Check our blog to view our work on this project and make your own suggestions.
Abbreviations:
BV - The Book of Virtues ed. by William Bennett (Simon & Schuster)
CHS - Celtic Heritage Saints by Marian Keaney (Veritas Press)
EM - Eucharistic Miracles by Joan Carroll Cruz (TAN)
HB - The Holy Bible (recommended translations - The Ignatius Bible or the Douay Rheims)
HL - The Harp and Laurel Wreath ed. by Laura Berquist (Ignatius Press)
MC - The Moral Compass ed. by William Bennett (Simon & Schuster)
PF - Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (Basilica Press)
RC + Volume Number - Reading Comprehension, Stories of the Saints (Catholic Heritage Curricula)
TC - The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom ed. by John Hardon, S.J. (Ignatius Press)
The Ancient World:
The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt by Elizabeth Payne (3200 BC -)
Pyramid by David Macaulay (2468-2439 B.C.)
Abraham - Genesis 12-18 (2165-1190 BC)
Isaac and Rebecca - Genesis 24:67 (1900-1720 BC)
Jacob (1800-1700 BC)
Joseph - Genesis 37-50 (1750-1640 BC)
Shadow Hawk by Andre Norton (1590)
Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (set at the time of Thutmose III 1479-1425 BC)
The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone by James Cross Gilbin
The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (1300s BC)
Joshua 1420-1310
The Fall of Jericho Joshua 1-6
Hittite Warrior by Joanne Williamson (1200s)
Samson Judges 13-16
Ruth HB Ruth
Ruth and Naomi BV 753-755
The Children's Homer by Padraic Colum
The Tale of Troy by Roger Lancelyn Green (12th or 13th century BC)
The Iliad of Homer
"Ulysses and the Cyclops" BV 467-470
"Penelope's Web" BV 701-705
The Odyssey of Homer
Samuel the Prophet 1 Kings 1-7
King Saul 1 Kings 8-13
The Wisdom of Solomon BV 147-148, 1 Kings 3:16-28 (971-931)
King Solomon 3 Kings 1:15-34, 3:16-23, 6:9, 10:11-43, 2 Paralipomenon 3:9
Yahweh vs. Baal 3 Kings 18
The Prophet Elijah 3 Kings 16:29 - 17:24
The Book of Jonah (785 BC)
The Aeneid of Virgil (Rome founded 752)
God King: A Story in the Days of King Hezekiah by Joanne Williamson (701 BC) (Hezekiah 715-686 BC)
The Book of Job
The Story of the Greeks by H.A. Guerber
The Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
"The Brave Three Hundred" BV 472-474 (The Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC)
The Battle of Salamis (480 BC)
The Book of Esther (circa 480)
Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick (290-212 BC)
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky (Eratosthenes 287-192 B.C.)
Histories of Herodotus (450 BC Herodotus visits Egypt)
Golden Age of Athens (450 BC)
City by David Macaulay
The Story of the Romans by H.A. Guerber
The Book of Maccabees (163 BC)
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (100-44 BC)
Mary, God's Yes to Man by Pope John Paul II
Saint Paul the Apostle by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (Journeys 45-58 AD)
The Acts of the Apostles
Chapters on the successors to St. Peter, PF 68-88, 119-125
The Ides of April by Mary Ray (62 AD)
Beyond the Desert Gate by Mary Ray (67 AD)
The Didache (written between 70 and 90 AD) TC pgs. 3-9
Letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch TC pgs. 11-26 (69-107 AD)
2nd Century A.D.
Galen and the Gateway to Medicine by Jeanne Bendick (129-200 AD)
Between the Forest and the Hills by Ann Lawrence
3rd Century A.D.
Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words by Rod Bennett
The History of the Church by Eusebius
The Martyrs of the Coliseum by Rev. Augustine O'Reilly
4th Century A.D.
Fabiola: or the Church of the Catacombs by Cardinal Wiseman
The Council of Nicea argument, PF 126-129
St. Antony of the Desert by St. Anthanasius (251 - 356 AD)
Pope Liberius, PF 141-147 (352-366 AD)
St. Athanasius by F.A. Forbes (295-374 AD)
St. Monica by F.A. Forbes (333-387 AD)
Confessions of St. Augustine (354-430)
5th Century A.D.
"The Last Fight in the Colosseum", MC pg. 453 (404 AD)
Saint Enda, CHS 19-20
Saint Brigid of Ireland, CHS 29-31
6th Century A.D.
