TruthQuest History: Renaissance, Reformation and Age of Exploration is the third TruthQuest guide I’ve used in our homeschool, and it is just as meaty and satisfying as the previous two. Though it contains booklists, this “guide” is more than a bibliography; it is a smorgasbord of history-based literature, arranged chronologically, together with thoughtful commentary and exercises to stimulate a student’s thinking. The guide is aimed at grades 5-12 but has suggestions for younger students and is well suited to multi-level teaching.

The author is firmly grounded in Christian worldview, seeing history as a record of God’s working to bring about His plans. The student is continually reminded to look for the “Big 2 Beliefs” of the people involved in the history being studied. What are the “Big 2 Beliefs”? 1) Who is God? 2) In view of #1, what do people believe about mankind?

The guide begins with a section entitled “Notes for Mom” where the author explains her approach to history. I remember, when first introduced to TruthQuest guides, how revolutionary this God-centered approach seemed to me! Why, history was a dull, tedious subject, mostly the memorization of dry, dusty names and dates, wasn’t that right? Wrong. History is a vibrant, living record of God at work in His Creation, and not only that, but it is the story of real people, like us, though they may have lived hundreds of years ago. In the “Notes for Mom” we learn some of the whys and wherefores of history study, along with some practical suggestions for planning and doing.

There is no day-by-day schedule or calendar. As the author says, “You’re the boss!” This TruthQuest guide is just that, a guide that you can use in your lesson planning and study of history. Lists of books are ordered chronologically, covering the period 1400-1600 AD. The book lists are broken into sections (people, places, events), each introduced with a thoughtful overview written in conversational style, but aimed to provoke thought in the student and teacher about the whys and wherefores (and not just those “whats” of history, which when taken in isolation, reduce the subject to tedium).

Each book listed has a suggested range of grades which estimate independent reading level, though final choice is left up to the parent. For many of the resources, the author includes notes which range from enthusiastic recommendation to caution in using, chapters “not to miss,” or content description. The author is honest about books she has not seen or read herself, which I appreciated as I could plan ahead for previewing such books before handing them to my independent readers. Resources include films and activity books along with non-fiction and historical fiction.

This is truly a smorgasbord, with so many resources that it would take years to get through them all! Happily, you don’t have to – the author has provided this rich repast so that you can pick and choose. Books in print at the time of the guide’s publication are indicated with an asterisk. Many of the books are available at our local library or through Inter-Library Loan. A list is provided of optional “spines” or history texts that span the era being studied, in case you feel the need for a little structure to back up your history study.

“ThinkWrite” exercises appear at intervals, encouraging teacher and student to dig more deeply. (“Make certain you understand the concept of ‘the end justifies the means,’ for it is prevalent today. Know of an example? What does God say on the subject?”) An appendix provides the author’s responses to these exercises, for the teacher’s convenience. Another appendix provides an alphabetized list of all the resources cited in the guide, for the convenience of the purchaser – something you can stick in your purse or planner and refer to when you find yourself at the library or in a used bookstore.

I admit I haven’t given much thought to Catholic versus Protestant points of view, but I’m told by a more knowledgeable friend that this guide attempts to present a balanced view and may be used by students of either background.

There must be something to this approach. We’ve been reading aloud from “living books” and narrating for several years now, and occasionally I find our children acting out scenes from the history we’ve read. People and events that were just names in a memorized list, for me, are real and memorable to them. They’ll hear something on the news, or in conversation, and make connections. (“That’s just like the Little Duke!” or “They’ve found a new Egyptian mummy! Do you suppose it’s King so-and-so...?”) But this is the capper: When asked what their favorite subject is, our children answer (with enthusiasm, no less), “History!”