The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Vol. 3: Early Modern Times, 2nd Edition (9 CDs) Audio CD – Audiobook, January 17, 2008

We are now on disc 8 out of the 9 disc audio version of Story of the World Volume III by Susan Wise Bauer. My son(6.5) and I continue to love this series. My daughter(2) alternates between yelling "No Story of the World! Music CD!" from the back seat, or paradoxically, sometimes asking for it. I'm not deluding myself into thinking my two year old has learned anything from thirty plus hours of listening to SOTW volumes 1-3, but I think it hasn't hurt her language development at all to listen to speaking, stories, and big vocabulary words.For his part, my son told me recently:"Mom, I'll tell you what history is about. It's about Christians fighting Muslims, Muslims fighting Christians, Catholics fighting Protestants, and Protestants fighting Catholics. Every once in a while a real powerful guy comes along and builds up a great empire. But then after a while the empire gets all messed up."I found this reflection to be both wise and poignant, especially since it was coming from my six year old. This is not to say that I found SOTW III very dark or depressing, because it was not. There were a lot of wonderful stories of historical heroes, heroines, brave explorers, and noble defenders.SOTW III is also the only book for children that I have been able to find that discusses John Locke specifically. There is a good, five minute section about Locke and his theory that in a natural state all men are equal and have the right to pursue life, liberty and possessions. The theories created by John Locke flow straight into the creation of America, and so SOTW III also includes some early American history. In fact, it goes into more detail about certain parts of American history than the AP US History text I had in 11th grade. The history of Manhattan for example, was all new to me and very intriguing.In fact, I was shocked at how much history I learned from Volume III myself. I had never studied the liberation of South America, nor the Mongol empire in India. These are the hardest parts for me to learn, because I don't have any tracks laid down in my brain from childhood for the information to stick to. This won't be a problem for my children!

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Product was exactly as described, in original packaging and sealed, with slight marks or beads in outer packing being the only reason it was not "gift" quality. It was exactly what I was expecting. I will write reviews later as we get through the 11 hours of audio oops as to how the quality is. It arrived earlier than expected.

My kids (ages 6 and 9) LOVE to listen to this in the car when we are going places. It's informative and engaging for all ages, but geared towards kids. My dad even asked to borrow all the disks when we were done because he enjoyed hearing about the history of the world so much. I've even learned things I don't remember learning in school. I highly recommend it for anyone whether you like history or not. You will learn something new guaranteed.

Decided to splurge and get the volume we had as an ebook on Cd. Money well spent. There are times, like driving in the van when we review history that wouldn't be possible without the cd set. I have also found homeschooling more than one child that often we are not all finished at the same time. The cd set allows for independent learning. The narration is pleasant, and easy listening. The STOW is written in an engaging story format and the cd offers the same style. I now feel it is not a splurge, and will be purchasing the cd set for the next volume.

I love this curriculum, but I did not like having to do all the reading for my children. Getting the CDs has made my life so much easier and history more enjoyable. My only complaint is that the narrator (who is very good) reads quickly, which can make it somewhat difficult for elementary-aged children to understand. I would definitely recommend this curriculum to anyone wanting to give their children a broad education.

While we enjoy these in the car and while enjoying free time drawing, I am not "drinking the cool aid' of this author that some I have met are. Every program has it's errors and this is not exception. Overall it gives an interesting take on history of many years ago and that gives us a place to start in our discussions.

This item is a must for those using this series for history, especially those with auditory learners. My son's test scores have improved since he not only reads the book now, but gets to listen to it read. The voice reading it is pleasant to listen to.

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