Beowulf the Warrior trans. by Ian Serralier (500s)
The Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica by Kathleen Norris (480-547 AD)
Saint Benedict: Hero of the Hills by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
Citadel of God: A Novel about Saint Benedict by Louis de Wohl
Brendan the Navigator by Jean Fritz (486-578 AD)
Saint Brendan the Navigator, CHS 21-23
Saint Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, CHS 15-17
Saint Finian of Clonard, CHS 43-46
Pope Vigilius, PF 148-151 (537-555 AD)
Saint Kevin of Glendalough, CHS 65-67
Saint Colmcille, CHS 37-41
Saint Comgall of Bangor, CHS 69-72
Saint Columbanus of Bobbio, CHS 33-35
Fingal's Quest by Madeleine Polland (St. Columbanus d. 615)
St. Gregory the Great, PF 152-157 (604 AD)
Augustine Came to Kent by Barbara Willard (d. 605)
7th Century A.D.
Pope Honorius, PF 158-162 (625-638 AD)
Saint Kilian, Apostle of Franconia, CHS 25-27
Saint Hilda of Whitby, CHS 51-54 (614-671 AD)
Saint Carthage of Lismore, CHS 55-56
Saint Dympna of Gheel, CHS 61-63
8th Century A.D.
"The Miracle of Lanciano, Italy" EM pgs 3-18 (700 AD)
Son of Charlemagne by Barbara Willard (Charlemagne 768-814)
9th Century A.D.
Beorn the Proud by Madeleine Polland (800s)
Myths about the Middle Ages, PF 163-177
King Alfred and the Cakes, BV 196-198
The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton (878)
10th Century A.D.
The Little Duke by Charlotte Yonge (943)
11th Century A.D.
The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow by Allen French (1000)
Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire (Leif Ericson 1000)
Saint Malachy O Mortair, CHS 47-49
Saint Margaret of Scotland, CHS 57-59
William the Conqueror by Hilaire Belloc (1066)
"King Canute on the Seashore", BV 67-68
"St. George and the Dragon", BV 192-195
The Crusades by Hilaire Belloc (1095-1291)
12th Century A.D.
"The Miracle of Braine, France", EM pgs 19-21 (1153)
The Red Keep by Allen French (1165)
The Hidden Treasure of Glaston by Eleanore Jewett (1171)
"The Miracle of Ferrara, Italy", EM pgs 22-27 (1171)
"The King and His Hawk", BV (Genghis Kahn)
"The Miracle of Augsburg, Germany", EM 28-29 (1194)
The Great Heresies by Hilaire Belloc
13th Century A.D.
The Lost Baron by Allen French (1200)
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green (King John 1167-1216)
Saint Dominic and the Rosary by Catherine Beebe (1170-1221)
"The Miracle of Alatri, Italy", EM pgs 30-37 (1228)
"The Miracle of Santarem, Portugal", EM 38-46 (early 13th century)
"The Two Miracles of Florence, Italy", EM 47-49 (1230)
Saint Elizabeth's Three Crowns by Blanche Thompson (1207-1231)
Saint Anthony and the Christ Child by Helen Walker Homan (1195-1231)
"The Miracle of Daroca, Spain", EM 50-52 (1239)
"The Miracle of Olmutz, Czechoslovakia", EM 53-55 (1242)
Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction by David Macaulay
St. Hyacinth of Poland by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
"The Miracle of Regensburg, Germany", EM 56-58 (1257)
"The Miracle of Bolsena-Orvieto, Italy", EM 59-62 (1263)
"The Two Miracles of Paris, France", EM 63-65 (1274 and 1290)
He Went with Marco Polo by Louise Andrews Kent (1271-1295)
"The Miracle of Slavonice, Czechoslovakia", EM 66-69 (1280)
"The Miracle of Offida, Italy", EM 70-83 (1280)
Castle by David Macaulay (1283)
Women in the Days of the Cathedrals by Régine Pernoud
14th Century A.D.
"William Tell" BV pgs. 480-481 (early 14th Century)
"Bruce and the Spider" by Bernard Barton, BV 553-555
"The Miracle of Hasselt, Belgium", EM 84-85 (1317)
"The Two Miracles of Siena, Italy", EM 86-97 (1330)
"The Miracle of Blanot, France", EM 98-105 (1331)
"The Miracle of Amsterdam, the Netherlands", EM 106-108 (1345)
"The Miracle of Macerata, Italy", EM 109-111 (1356)
"The Miracle of Brussels, Belgium", EM 112-122 (1370)
"The Miracle of Middleburg-Louvain, Belgium", EM 123-129 (1374)
St. Catherine of Siena by F.A. Forbes (1347-1380)
Lay Siege to Heaven: A Novel on St. Catherine of Siena by Louis de Wohl
"The MIracle of Seefeld, Austria", EM 130-139 (1384)
"Our Lady's Juggler" by Anatole France, BV 782-787 (under King Louis)
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Henry V by William Shakespeare (1387-1422)
15th Century A.D.
