CHARLOTTE MASON HISTORY
LIVING BOOKS AND SUPPLIES
Living History Books for Your Form 1 Student (Grades 1-3)
Any of the books listed here can be used as a History Spine for Form 1
History through Biographies & Events
These books are good examples of books you could use instead of or in addition to the spines listed above.
Other History Books I Love for Form 1 Students
These books are good examples of books you can use just for fun or as reference books!
Living History Books for Your Form 2 Student (Grades 4-6)
Form 2 History includes American History, British History, and Ancient History.
See the Form 2 Guide for more detailed info
I am providing several options for American History:
- Option #1: Use one American History book as your History Spine >> jump to this section
- Option #2: Use a series of books as your History Spine >> jump to this section
- Option #3: Use the Betsy Maestro series to study American History through picture books >> jump to this section
- Option #4:Use many books to study American History through Biographies and Events >> jump to this section
American History Option #1
Use one of the 4 books listed below as your main History Spine:
Spine Option #1: America First by Lawton Evans.
This is a wonderfully narrative book and does not require any previous knowledge.
Be sure to purchase the AMERICA FIRST UPDATED EDITION.
Spine Option #2: A First Book in American History by Edward Eggleston
This book gets the job done but is not as narrative as America First.
Spine Option #3: The Story of the Thirteen Colonies and The Great Republic by H.A. Guerber
This book is a bit harder than either of the previous books and is also an option for Form 3.
Spine Option #4: If you’d rather start with Native American history, I recommend The Book of Indians by Holling C. Holling.
American History Option #2
The Steve Sheinkin American History Series
This option includes easier, but more modern books.
Don’t be put off with the style look of these books by Steve Sheinkin – they pack a good deal of information in a very engaging style!
Unfortunately, this series leaves out certain periods in American history (most notably early American history), so you will need to supplement with other books if you wish to cover those time periods. You can fill in the gaps with biographies.
Note: The Notorious Benedict Arnold and Bomb are best suited for older students in Form 2A Upper (Year 6).
These books are also recommended for Form 3 students.
History Option #3:
The Betsy Maestro American History series
The Betsy Maestro American History series are picture books with simple historical info told in a fairly straight-forward way. Some books are out-of-print, but most can be found at your local library.
History Option #4:
American History through Biographies & Events
These books are good examples of books you could use instead of or in addition to the spines listed above.
Books for Early American History
Books for the American Revolution
Books for American History 1790 – 1850
Books for the American Civil War Era
Options for British History
Any of the books listed here can be used as a History Spine for a second history stream focused on British History.
Charlotte used Our Island Story by H.E. Marshall for her Form 1 students, but I think it works wonderfully for Form 2 as well, especially since it is used as a second history stream.
It is beautifully narrative and a wonderful way to learn British history.
Charlotte used A History of England by H.O. Arnold-Forster for Form 2 students.
It is much harder and assumes that the student has some prior knowledge of British history.
I think this book works better for a Form 3 student.
The British Empire by Gerald Johnson is a much more brief look at British history.
It is not as narrative as An Island Story, but it is much easier than the Arnold-Forster book.
Unfortunately, this book is also out-of-print and difficult to find.
Options for Ancient History
Any of the books listed here can be used as a History Spine for a third history stream focused on Ancient History.
Or you could use Story of the World (Volume 1) by Susan Wise Baur as an easier and more condensed option for ancient history.
Historical Fiction
These books are good examples of books you could use for History Tales / Historical Fiction.
Other Books & Things I Love for Form 2 Students
These are good examples of books you can use as reference books, supplements, or books just for fun!
Living History Books for Form 3 Students (Grades 7-8)
American History Options
There aren’t a lot of living book options for Middle School History, so my pick is The Story of the Thirteen Colonies and The Great Republic by H.A. Guerber, which isn’t my favorite choice, but it is currently in-print.
I list my absolute favorite books for Middle School History in the Curriculum Form Guide for Form 3, but because they are all out-of-print and hard to find., I do not list them here.
Options for British History
Any of the books listed here can be used as a History Spine for a second history stream focused on British History.
Charlotte used Our Island Story by H.E. Marshall for her Form 1 students, but I think it still works wonderfully for Form 2 and even Form 3 students, especially since it is used as a secondary history stream. It is beautifully narrative and a wonderful way to learn British history.
If you feel that your student needs a more challenging book for British History, you might want to choose A History of England by H.O. Arnold-Forster. Charlotte used this book for students in Form 2 and Form 3.
Options for World History
If you’d rather focus on World History, any of the books listed here can be used as a World History Spine.
Alternatively, you could also spend a year or two in Form 3 studying your state’s history instead of British or World History.
Charlotte used The Story of Mankind by Van Loon for her Form 3 students.
Options for Ancient History
Any of the books listed here can be used as a History Spine for a third history stream focused on Ancient History.
Form 3 students did not study Ancient History, but if your student has not studied Ancient Greek or Roman history yet, I would advise adding that as a third stream of history (as was done in Form 2).
History through Biographies & Events
These books are good examples of books you could use instead of or in addition to the spines listed above.
