I’m so glad that my comments were helpful.
Usually the types of books that lend themselves better to any narrations are those that tell a story. Some examples would be biographies and historical fiction. Non-fiction books are good, too, if they are more than just a listing of names and dates. I have mostly boys so we love to read books on the battles from different wars. Nothing too gory, but the books describe the maneuvers by the armies and what the outcome of the battles were. For science I would look for biographies or non-fiction books that relate the author’s experiences. For instance, Jean Craighead George has a few books that tell her experiences with various animals that lived at her house, including a tarantula and a crow.
As for names and dates . . . we try to remember the important names such as George Washington, but we don’t sweat too much over not remembering some more obscure people. I also don’t put too much emphasis on exact dates. I want my kids to be able to attach names with events in history and to know the time period those events took place. For example, I don’t particularly care about the exact date that penicillin was first used, but I do care that my kids understand that it was first used in the 1940s, around the time of World War II. Others may want their kids to remember more details. It all depends on what is important to you.
We, also, usually keep a timeline (some keep a Book of Centuries) that lists all the important dates and names we find interesting. We refer to the timeline as we are reading to find out what else was happening on that date. It is fascinating to see that Benedict Arnold was discovered as a traitor the same year that Haydn published his Toy Symphony, for example.
I hope that helps.
