A Little History of the World

I read about this book somewhere (it's where I read about everything, you know). I thought it would be worth checking out from the library and that perhaps I could even interest Kwamai in it.

I got it on CD, to give my vocal chords a rest. Last night I got the idea that it might be a good way for him to settle down for sleeping, which is always a challenge. We listened to six chapters last night, until finally he said "I think this is getting to be a bit much!" at which time I clicked off the CD player and he dropped off to sleep. This morning I asked him a bit about whether he liked it and if he could remember various mentions; I imagined he'd had a hard time listening for such a long time. He first told me he wanted to listen to more tonight, and then proceeded to even quote the author at impressive length for his age. Tonight we listened to three more chapters -- less because it was already late when we started.

This book starts with prehistoric times and marches through all of world history in a way that is engaging (obviously) to children, but also for adults. I was reminded of Egypt, Hammurabi, the Phoenicians, ancient Greece, and how a lot of it weaves in and out of Biblical history as well. Kwamai made sure Erol was in on listening tonight, despite the late hour.

I have a feeling we will finish the whole book, and that he will remember details of world history for a long time to come.