Just published this week – three new reference works for children on Egypt, Greece, & Rome.
Each is built around a clever premise, very well executed. These three full-color glossy paperbacks are great introductions for kids in elementary and middle school to three of great ancient civilizations. The stories are factual (they’re not imitating the grocery store tabloids), but they are spiced up with punchy headlines. This is not just a gimmick. It helps communicate to students that the history book facts were news when they happened – and often unexpected or surprising or sometimes downright shocking!
The Egyptian News
by Scott Steedman
Sample headlines:
Exclusive: Boy King Murdered?
Sudden Death of Tutankhamen Stuns Nation
Crazy King Causes Chaos
Egypt’s priests rejoiced at the death of Amenhotep IV in 1336 B.C. During his 16 years as pharaoh, he had made their lives miserable – and had turned our religion upside down!
There are also feature stories on such topics as “The Longest Boat in Our Country,” an exclusive interview with the royal mummy maker and (Egyptian) advice on marriage, pets, and house-hunting.
32 pages, paperback, $7.99 from Greenleaf Press
The Greek News
by Anton Powell & Philip Steele
Sample headlines:
Greece in Peril!
Xerxes leads Persian Invasion
Sparta Attacks!
Civil War Rages On. . .
Alexander Wins!
The news stories are following by feature pages on trade, sports, theater, housing, health, food, fashion, etc.
32 pages, paperback, $7.99 from Greenleaf Press
The Roman News
by Andrew Langley & Philip De Souza
Sample headlines:
Hannibal Invades!
Caesar Stabbed!
Rome in Turmoil after Brutal Murder!
City Destroyed! (on the destruction on Pompeii)
Colosseum Opens
There’s a very interesting 2-page spread exploring the topic of “Empire or Republic?” The Advertisements, fashion pages, food pages, and women’s pages give a wealth of interesting details.
32 pages, paperback, $7.99 from Greenleaf Press
In addition to being light-hearted and entertaining, there are refreshing details common to all three books. They all use BC/AD dating and explain that BC = before the birth of Christ and AD is after the birth of Christ. They’re also modest about the Egyptian dates with a note that states “As the events in this book took place so long ago, historians cannot be sure of the exact dates. You may find that the dates we have given vary a little from those found in other sources.”
Each of these can be ordered directly from Greenleaf Press by clicking on the book cover or on the underlined links.
– Rob Shearer, Publisher