I don't know how to reproduce the sound of a long, drawn-out sigh here, but if I could, I would. History through the Ages Record of Time is one of those books that is a pleasure to hold in your lap, with children nestled to either side, as you move slowly through the pages and talk about history.

Oops. Did I lose you with that last word? Or are you a history "buff," as I have become since we started learning history with well-written historical fiction, biographies, and autobiographies?

You might even "look at us funny," noticing that what we are poring over is a blank book, well, nearly blank except for the timeline running through the middle of the pages, and the maps at the end of the book. And you might be astonished at the undercurrent of excitement. But you see, this is our very own timeline book, its pages just waiting for us to start placing figures and notations, a record that cannot be wiped out (like our write-on/wipe-off poster timeline) by a careless finger. Our poster timeline is just getting too crowded to fit all the historical events and people we've been learning about.

We are ready to transition into a more permanent format, and Record of Time's 125, sturdy pages give us a lot more room to breathe, too!

The timeline pages are practically laid out, beginning with one page per millennium for 5000 - 3000 B.C. and gradually allowing fewer years per page as we progress through the centuries, until modern times when a page covers five years of time gone by. Record of Time gives you room to grow, with dates through 2025 A.D.

Scattered through the pages are quotes appropriate to the period, such as a statement God made to Moses on the 1500 B.C. page or a quote from Fredrick Douglas on the 1895 A.D. page.

Maps include ancient China, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Rome, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Central America, Europe, the Middle East, North America, South America, the world, and political and physical maps of the United States.

Home School in the Woods sells a CD of beautifully detailed timeline figures appropriate for use in this book (my perfectionist daughter has already wanted to buy off-white printer paper so that the timeline figures we print out will match the book "properly"), as well as a figure placement guide (see related reviews). You can also design your own timeline figures, or simply write on the pages, which contain lightly traced guidelines about eight-to-the-inch to make writing and figure placement easier.

I balked a little at the price, at first, but after consideration I could see buying this Record of Time for our family's use. I am not experiencing the same frustration that I was, when a child was trying to squeeze yet another name and date onto our poster-sized timeline. We don't have anywhere to put a wall-mounted timeline, or I'd have one of these. That's something else about the Record of Time that I like. It has as much room as a wall-mounted timeline without taking up the same amount of space, and it can be put away on a shelf when we're not using it.

Our girls enjoy the solid feel of the book and don't seem to mind the fact that we're going over the same ground, transferring events and people learned over the past few years from our poster timeline to the book. An added bonus: it's good review! Perhaps the only drawback to the high quality of Record of Time is that we're already getting hints that each of the girls wants her own, according to personality. One is saving up for her own copy and asking for extra chores toward that goal, and another has put it on her birthday list. (The third expects to inherit this "family heirloom"!)

Pages are printed on heavy, off-white paper, giving an appearance of age or resemblance to parchment. The print is elegant and the maps, which look hand-drawn, are works of art in themselves. There is an attractive page, coming immediately on the heels of the illustrated title page, just waiting to be filled in: This Historical Record was Complied by (fill in the blank) Beginning on (fill in the blank). Yes, it makes this book sound like a family heirloom-to-be. Believe me, this is a "keeper."