Living Long Ago

Usborne Explainers

by Felicity Brooks, Helen Edom, Teri Smith (Illustrator)

Picture information books to help answer young children's questions about the world around them

Genres: History, Childrens, Nonfiction, School, World History, Education, Kids

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 1990

About the author

Felicity Brooks is an Editorial Director and writer at Usborne Publishing. She studied English and Drama at Exeter University and worked as an actor, teacher and lexicographer (someone who compiles dictionaries) before starting work in children’s publishing in the late 1980s.

She has written and edited hundreds of children’s books, including stories and novelty books for pre-schoolers and books about history, geography, languages, science, maths, nature and the arts.

Her books have won the TES Senior Information Book Award, the Aventis Science Books Prize, the SLA Information Book Award, the Sheffield Baby Books Award and Practical Pre-school Gold and Silver Awards.

Reviews

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Usborne books from my childhood. Well, we actually had it as individual books, and only of the first three sections, so I was even more excited to see a version where they're all together. I don't know whether this was ever used in my schooling or not -- it probably was, but what I remember most is finding it/them on the bookshelf and going back to it over and over again, looking at interesting tidbits.

In typical Usborne illustrations (lots of detail and explanations), we get to explore history through the lens of four basic issues that everyone has had to find solutions for throughout time (and very different ones, as we see): food, clothes, houses, and transportation. Each section is presented chronologically, from the earliest known people groups, to Egyptians, and Roman, Medieval, and Victorian times, among others, ending with (almost) modern day. It was always fun to compare and contrast the different time periods and find the same time period in each book to get a fuller picture of what life was like.

[Eden Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! It tells you about the Romans,the Egyptians, the Vikings and more! AND you learn about where these people live, what they eat,what they wear, and how they travel.Also, you learn lots of cool facts! PERFECT, absolutely PERFECT book!☺☺☺😊😊😊😀😁😁😃

[Alisha Brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: The Usborne Book of Living Long Ago
Series: -
Author: Helen Edom & Felicity Brooks
Genre: Children's / Educational
Rating: 3.5 stars

My dad purchased this book for me when I was a child. I loved learning all the interesting little facts it had to offer. It was one of my favourites when I was a child.

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book! It takes me back in time and ACTUALLY tells about stuff about everyday life long ago!

[Good · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out of date as it was published 30 years ago. Really dislike pictures spread between pages because the binding interrupts the center of the picture (pet peeve with any book). Mostly western information. Much on the rich and not enough on the poor. Combines every group/culture in timespans. Used to like these books when my kids were young but now am wondering their value. If it gets your kid to want to explore something in depth that they saw in the book then it would serve its purpose. Hopefully there is a new and updated version of this book.

[Hawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my 8 and 6 year old daughters after purchasing it from Sonlight and we all really enjoyed it. The images are cute and helpful, the information just enough to peak curiosity and teach without being overwhelming or cumbersome, and it even includes some fun project ideas.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jude loved reading this during history time. 😄

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I don't enjoy reading this book out loud to my kids, they spend hours looking through it. This was my second time through it with Sonlight Core A.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

6-yr-old loved this book for school!

[Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this to the kids. They enjoyed the pictures and talking through different aspects of culture in the past. I recommend this for basic information on different time periods and cultures.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book loaded with intricate colorful illustrations and interesting details about everyday life through the ages, including clothes and fashion, homes and houses, food and eating, and travel and transport.

[Sticky Note Book Recs Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one to my daughter for her Kindergarden year, and she seemed to enjoy it. Nice to read just a few pages at a time.

[A Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was okay.
-Anonymous (2012,age 8)

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Usborne book. So much detail on each page. Enjoyable illustrations for the kids. A great look at history.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because it told me a lot about what I didn't know about people long ago

this book was read to me by mom

[Spenser White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good supplemental history book. It helps show to young children that history happened to real people.

[Megan]

History

[Amanda Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and daughter devoured this book at the ages of 7 and 5. They wanted to read and re-read it several times. This book worked perfectly as beginner and introductory world history.