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KauaiCatholic
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| Posted: Aug 19 2011 at 10:52pm | IP Logged
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I am overwhelmed by choices. does anyone care to weigh in as to the merits of Kingfisher vs. Usborne as history references? is it just a matter of preference, one brand over the other? or are they significantly different, enough to justify getting both?
the reason I'm asking is we're wrapping up SOTW1 and I'm prepping for SOTW2 with Catholic addendums (I think I'm going to order The Story of the Church for that). but I'm realizing we really didn't have a good encyclopedia to reference up to this point. adding to my  is that when folks refer to these references in blogs or on this forum, it's often just as "Kingfisher" or "Usborne," and there are several choices for each in the history genre alone. hence this search. and my confusion. 
but I digress. I'm looking at The Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World: Internet Linked and The Usborne Book of World History.
and on the Kingfisher side, which I am leaning toward, I am truly overwhelmed by options. can anyone help me understand which of these is preferable? I can justify more than 1 if that's not overkill, although DH would prefer 1. 
I have found: Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World
Kingfisher History Encyclopedia
as well as these: Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World and Kingfisher Atlas of the Medieval World .
All look wonderful. I'm assuming not all are necessary. (or ARE they? ) I can only see the first one via inter-library loan, unfortunately. and I'm going crazy reading Amazon reviews.  any help anybody could offer would be greatly appreciated!
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 Viviane
Grateful mama of Jonah Augustine ('01), Sophia Marie ('05) and Luke Dominic ('10)
We can do no great things; only small things with great love. -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
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KauaiCatholic
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| Posted: Aug 20 2011 at 8:57pm | IP Logged
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OK, I answered some of my own questions. looks like the medieval and ancient world atlases are probably included in the really big book. guess I needed to step away from Amazon for a while and come back with clearer eyes. 
still wondering if anyone has preferences they'd like to share ...
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Viviane
Grateful mama of Jonah Augustine ('01), Sophia Marie ('05) and Luke Dominic ('10)
We can do no great things; only small things with great love. -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Aug 23 2011 at 8:32am | IP Logged
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KauaiCatholic wrote:
| I am overwhelmed by choices. does anyone care to weigh in as to the merits of Kingfisher vs. Usborne as history references? is it just a matter of preference, one brand over the other? or are they significantly different, enough to justify getting both? |
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I do have a few history encyclopedias that we use, but I don't have the Kingfisher one. I have the Usborne Book of World History, which is an older version. Of the Usbornes, I prefer the older versions to the newer ones - but that could just be a personal preference thing. I don't like the internet linked versions - 1) they're distracting to me, 2) I don't let my littles on the internet too much anyway (and it's primarily 2nd-6th graders using this book), and 3) I'm a great google-er so I don't have a prob finding internet resources if I want to look for them. Thus, when I look for these books, I always hunt for the older ones (1990ish)...because I can save big bucks purchasing an older, non-internet linked version (for ex, the book I linked you above you can find in paperback for dirt cheap.) Since they don't *update* world history too much (LOL!!!), and these contain all an elementary age child needs to know anyway, I'm safe finding older books. Also, my kids really prefer the older 80's/90's graphics....they're detailed and intriguing to them, but not overwhelming.
I also have Usborne Time Traveler, Usborne Ancient World (I have the older version of this which I like, but there is a newer version), Oxford First Ancient History (love this book - it's middle school reading level though!). (Side note not related to history....we also have several Usborne science related books, all older, and these are really enjoyed by my science kid!)
As far as deciding if this type of book should live on your shelves, I would say that you probably don't need ALL of them. I have purchased one or two at a time depending on the period of history we're studying. Over the years, we've collected a nice group of them, but it's not necessary to buy them all at once. My children do prefer one book which focuses on a particular period, rather than a full encyclopedia of world knowledge - it's just easier to hold and less intimidating.