"The Miracle of Dijon, France", EM 140-141 (before 1433)
"The Miracle of Avignon, France", EM 142-144 (1433)
"The Miracle of Turin, Italy", EM 145-152 (1453)
Richard the Third by Paul Murray Kendall (1452-1485)
The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric Kelly (1461)
Isabella of Spain by William Thomas Walsh (1451-1504)
Characters of the Inquisition by William Thomas Walsh (1478)
Leonardo da Vinci by Diane Stanley (1452-1519)
"For Want of a Horseshoe Nail", BV 198-200 (1485 AD)
Columbus by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire (1451-1506)
He went with Christopher Columbus by Louise Andrews Kent (1492)
"Sail on! Sail on!" by Joaquin Miller, BV 565-566
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Grey
16th Century A.D.
The Evangelization of the New World by James Leek
He Went with Vasco da Gama by Louise Andrews Kent (1460-1524)
Michelangelo by Diane Stanley (1475-1564)
How the Reformation Happened by Hilaire Belloc (1517-1648)
The Beginning of the English Reformation by Hugh Ross Williamson
Characters of the Reformation by Hilaire Belloc
The King's Achievement by Msgr. Robert Hugh Benson (Henry VIII 1491-1547)
"The Miracle of Morrovalle, Italy", EM 153-157 (1560)
Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal by Robert T. Reilly (1580s)
St. Philip of the Joyous Heart by Francis X. Connolly (1515-1595)
"The Miracle of Alcala de Henares, Spain", EM 158-161 (1597)
William Shakespeare and the Globe by Aliki (1564-1616)
The Bard of Avon by Diane Stanley
17th Century A.D.
The Gunpowder Plot by Hugh Ross Williamson (1604)
"The Miracle of Faverney, France", EM 162-168 (1608)
Pocahontas by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire (1595-1617)
St. Francis Solano by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (d. 1610)
St. Rose of Lima by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (1586-1617)
Jamestown: New World Adventure by James Knight
"The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers" by Felicia Hemans, BV 790-791
Squanto: Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla (d. 1622)
The Outlaws of Ravenhurst by Sister M. Imelda Wallace (17th Century)
St. Martin de Porres by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (1579-1639)
Come Rack! Come Rope! by Msgr. Robert Hugh Benson
St. John Masias by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (1585-1645)
St. Isaac and the Indians by Milton Lomask (d. 1646)
Saint Among Savages: The Life of St. Isaac Jogues by Francis Talbot S.J.
Vincent de Paul: Saint of Charity by Margaret Ann Hubbard (1581-1660)
St. Vincent de Paul by F.A. Forbes
"On Galileo", PF 178-189
Saint Margaret Mary by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (1647-1690)
The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin Wiker (publication pending - Bethlehem Books)
I, Juan de Parejaby Elizabeth Borton de Trevino (1610-1670)
Blessed Marie of New France by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (1671)
Fr. Marquette and the Great Rivers by August Derleth (1637-1675)
Kateri Tekakwitha: Mohawk Maid by Evelyn Braun (1656-1680)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1687)
Madeleine Takes Command by Ethel Brill (1692)
18th Century A.D.
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (inspired by true story 1704-1709)
The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice D'Algliesh (1707)
St. Louis de Montfort by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (1673-1716)
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (1751)
With Pipe, Paddle and Song by Elizabeth Yates (1750s)
Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare (1754)
"The Miracle of Paterno, Italy", EM 169-170) (1772)
Benjamin Franklin by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire (1706-1790)
George Washington by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire (1732-1799)
Priest on Horseback by Eva K. Betz
Amos Fortune: Free Man by Elizabeth Yates (d. 1801)
Flaming Arrrows by William O. Steele
The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery (1780s)
Guns for General Washington by Seymour Reit
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1774)
Boston Tea Party: Rebellion in the Colonies by James E. Knight
Sam the Minuteman by Nathaniel Benchley (1776)
George the Drummer Boy by Nathaniel Benchley (1776)
Shhh! We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz (1787)
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baronness Orczy (French Revolution 1787-1799)
The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrud Von Le Fort (d. July 17, 1794)
To Quell the Terror: The True Story of the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne by William Bush
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Guillotine and the Cross by Warren Carroll
Kat Finds a Friend: A St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Story by Joan Stromberg
Mother Seton and the Sisters of Charity by Alma Power-Waters (1774-1821)
19th Century A.D.
