Tag Archives: stone age

Prehistory

History, , , ,

Prehistory accounts for the vast majority of time on Earth. From the Earth’s beginnings, through the time of the dinosaurs to the first human cities. Human prehistory covers a fascinating range of different cultures across different times and places.

It is defined as being before written history, and this of course varies across the world.
In British history prehistory lasted until the arrival of the Romans. Whereas in Australia prehistory continued into the 18th century.

Stone Age – Paleolithic

Stone Age – Neolithic
Bronze Age
Iron Age

Minnow and the Bear

Books and Magazines, Children's books, Children's fiction, History, History Books, Nature Books, , , ,


Minnow and the Bear, by Benedict Blathwayt (Red Fox Picture Books)

A beautifully illustrated children’s book, but disappointing as historical fiction.

Minnow, the caveboy longs to be old enough to go hunting with the men, but instead he accidentally falls into the river and gets washed down river. Minnow and his new friend the bear cub survive in the wilds, until the depths of winter draw him back home.

The outstanding thing about this book is the illustration. Exquisite, detailed, studies of the natural world, laid out in full pages and smaller cartoon strip style, gentle action through the pages.

Despite this it failed to impress us as historical fiction. The words feel slightly disjointed, but most of all the characters and culture feel all wrong.

Whilst the boy appears perfectly capable of gathering food and looking after himself on his adventures the women of his community are completely useless. They are seldom seen to move from their cave, don’t gather foods or do any productive work and are unable to relight the camp’s fire when it goes out. With each re-reading these parts feel more and more patronising and unrealistic as a portrayal of a time when the whole community had to work together to survive. The sharp division between the adult male hunters and the one lone boy also grates. Rather than showing the way hunter gatherer children learn by immersion in the every day life of their community, it feels like a twenty first century boy’s day dream.

In summary a good picture book for a child that loves visual elements and tiny details, but best avoided as a means of learning about the stone age. If you want a children’s picture book that exudes the feel of the time and people then we recommend Stone Age Boy.

Find Minnow and the Bear on Amazon…

References:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/200808/children-educate-themselves-iii-the-wisdom-hunter-gatherers

 

 

Stone Age – Children’s Historical fiction

Children's books, Children's fiction, History, History Books, , , , , ,

Historical fiction is a great way of finding out more about history. This list includes some great picture books and novels for young adults.

***HIGHLY RECOMMENDED***

Stone Age Boy

This historical fiction picture book is a great introduction to archaeology and stone age people for younger children – for us it is the one essential book on the subject.

Read full review

Historical Fiction

Mini reviews of the ones we have read:

Picture Books

  • The First Dog (Reading Rainbow) by Jan Brett
    Another beautiful picture book – Stone age boy Kip encounters Paleowolf. Paleowolf would like some of his food, but Kip doesn’t want to share. But they are not alone, and Kip soon finds out that having a wolf for a friend has advantages. A lovely look at how the first dog might have been welcomed into our lives. The artwork not only tells the story, but gives clues as to what is happening next and the page borders are filled with pictures of stone age artefacts.

minnowandbear

  • Minnow and the Bear by Benedict Blathwayt
    A good picture book for a child that loves visual elements and tiny details, but disappointing as stone age historical fiction. Full review …
  • Adventures in the Ice Age (Good Times Travel Agency) by Linda Bailey
    Comic book time travelling adventures. This entertaining series takes modern day children back in time. We have found this a really approachable way to learn about the stone age.
  • The First Drawing by Mordicai Gerstein
    Who drew the first cave art? A picture book imagining how the Palaeolithic world might have inspired a boy to create the first cave art.
    Vibrant and lively illustrations.

Chapter books

  • Wolf Brother: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Book 1 by Michelle Paver
    Book 1 of Chronicles of Ancient Darkness  (9+)
    Torak’s father is killed by a giant, possessed bear and he must find new friends and family and save the clans. Very detailed descriptions of stone age life in Northern Europe, particularly strong on natural history and animals of the time. It touches on fantasy as it brings the mages and belief in magic of these people to life. Although an enjoyable read even as an adult, the six book series feels as though something is lacking in the writing or pace of the books.

Older children/Young Adult

  • 11, 000 Years Lost (Amulet) by Peni R Griffin
    Young adult fiction. A modern Texan girl Ester discovers an 11,000 year old spearhead. Her fascination with the people who made it leads to her time travelling into the past. Adopted by a group of mammoth hunters, who are an interesting mix of characters she must learn how to survive in a very different world. What was life like as a mammoth hunter, can they find food, and survive? Will Ester ever find her way home? A really good read.

More children’s historical fiction set in the stone age (we haven’t read these yet)

 

View Children’s Historical Fiction: Stone Age on Amazon Listmania

Do you have any comments on these or any other historical fiction set in the stone age?

 

Stone Age Boy

Books and Magazines, Children's books, Children's fiction, Featured, History Books, , , ,

***HIGHLY RECOMMENDED***

Stone Age Boy

This historical fiction picture book is a great introduction to archaeology and stone age people for younger children – for us it is the one essential book on the subject.

When a boy falls down a hole he finds himself back in the stone age. His new friend introduces him to stone age life.

This is a great children’s picture book – well written and beautifully illustrated and unusual in bringing historical fiction to younger children. Stone Age Boy is a great introduction to a very different way of life, showing how stone age people made tools, hunted, and cooked. A particularly nice touch is the beautiful pictures of stone age animals on the inside covers.