If you prefer the look and layout of Kingfisher, go with those. If it's Usborne, go with those. (Can you ask around in your local homeschool group to borrow some of these just to take a look?) The detailed illustrations are great and material is always confined to a two page spread (at least it is in the Usborne books I have). This makes it great for CM type short lessons - the history book and info isn't overwhelming.
A word of caution though -- these books narrate best in non-traditional/non-oral ways (at least in my family anyway). I see narrations in army men, or lego battles, or projects conceived after reading (almost always involving weaponry or battles )....which is fine, but I know not to expect the child to sit down and narrate orally from these books. It took me a LONG time of back and forth considering/observing to finally relax and realize that the children WERE narrating....just not in the traditional way! And I simply decided not to expect that of these books. They spring some imaginative role-play type playing/masterly inactivity....and my boys especially seem to love them. Another reason I like them is that they are SO visual! If you have a visual learner - great! If you don't, this is a good way to stretch them a little at a time using the 2-page spread....they must get in the habit of visually noticing details (I do the same thing with my non-auditory learners by stretching them with engaging audio CD read alouds...it's good to know the primary learning style of a child, but a dis-service to ignore the other learning styles so that they are never developed).
Thought I'd mention another book since we're talking about history reference staples...I do use this book A LOT which I also inherited from my mom's library: The Timetables of History. There is an updated version which I imagine would be nice to own, ours is the 1982 version I linked first. This book is probably one of THE MOST FREQUENTLY USED books on our shelves...so much so that it is almost never re-shelved. This is definitely one of my, *grab-this-book-if-the-house-is-on-fire* books!!
Hope this helps in decision making.  Let us know what you decide on....and what you think of it when it arrives!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
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vmalott
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| Posted: Aug 23 2011 at 6:40pm | IP Logged
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I'll just add to what Jen has stated so wonderfully: On many blogs you will see Usborne for elementary (grammar stage) kids and Kingfisher for middle school (logic stage) kids. This is because these are the texts suggested in The Well Trained Mind. Thus, "Usborne" is the newer version of the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia, which is referenced in the SOTW activity guides with correlated page spreads. "Kingfisher" is the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, which is also referenced similarly in the SOTW AGs.
I have these two titles that I referenced above precisely because they are the ones referenced in the SOTW AGs and because I have a variety of age levels. I also have a comprehensive edition of the Spielvogel Western Civilization text for my oldest (rhetoric level) child. And, yes, we also have The Timetables of History, which is a book I came into the marriage with! You could say I'm a bit of a history reference junkie!
HTH,
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Valerie
Mom to Julia ('94), John ('96), Lizzy ('98), Connor ('01), Drew ('02), Cate ('04), Aidan ('08) and three saints in heaven
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KauaiCatholic
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| Posted: Aug 29 2011 at 6:03pm | IP Logged
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thank you so much for the input! your answers helped me clarify in my mind what we needed. and then I had a little assistance: after posting here I discovered we actually already own an older version of the Usborne World History. (turns out it was tucked in a box of books I picked up at a yard sale and umm, hadn't shelved yet ...)
and then I found the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia for less than $10 on eBay: SOLD! hopefully that will balance things out since I still couldn't really decide which would be best for us.
and THEN, because I had saved so much money,  I wrapped it all up with the Kingfisher Atlas of World History. I had been thinking of buying the smaller ones separately but then Amazon dropped the price of the big one to $16 and I couldn't resist.
so all that pontificating and agonizing? the final decisions came down to what was the best bargain. but I couldn't have done it without some helpful advice guiding my way. thanks again!
oh, I'm still pondering the Timetables book. looks a little advanced for my crowd right now, but I'm intrigued. maybe if I find it on sale ...
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Viviane
Grateful mama of Jonah Augustine ('01), Sophia Marie ('05) and Luke Dominic ('10)
We can do no great things; only small things with great love. -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
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Topic: kingfisher vs. usborne?
