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AnaB
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Hi There,
I've never used the Famous Men series, but am thinking about it. I looked through some of the first chapters on Amazon or CBD and saw that they did spend some time talking about the gods of the nations. I'm not sure how I feel about that. We did touch on these subjects throughout our study of the Ancients, Greeks, and Romans, but because I don't have a physical book to look through, and I have never used them, I would like to hear from those of you who have used the books. Did you like them?
If using the Famous Men over Our Island Story what would we be missing?
Many Thanks!
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Kristie 4
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Check out both books for free atThe Baldwin Project
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Mackfam
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Hi AnaB - I've been meaning to get over here to your question for a few days now!
I do have some of the Famous Men series (Rome and Greece). I used them to supplement our studies of the Greeks and Romans. I liked them because I could assign certain chapters/men to be read, while skipping others.
It is well written, and my copies are illustrated with beautiful images. I'm a sucker for high-gloss pages of illustrations!  That said, they didn't really capture my oldest. In fact, she read them for background, but said she preferred reading literature as opposed to a short blurb. They were good in that they gave a brief image/description of some of the men I wanted to introduce, but I only used them for a short time sensing the desire to get back to more living literature. So...good for brief overview...but it wouldn't have done for us to make an entire focus on this type of book. The children are too spoiled to living books at this point.
We haven't read Our Island Story. I know I remembered a lot of discussions here on this book in the past. Here are
all the search results I get searching under the phrase "Our Island Story". You can probably find more searching under the author's name. I thought this could give you a good sense of the book so you could compare it.
Hope this is a starting point at least. Anybody else used the Famous Men of... series?
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stellamaris
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Yes, we used Famous Men of Greece and Rome as supplemental resources last year in our study of (you guessed it!) Ancient Greece and Rome (am I getting tired or what?). I used it just as you did, Jennifer, assigning some sections and skipping others. I don't recall that they really had very much mythology in them, although, of course, the Iliad and the Odyssey (which we were reading at the time) certainly did, but I didn't have any trouble with this. I explained to the children that this is what people believed because they did not know the truth of the Gospel, or even the OT Scriptures, but they did have in their hearts the knowledge of and desire for God, and so they tried to come up with some kind of explanation on their own. We usually read Romans 1 & 2 when discussing this. Even pagan religions have some truth in them and witness to the natural law in man's heart.
As far as the Middle Ages, we have that but haven't used it yet. My only concern there would be that it is (I believe) written from a Protestant perspective, and since it covers the Reformation it might have a more anti-Catholic stance than the ancient history books.
Famous Men is a different format than Our Island Story. Our Island Story is a story of the history of England (as the title promises), whereas Famous Men is a series of mini-biographies of different individuals from different nations that lived in the same time period. Obviously, the Greek and Roman Famous Men are more focused on their respective countries, but the Middle Ages has biographies of men from several countries across Europe. So, they are very different in approach.
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Mackfam
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stellamaris wrote:
| I explained to the children that this is what people believed because they did not know the truth of the Gospel, or even the OT Scriptures, but they did have in their hearts the knowledge of and desire for God, and so they tried to come up with some kind of explanation on their own. We usually read Romans 1 & 2 when discussing this. Even pagan religions have some truth in them and witness to the natural law in man's heart. |
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This is EXACTLY the discussion the children and I have when we discuss these periods of Ancient History, particularly as we approach mythology. EXACTLY!
Ana, I know your original question included a little discomfort...or maybe not discomfort...but uncertainty...about approaching some of these ideas so I wanted to come back and underline that point. I know each family makes prudential decisions about their comfort level for approaching this, but in case you were looking for language to use so that you could approach some of these ideas as you encounter them...
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Jen Mackintosh
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SuzanneG
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Mackfam wrote:
| That said, they didn't really capture my oldest. In fact, she read them for background, but said she preferred reading literature as opposed to a short blurb. They were good in that they gave a brief image/description of some of the men I wanted to introduce, but I only used them for a short time sensing the desire to get back to more living literature. So...good for brief overview...but it wouldn't have done for us to make an entire focus on this type of book. The children are too spoiled to living books at this point. |
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I've seen / skimmed through these books from the library, and this is the sense that I get too. Good for background info and an overview, but then more living lit is needed ....to keep me awake and excited, anyway 
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SuzanneG
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AnaB wrote:
| If using the Famous Men over Our Island Story what would we be missing? |
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These two books are very different to me. I would use both. Something like this:
1. Read/listen to OIS. Hmmmm....Good story, well-written....captures your attention....makes you want to know more, sometimes. Talk about names, places, time period, etc.
2. My/their interest is peaked....so I go to Famous Men (or something similar) and read about "that" person, etc. If I think it's worthwhile, then I'd have dc read "it" (paragraph, chapter, whatever) the next day or whenever. Talk about it. Or maybe I'd read it aloud.
3. Sometimes, OIS just wets your appetite for MORE of the same story. So, then off on a search for a living book for that time period of history, or that particular person.
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Suzanne in ID
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AnaB
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| Posted: Dec 16 2009 at 8:34am | IP Logged
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Thanks for your replies. That's exactly what I needed to know.
I was confused to see several teacher guides for the Famous Men series advertised for up to high school. It seems like that wouldn't give you a very thorough scope of history.
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Famous Men of Middle Ages?
