Retro Reads: *The Book of the Ancient World by Dorothy Mills

The Book of the Ancient World is just what it sounds like: an interesting book about the ancient world, including Ancient Egypt, Israel, Persia, and more. Perfect for middle grades!

*The Book of the Ancient World by Dorothy Mills. Memoria Press, 2012 (originally published 1920s). 204 pages.

  • Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12
  • Recommended For: Ages 8 and up, especially as a supplement (or textbook!) to a study of ancient or Biblical history

Every now and then I read a book and wonder, “Where was this when *I* was a kid?” Although my dad is a pastor, I went to Christian grade school and college, and I have been a lifelong member of churches who value Biblical literacy highly, I learned more about how the ancient world and the Bible “fit together” from this slim volume than I ever internalized before now.

If that’s not enticing enough, let me add that Memoria Press has taken Mills’s earlier work and added excellent black and white visuals of ancient artifacts and the like.

Whether you (or your children or students) are studying ancient history officially this school year or not, this is an excellent primer to the culture and events of several key cultural groups in pre-Roman/Greek times: Ancient Egypt, the Hebrews, the Hittites, the Persians, and others. Mills focuses on one cultural group at a time, but she references the different cultures and shows how they influenced and interacted with one another. A helpful timeline is included in the end of the book as well. Since the Bible describes most of these cultures as well–and several of them had enormous roles to play in biblical history–it behooves us to learn about them.

Mills doesn’t claim to be a Christian in the book, but she handles the biblical historical accounts respectfully and accurately; she even distills down the key messages of the major prophets. Her literary style is a nice blend of storytelling and journalism, and she includes thought-provoking statements which make the reader wonder about ideas like a society’s motivation for doing something, the effect of prosperity on a society, and the role of the arts or religion in a society.

Highly recommended, either as an independent read for middle grades and up, or as a family/classroom read aloud to ages 8 and up. Dorothy Mills also has several other books on the ancient world, including one on the Romans and one on the Greeks.

Cautions: none

Overall Rating: 4.5

  • Worldview Rating: 4.5
  • Artistic Rating: 4.5

*Indicates starred review

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Betsy Farquhar

Betsy is the Managing Editor at Redeemed Reader. When she reads ahead for you, she uses sticky notes instead of book darts and willfully dog ears pages even in library books. Betsy is a fan of George MacDonald, robust book discussions, and the Oxford comma. She lives with her husband and their three children in the beautiful Southeast.

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