Veritas Press Pages of History Series Review

All History Reviews

I love to read. I can read a full novel in less than 2 days. Of course, that means I don’t really do anything else, but I often do this in binges and lose sleep at night because I stay up too late.

When I received the Pages of History series (2 books) in the mail, being the curriculum junkie that I am – I had to dig in right away. I figured if the first chapter is captivating to ME than surely my daughter will not be bored to tears. I have to say – WOW! After one chapter I was totally hooked! Knowing my daughter would be just as intrigued, I decided to stop and not keep going, but I really wanted to!

Let me start off by saying that I was NOT expecting these books to be thick hardcover books. These books are extremely Christian, which is perfect for our family, but likely not a good fit for a secular family.

I started in Volume 1, Secrets of the Ancients – and it covers Creation  – Reformation.  It takes place in the future after the Government “cleanses” Christianity from our Country. It starts off with two boys, James and Lance at a field trip to the Library of Congress. James is a Christian – a rarity in their time, and his friend Lance is not. They sneak off and stumble upon a secret room full of the long-forgotten Christian treasures. They are transported to a different time after they find a secret message that says “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” From there they travel through major events in history, experience many adventures, and help bring history alive for kids.

I don’t want to ruin the excitement for you by revealing too much about the story. While the first chapter was enough to hook me, I was pleasantly surprised that the book continues along with the same exciting style that keeps the reader anxious to learn what happens next. There is quite a bit of history woven into the first volume alone and it actually covers all of the first three series in the Veritas Press History program, for a total of 96 major events and thousands of years of history. 

Pages of History 2: Blazing New Trails covers the last two series in Veritas Press History, Explorers to 1815 and 1815 to the Present. It’s not quite as long as the first volume, but just as exciting. 

Overall, this series presents history chronologically in an adventurous way that will keep children captivated. The Pages of History series is very well written while at the same time teaches a good amount of world history. I found them to be similar to the style of Magic Treehouse books, but with an unapologetically Christian worldview. I love that the Pages of History books provide not only a good understanding of world history, but also of Church history. The way that it weaves in Biblical history really helps to solidify a complete world history from a Christian perspective. In my opinion, there is not enough historical content for it to be used as a stand alone history curriculum, but would be a great supplement to a history program, or you can make it a full curriculum using Veritas Press History curriculum. 

View Samples and TOC:
Volume 1: Secrets of the Ancients
Volume 2: Blazing New Trails
 
Pricing information:
You can purchase each volume for $19.95 or you can get the set for $37.80. These books are fun stand-alone readers for upper elementary/middle school or you can use them as part of the entire Veritas Press History curriculum.