Whilst the simple text and story make it suitable for reading to younger children the detail in the central spread make for an useful introduction and discussion point for older children.

Buy on Amazon

Stone Age Boy

Buy on Amazon

Stone age resources

Children's books, Children's fiction, History, Websites, , , , , , ,

Here I’ve gathered a few links to resources on the stone age.

Online Games

  • Show me Prehistory - links to online games and interactive content on prehistory produced by the UK’s museums and galleries, for children aged 4 to 11
  • See You See Me Skara Brae – interactive, animated games and educational videos about the prehistoric site of Skara Brae in the Orkney Isles
  • BBC Hands on History – Ancient Britain - take a journey back to ancient Britain with an animated day in the life of a stone age boy! Plus build your own stone circle and paint a story using cave art

Books

Factual

  • How to Live Like a Stone-Age Hunter by Anita Ganerisecrets of stonehenge
  • The Secrets of Stonehenge, by Mick Manning and Brita Granström
    This is a factual picture book aimed at older children charting the history of Stonehenge. Starting from the Mesolithic nomadic hunter-gatherers, through the first farmers to Stonehenge as a modern tourist destination. It examines how the henge was built, how it changed over time and what it may have been used for. See full review
  • DK Eyewitness Early People
    This is part of series of books characterised by being very comprehensive, with big visual spreads focusing on objects and artefacts, and incorporating manageable chunks of text. The information is fairly detailed and dense so is more suitable for older children (DK recommends age 9-14) or as a great way for an adult to get to grips with a subject. This book covers human evolution, hunter-gatherers, neolithic agriculture, bronze and iron age and has world wide coverage.
    It might suit a visual child with a love of objects at a younger age. Definitely one for use as a references book, because of the sheer level of detail and breadth of information.
  • Stone Age (Sounds of the Past) Clint Twist, Nicki Palin
    This is an unusual book – a novelty book with pop up and sounds. When we first got it I was worried that the sounds would impact on its readability, but actually it works really well! Open a double spread and you hear the sounds of a mammoth hunt, or neolithic farm. The sounds are a little over the top, with lots of things going on at once. (Book requires a 3 volt battery to make sounds.) But once the sound finishes playing it doesn’t repeat so you can explore the page and read the text that accompanies the pop-up pictures. Each double picture spread has lots of details to spot. And the next spread is an information page describing what you see in the pop-up pages. There is actually a surprising amount of information, and at a higher level than might be expected in a book with sounds and pop-up pictures! Covers origins in Africa, cave painters, mammoth hunters, neolithic farming and Stonehenge.

  • Avoid being a mammoth hunter! John Malam and David Antram
    Part of a wonderfully bright, informative, humorous and engaging series of history books. The illustrations in this make it very accessible to younger readers and they flow well being read aloud. The use of illustrations, and captions pack the book with a far higher level of information than the layout and illustrations suggest. We will always checkout this series, as have found it really useful time and time again.

  • Look Inside the Stone Age Board book by Abigail Wheatley and Stefano Tognetti
    A lift-the-flap book from Usborne books, about life from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. Bright, engaging illustrations, with the added interactivity of flaps to lift and find out more behind. Aimed at 5+ and a good book for younger children.
  • The Stone Age: Hunters, Gatherers and Woolly Mammoths by Marcia Williams
  • Stone Age (Beginners) by Jerome Martin, Usborne Books
  • Prehistoric Britain (History of Britain) by Alex Frith, Rachel Firth, Ian McNee
  • My Best Book of Early People Margaret Hynes Kingfisher Books
  • Who Were the First People (Usborne Starting Point History)
  • Stone Age, Bone Age (Wonderwise) Mick Manning & Brita Granstrom An entertaining factual story book.
    Although factual rather than fiction, this picture book actually makes a reasonable substitute if you can’t get hold of our recommended book Stone Age Boy. The illustrations are bold, with strong colours and shapes, and the illustrator’s signature feelings of movement and life. It uses our favourite factual book format. A big beautiful picture, with a well written, poetic main text on the page. Plus additional information to read or not. This makes it as readable as any fictional picture book, and a good first introduction to palaeolithic stone age.
  • Hands-on History! Stone Age
    Another book combining information and craft projects.
  • Stone Age Sentinel (Newspaper History) Paul Dowswell and Fergus Fleming.
    Usborne Newspaper style look at the stone age.
  • The Stone Age News Fiona MacDonald
    Alternative newspaper style book on the stone age.
  • The Savage Stone Age (Horrible Histories) Terry Deary
  • The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux by Emily Arnold McCully
    True story of four boys who discover cave paintings in the Lascaux caves.

Sticker books

Workbooks

Fiction

Children’s Historical Fiction – Stone Age – Booklist with recommendations and reviews of some of our favourite stone age historical fiction.

Videos and music

One of our favourite history TV programmes is Horrible Histories. Unfortunately it has tended to fall for the old stone age=stupid comedy line. More recently as the show has matured it has improved and there are a couple of good stone age/prehistory segments.

Board Games

Cookery

  • History Cookbook – A couple of palaeolithic video recipes, plus making fire and neolithic recipes. Plus picture galleries (series of picture plus simple text) on prehistoric life, food and health.
  • Ray Mears Wild Food , TV series on DVD and Wild Food, Ray Mears – looks at Mesolithic British food, through comparisons with surviving hunter gatherer cultures.

Teacher’s Resources

Places to visit

Online Information