What about Ben-Hur as a replacement for The Bronze Bow?
My older kids will be reading Augustus Caesar’s World (with discussion) – along with The Young Carthaginian by G. A. Henty, The Eagle of the Ninth by Sutcliff, and a family read-aloud of The Bronze Bow. We will read the Plutarch stories of Caesar and Antony in addition to our usual Plutarch studies, and read/watch Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. I don’t have time to read it, so I’m going to cheat and let them re-watch Ben Hur instead of reading it…we’ll have that out as a free-read (often after seeing something, they want to read the REAL story). 😉
Thank you, ladies. I have ordered a couple of the books you’ve mentioned. I see Sonya recommends Ben Hur for grades 10+, but as I don’t expect to revisit this time period with this son, I may add that to his list. I’ve never read it or seen the movie. How would the movie rank in terms of violence/graphic/age appropriateness?
The movie I am referring to was made in 1959 and stars Charlton Heston. I haven’t watched it for a while, but all my kids watched it a few years ago and it didn’t make me feel that I needed to protect them, if that makes sense. He was wealthy prince whose family causes an accident that harms a Roman, so he is condemned and enslaved on a Roman galley at one point, and towards the end he is a charioteer in the Circus and it was quite spectacular as his enemy tries to cheat and Ben-Hur had to rise above that to win. He ends up learning of Christ and it changes his life. There is a certain level of violence since we are talking about the Roman culture, but I didn’t think that it was overly violent or graphic. I would think that it would be fine for your son. It is very adventurous.
I have this on my list to read, and haven’t managed to get to it yet, so can’t say any thing to the book – although it probably is better than the movie because of the time for plot/character/situation development. 😉 It was written in 1880 under the title “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.”
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