A First Book in American History: With Special Reference to the Lives and Deeds of Great Americans [Hardcover]

Edward Eggleston (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Continuing the biographical approach to teaching history found in his Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans, Eggleston draws a more in-depth picture of the development of the United States using the stories of the living and breathing Americans who made it all happen.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is particularly teacher-friendly and well-suited for home schoolers -- Education Reporter, "Children Will Love Discovering 'Lost Classics,'" May 1997

From the Publisher

Edward Eggleston had a simple rule when writing history texts for children: make history interesting. A child is fascinated above all by people, Eggleston reasoned. So in his history texts Eggleston draws a picture of the development of the United States using the stories of the living and breathing Americans who made it all happen. Men and women like Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Pocahontas, Henry Hudson, Myles Standish, Samuel Morse, Benjamin Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln.

Especially valuable for home schoolers! All the features you expect in a teacher-friendly textbook: study questions after each chapter, definitions of pertinent words, maps and illustrations, and an index for easy cross reference.

Recommended for Ages 9-12.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 237 pages
• Publisher: Lost Classics Book Co. (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965273547
• ISBN-13: 978-0965273541
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #411,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! 5th Graders will love it!!, November 17, 1998

By 

"karaninnj" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A First Book in American History: With Special Reference to the Lives and Deeds of Great Americans (Hardcover)

From Columbus boyhood to his discovery voyage; John Cabot, Henry Hudson, William Penn, Ben Franklyn, Washington, Jefferson, Daniel Boone, Fulton, Morse and the Telegraph, Lincoln, Civil War, Spanish War, Great Expositions, Panama Canal to the purchase of Alaska... this small volume of history is, incredible! I was looking for history to supplement our 5th grade curriculum, and thank goodness for amazon.com search engines or I may never have discovered this gold. Each chapter concludes with 4-5 open ended questions, along with pronunciations and definitions of 2-3 words from the chapter. The chapter's read as though you were peaking in a window, and then following the characters around, and enjoying it. It's great. I read a couple chapters to my own 7 year old, and he loved it. I told him (using the 4/5 questions) what he would he learn from it, i.e. You'll learn where Christopher Columbus was born, etc.; then I read the chapter, followed with the questions and he did as well as my students. I've been discouraged by the presentation of textbooks, for students of all grades, when it comes to history. I decided to "read" to my students from their textbooks and other sources (such as this one)because history, afterall, is storytelling! So I strongly recommend to teachers, parents, homeschoolers, and students to add a book such as this one to your library, and see the times as they were, the people, the places, the food, the importance of events as they happened, and read, read, read this one. Another selection for those interested in more adventurous people,want more of the same, get Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans, by Eggleston, and read up more on Washington,Franklyn,in their youth along with Daniel Boone, Daniel Webster, Longfellow, Kit Carson and Horace Greeley. It's fun and exciting for all to read, you'll see. The true shame today, is how many good books, older than 10 and 20 years ago, are considered OLD... when it comes to education & history, I think the older, the more true, and the better... how about you!

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must-have for all homeschoolers and educators, October 15, 2000

By 

Erica "Erica" (Washington State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A First Book in American History: With Special Reference to the Lives and Deeds of Great Americans (Hardcover)

Wow! I can't rave about this little book enough. I'm reading it to my two 5th graders, my 4th grader, and my first grader as an adjunct to our classical homeschooling history. It is so compact and yet so thorough. The pictures are lots of fun...little old line drawings and woodcuts. There are at least two per chapter and they ADD rather than distract. Each chapter is about a famous figure in American History. Eggleston's style is amazing--literate, and yet straightforward. The questions after each 3-4 page chapter are direct and helpful...no twaddle. The vocabulary words are a big bonus.

I want to be clear: Eggleston's little miracle book isn't just an antique curiosity , filled with embarassing 1920's racial slurs or hero-worship. It's an honest, time-tested, balanced book...the opening chapters on Columbus alone prove this. And it's very versitile. I can see this being a story or textbook, with either the questions and vocab included in as a unit, or ignored completely. This is how we use it: I read to the kids, and they summarize each chapter on paper. Then I ask the included questions, and we discuss.

Another note: please, please don't be put off by the odd cover of this little gem! The binding is made to last. It would be a great gift to any child.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our 9 year son old loved this, July 28, 2004

By 

M. Hixon - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A First Book in American History: With Special Reference to the Lives and Deeds of Great Americans (Hardcover)

When our son was 9, I think my sister sent us an Eggleston book that my son liked. Anyway, after that, I bought this book, and he loved it. It contains mostly biographies. These men as children had different lives than our children, but the feelings they felt are exactly the same. No other book has touched him as this book did (fiction, non-fiction, etc). He asked me repeatedly to buy him another Eggleston book, but there were no others that I could buy until recently (he's 12 now). He has developed a tremendous love for history, and this book was probably a big part of that.

Along the way, some things you get are ok, some are good, but there may be that one thing that stands above everything else. This was that one thing for us. So I decided to come back and put in this review.