Social Studies

Ancient Egypt is known in the popular imagination for its hieroglyphics, jewelry, and dazzling treasure-filled tombs. Readers will learn how these products were made through engaging, accessible text. In addition, this book explores the rich culture that produced these objects and will explain how Egypt's religion helped shape its art and politics.

Many books about Ancient Egypt focus on the lives of the pharaohs, however this unique book instead paints a picture of daily life for more ordinary citizens. Readers will learn about how people were educated, what role women played in society, and what family life was like--including facts about what childhood was like in Ancient Egypt.

Readers explore different aspects of Ancient Egypt's economy, including the importance of the sea to this civilization's economy and about how papermaking was an art essential to Egypt's culture. Students will gain an understanding of how the culture used money and which trades flourished during this period of history.

The Nile River was crucial to the growth of Egyptian civilization. Maps help illustrate the contrast between river and desert, and engaging text explains how geography influenced Egypt's settlement and migration patterns and even its religion. This book addresses people's relationship to their environment, a key social-studies concept.

Ancient Egypt was not a great empire at its outset, yet over time it became united under rulers called pharaohs. Each pharaoh was believed to be an incarnation of the god Horus. Readers will learn how this tie between Ancient Egypt's government and its religion helped forge an empire. They will also learn about the basics of Ancient Egyptian laws and draw parallels between the ancient world and today.

Egypt's pyramids are a testament to the technology used by this ancient civilization. Readers will learn about technologies, such as agricultural tools and irrigation systems, that helped Egypt thrive. Chapters explore how these innovations developed and the role technology played in establishing one of the most advanced cultures in the ancient world.

Ancient Greek culture has had a truly profound impact on Western civilization. Readers will explore the rich civilization of ancient Greece and the things that made it so influential. Mythology, theater, sculpture, and philosophy are just a few of the subjects discussed in this volume. A great cultural survey of a great civilization.

Daily life in ancient Greece was very different from our own, but with some startling similarities. Readers will learn how the ancient Greeks filled a typical day. They will read about professional life and home life, including the roles of women and children. And they will recognize studying, exercising, and spending time with family as aspects common to their own lives.

Ancient Greece lacked a few resources in its native lands. However, Greeks learned to trade domestically and with foreign lands to gain the resources that it lacked. Readers will discover that Greece's trading was so influential that its pottery has been discovered in many different areas of the world. Exemplifying how an ancient civilization still holds great importance to this day.

Ancient Greeks lived in a landscape that received more than 300 days of sunshine each year and little rain. Readers will learn how Greeks used everything at their disposal, such as the sea, minerals in the earth, and fertile farmland, to flourish as a civilization. The concept of a society's relationship to its land and resources is covered in depth.

Perhaps the most important legacy of the ancient Greeks is their invention of the form of government we hold most dear: Democracy. Ancient Greece's various cities and their forms of government, and the birth of government by the people, are presented in simple, straightforward language. An excellent resource on both ancient Greece and the concept of democracy.

Ancient Greece was one of the most technologically-advanced civilizations of its time. Readers will be introduced to Greek innovations from the civilization's earliest days through the Bronze and Iron Ages. Photographs of artifacts will draw in readers and excite their imaginations.