Britannia: 100 Great Stories from British History

I can sympathise with 'A Customer' who found the book unsuitable for her/his child. However, as I'm sure the majority of parents & we doddering grandparents will agree, the idea is not simply to sling a weighty tome at your nascent genius but to spend time reading with them. This volume is perfect for such a purpose, I sneak a look every now and then just for my own enjoyment.

Entertaining and diverse (3/3 people found this helpful)

I bought this for my daughter, then aged 8, since then she has read it over and over. I can see why, the stories are really fascinating and well illustrated and in manageable chunks for young readers. Together with Tony Robinson's Kings and Queens, this book has definitely started her on a passion for history and given her a mind boggling general knowledge. Recommended

History Lessons for 30 yr olds, let alone kids! (6/7 people found this helpful)

The illustrations in this book are splendid, and for the mostpart it covers intriguing areas of British history that your average Joe, nor I, would know much about. There is one review here that discounts the book's historical accuracy on the basis that the author of Gulliver's Travels was Jonathan Swift, not Dean Swift. May I point out however, that Dean was the writer's title, not his name: from 1713 to 1742 Swift was the dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral. I can't vouch for the whole book, but on this point alone, the book is watertight - and heck, even if it isn't, I'm enjoying reading it anyway. And who's going to mind if my knowledge of 5th century AD history is a bit shaky? At worst, it could mean losing a pub quiz!

A bright and fascinating book which sneaks history into children (17/17 people found this helpful)

Wow! This is the book that I wish I'd had as a child. I was never taught history in a sensible sequence, unfortunately, so I didn't built a chronology of events in my head. The result is a hopeless historian.
I am determined therefore to try and give my own children a decent internal time-line and this book is a perfect start (especially paired with Tony Robinsons' chronological `Kings and Queens'). It contains a vast range of short stories from King Leir 800BC through to the present day: King Arthur, King Alfred, The Fire of London, Glencoe, The Titanic, Votes for Women, Dunkirk, etc. Each is told as a tale from history with the more concrete facts briefly boxed to one side.
What's great about this book is that it isn't a turgid historical reference book - it presents the past with real human interest. Many of the earliest stories, McCaughrean notes, are more legend than truth but this folklore is part of our historical legacy. Other stories bring the era to life or cover an incident that gives a flavour of the history of the time. For example, the moving story of the 1914 Christmas Allies v Germany football match makes an appearance as does the tale of Eyam, the village who cordoned itself off to prevent the plague spreading to their neighbouring villages.
Each well-written story is only 3 or 4 pages long with plenty of text and wide-ranging stretching vocabulary. Every single page has a couple of attractive and colourful pictures giving book a very appealing feel. It's an absolute corker which I've just bought for my six-year old daughter. [...]

Nice Stories, Wrong Age Group (16/28 people found this helpful)

I bought this to read to a 5 year old - it was in the key-stage-1 section. I should have taken notice of the reviewers who said things like "I love to read my children these stories, when they let me". The language style and the backgound knowledge required is just not that of a five-year old. Don't buy it, if your kids are under 36.

Britannia: 100 Great Stories from British History

Geraldine McCaughrean

Reader Reviews:

Edward Gibbon it's not (Thankfully!) (3/3 people found this helpful)

Entertaining and diverse (3/3 people found this helpful)

History Lessons for 30 yr olds, let alone kids! (6/7 people found this helpful)

A bright and fascinating book which sneaks history into children (17/17 people found this helpful)

Nice Stories, Wrong Age Group (16/28 people found this helpful)

Similar Products

Categories