The Midshipman Quinn Collection by Showell Styles (1803-1805)
The Flying Ensign by Showell Styles (1809)
Downright Dency by Caroline Dale Snedeker (early 1800s)
Cleared for Action by Stephen Meader (1812)
"The Miracle of Bordeaux, France", EM 171-178 (1822)
They Loved to Laugh by Kathryn Worth (1830s)
The Miraculous Medal by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (1806-1876)
St. Catherine Laboure and the Miraculous Medal by Alma Power-Waters
Under a Changing Moon by Margot Benary-Isbert
Thomas Finds a Treasure: A St. John Neumann Story by Joan Stromberg (1811-1860)
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne (p. 1851)
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852)
Bernadette: Princess of Lourdes (CCC Video)
Bernadette and the Lady by Hertha Pauli (1844-1879 apparitions 1858)
The Song of Bernadette by Franz Werfel
The Song of Bernadette (Video)
Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire (1809-1865)
Wanted Dead or Alive: The True Story of Harriet Tubman by Ann McGovern (1820-1913)
Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge (1865)
"The Miracle of Dubna, Poland", EM 179-180 (1867)
Giant of the Western Trail, The Life of Fr. de Smet by Fr. Michael McHugh (1838-1875)
St. John Bosco and St. Dominic Savio by Catherine Beebe (1815-1888)
Winter Danger by William O. Steele
Katie: The Young Life of Mother Katherine Drexel by Claire Jordan Mohan (1858-1955)
Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957)
When Jesuits were Giants by Cornelius Buckley, S.J. (1883)
Old Sam: Dakota Trotter by Don Alonzo Taylor (1880s)
Brave Buffalo Fighter by John Fitzgerald (late 1800s - publication pending from Bethlehem Books)
Mother Cabrini: Missionary to the World by Frances Parkinson Keyes (1850-1917)
The Orphans Find a Home: A St. Frances Cabrini Story by Joan Stromberg
A Blessed Damien Story by Rachel Watkins (1840-1889 - publication pending from Ecce Homo Press)
Damien the Leper by John Farrow
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller (1880-1968)
St. Katherine Drexel, Friend of the Oppressed by Ellen Tarry (1858-1955)
Saint Pius X: The Farm Boy Who Became Pope (1835-1914 papacy 1903-1914)
20th Century A.D.
The Story of the Titanic as Told by its Survivors (1912)
Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes
The Good Master by Kate Seredy
Jose Finds the King: A Blessed Miguel Pro Story by Ann Ball (1923)
Blessed Miguel Pro by Ann Ball (1923)
The Drovers Road Collection: Adventures in New Zealand by Joyce West
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Alice Finds a New Life: A Dorothy Day Story by Leslie Galliker (1897-1980)
The Young Life of Mother Teresa of Calcutta by Claire Jordan Mohan (1910-1997)
The Young Life of Pope John Paul II by Claire Jordan Mohan (b. 1920)
St. Maximillian Kolbe: The Story of Two Crowns by Claire Jordan Mohan
Volunteer at Auschwitz by Chuck Colson BV 803-808
Kolbe: Saint of the Immaculata edited by Br. Francis Mary, F.I.
Forget Not Love: St. Maximilian Kolbe by Andre Frossard
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp
Enemy Brothers: A Story of World War II by Constance Savery
The House of Sixty Fathers by Meendert de Jong
Escape from Warsaw by Ian Serralier
The Shadow of His Wings by Fr. Gereon Goldmann
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Diary of Ann Frank
A Place to Hide: True Stories of Holocaust Rescues by Jayne Pettit
The Borrowed House by Hilda Van Stockum
Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop (1944)
The Winged Watchman by Hilda Van Stockum
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
The Small War of Sergeant Donkey by Maureen Daly
The Assisi Underground (Video)
The Red Horse: A Novel by Eugenio Corti
"Apostle of Life: Blessed Gianna Molla", RC3 pgs. 32-5 (1961)
"The Two Miracles of Stich, Germany", EM 181-184 (1970)
When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan by Peggy Noonan
Witness to Hope by George Weigel (Pope John Paul II b. 1920)
Chapters on Pope John Paul II and the modern papacy, PF pgs. 111-118
"We Want God" by Peggy Noonan (article about the Pope's visit to Poland in 1979)
Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn
Prodigal Daughters by Donna Steichen
Surprised by Truth by Patrick Madrid
There We Stood, Here We Stand by Tim Drake
The Cross at Ground Zero by Fr. Benedict Groeschel
Compiled by Alicia Van Hecke of Favorite Resources for Catholic Homeschoolers, www.love2learn.net.
Please check back often for a more detailed and ever-growing selection of titles, including specific Bible references, short stories, speeches, links, primary sources, out-of-print books, history related movies and more details about this list (including links to book reviews and reading-level information). Please keep in mind that not all selections are appropriate for children. Some dates, especially B.C., are approximate. In some places I have listed historical figures and dates as time markers, without yet connecting them to a particular story.
In addition to the titles mentioned above, the following resources were helpful in compiling this list and in especially in assigning dates to events and people.
Britannica Ready Reference 2002
The Catholic Bible in Pictures
The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913 www.newadvent.org
Catholic World History Timeline and Guide by Marcia Neill
Patron Saints Index www.catholic-forum.com/saints/indexsnt.htm
Permission is granted to print this timeline to share with family and friends providing that a reference to the www.readingyourwaythroughhistory.com website is included.