More books will be added in the coming weeks…
Early American History
American Revolution
American Revolution
Civil War
20th Century
Historical Fiction
These books are good examples of books you could use for History Tales / Historical Fiction.
Early American History
American Revolution
1790-1850
Civil War
20th Century
Other Books & Things I Love for Form 3 Students
These are good examples of books you can use as supplements or just for fun!
Living History Books for Form 4 Students (Grade 9)
Options for American History
These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore is my first choice for American History in high school. The author does an excellent job of maintaining political balance, meaning the book is neither too liberal nor too conservative in it’s slant. This book was first published in 2018, so it covers topics up through the Trump presidency. It can be used for Forms 5 & 6 as well (grades 10-12).
NOTE: There are instances in These Truths that some families might not be comfortable with – including, but not limited to, a description regarding President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky; foul language and racial slurs within direct quotes; issues regarding civil rights for various groups; and abortion. These are hard but necessary topics. The author presents all of these issues from a historical viewpoint and relates them to modern-day politics as well.
I have chosen to use this book in my own home because I consider these topics appropriate for high-school-aged students. These are issues that I want my children to be able to discuss with me. My high-school-aged son says this book is his favorite history book ever because of the author’s candid look at both sides of the issues. It’s been a source of some very deep and meaningful conversations at our house.
But because standards vary among households, please preview for your own use. A student “textbook” edition of These Truths is being published soon and will hopefully be appropriate for all families while still maintaining it’s living book qualities.
If you need another option, consider using A History of US set by Joy Hakim or Paul Johnson’s A History of the American People. These books are not nearly as living as my first choice, but many families enjoy using them.
Options for British or World History
Any of the books listed here can be used as a History Spine for a second history stream focused on British or World History.
My first choice for British history is Great Tales from English History by Robert Lacey. This book is very fun to read!
Charlotte used A History of England by H.O. Arnold-Forster for students in Form 3. It is suitable for high school as well. The reprint listed above is the 1st of three volumes needed if you decide to use this set. The public domain text can be found here.
For a more in-depth look at English history, consider A History of the English Speaking Peoples 4-Volume set by Winston Churchill. Definitely more difficult, but very good.
If you’d rather focus on World History, A Little History of the World by Gombrich can be used as a spine.
Alternatively, you could also choose topical studies for your second or third stream of history. See History Through Events below.
Options for Ancient History
Any of the books listed here can be used as a History Spine for a third history stream focused on Ancient History (or see Forms 5-6 for other options).
History through Biographies & Events
These books are good examples of books you could use instead of or in addition to the spines listed above.
More books will be added periodically to this category. Please check back!
Early American History
American Revolution
Post-Revolution
Civil War
1900-1940
WWII
WWII
1950-2000
21st Century
Historical Fiction
These books are good examples of books you could use for History Tales / Historical Fiction.
More books will be added periodically to this category. Please check back!
Early American History
American Revolution
1790-1850
Civil War
20th Century
Other Books & Things I Love for Form 4 Students
These are good examples of books you can use as supplements or just for fun!
More options coming soon…
Are you a Texan too?!
CLICK HERE for Living Books about TEXAS HISTORY
I discovered the “Creative Minds Biographies” by accident when I was searching for something my daughter could read for fourth grade Pennsylvania history (a requirement for homeschooling in PA). There are dozens in the series including musicians, artists, writers, scientists, naturalists, activists, and more. I love them, they are a pleasure to read and narrate, bring up important ideas to discuss, and make connections between these books and their regular history spines. They are excellent for reading together for forms 1A upper, 2B, and 2A lower (grades 3-5). After that, I’d have a child read one alone in forms 2A upper and all of 3 (grades 6-8). If the form 3 student is ready to write narrations or even a short biography paper then the books in this series would make excellent choices for that type of work. I’ve also had my kids do map work if the biography was travel oriented, or do a timeline if the biography lent itself to that. One daughter read the Harriet Tubman bio in this series in 2A lower and correlated Tubman’s life with her larger 19th century timeline.
My understanding was that one should begin with ancient history and progress forward over American history? Are there resources for living books for more world history?
Hi Leanne! Charlotte always started with the history of the student’s own country, so for her, that was British; for us, it is United States history. Then, depending on which Form the student is in, she added different “streams” of history such as the history of an influential country, world history, and / or ancient history. So students studied multiple streams of history at once. It really is a brilliant way to do it!
If you’d like the incredibly detailed breakdown of which history was studied in which Forms and which books Charlotte used, the CM Your Way Form Guides will give you all that info plus many more modern history book suggestions than are listed here.
I hope that info helps! Let me know if you have any more questions! 😉
You can get more info on the Form Guides here: https://cmplenary.com/product/curriculum-form-guides/
Hello! What History rotation do you utilize or recommend? I apologize if I’ve missed this tidbit within the curriculum from guide.
That’s the great thing about using the CM Your Way Form Guides! YOU get to choose your own history rotation! You can choose what works best for your family. Typically though, if you are utilizing the various history streams, you can get through U.S. history in about 4 years. Hope that helps! 😉