This is a wonderful book describing now only the life of Augustus Caesar, but cultures and people all over the world at the time. The birth of Jesus is an important moment in the book, of course, but it focuses on Caesar and the Roman world. The text is enjoyable and the illustrations are many.
The book lends itself to narrations with the strong story aspect. First Son (seventh grade) read it easily enough, though of the reading assignments were long and took him a bit of time. I think it could be used a little younger and certainly older than seventh grade as well.
I appreciated how the book handled specifics that aren't exactly known, and that don't matter as much as the overall thread of history.
In this Year 1, which was later supposed to mark his birth, Jesus was perhaps eight, possibly only four or six years old. No one knows exactly, for the two stories telling of his birth do not agree. But that is not to be wondered at, for they were not written until after eighty or ninety years had passed. Seen through the distance of so many years, facts lose their sharp outlines and often appear strange and mysterious like objects seen in starlight.Highly recommended and delightful enough for independent reading even if you aren't assigning the book as part of a history course. I only wish these Foster books weren't so expensive!
The link above is an affiliate link to RC History's website. I purchased this book used at Cathswap but wouldn't have known of it without Connecting with History.
