inside: wondering if homeschool books made by us are worth it? here’s my pretty short list of usborne homeschooling books that are really worth buying (and while we’re at it, what not to love about usborne).
You can’t be long in the world of homeschooling without hearing about usborne books.
You are reading: Usborne books homeschool curriculum
many of the popular boxed resumes include usborne books in their selections, and several homeschool bloggers recommend them.
even non-homeschool parents love them, apparently enough that usborne partners with book subscription boxes (something they rarely do, preferring to market through consultants).
when we received a book subscription for literati, for example, the literati included one usborne book in each shipment, which includes five books per month. so one in five books was an usborne book.
but are usborne books really worth it? yes… and no.
first: what not to like about usborne’s books
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so i’ll be honest when i say i’m one of those homeschool blogging moms turned usborne book consultants, but mostly because of the discount.
I don’t own two ikea kallax bookcases packed top to bottom with every usborne offering, though I certainly don’t judge those that do (if you love them, buy them).
I don’t stalk your new releases or your discounted books.
In fact, it bothers me a bit that they keep discontinuing popular titles that I love and love to recommend.
perhaps that is part of their strategy? get them before they’re gone? whatever the reason, it’s downright irritating.
(which is why you should get the following now before they get rid of them!)
And paying for shipping… well, let’s just say we’re not used to paying for shipping, right? although in reality we pay for it by buying more or paying for an amazon prime membership.
I’m going to come out and say that your fiction books leave a lot to be desired. they are, in my opinion, a pretty poor substitute for a quality picture book.
We enjoyed nibbles, the book monster series. Other than that, we haven’t tried many of the other fiction books, though I am considering trying their graphic novels for one of my sons who is a picky reader but prefers physical books.
And I’ve bought more than my fair share of flip-flap books that have collected dust on the shelf (there are some protectors below). I’m learning how to take them out and place them around the house to generate new interest, but apart from a select few…dust.
All that to say that I definitely don’t think the large usborne home library is necessary, or even a good idea. In short, I’m not wasting about 95% of their products. I adore about 5% of his books. probably less.
Now that I’ve been honest about what I don’t love about Usborne’s books, I’ll tell you what I do love and why I consider a few selected Usborne books to be books I wouldn’t want to study at home without. .
Related: 20 Important Chapter Book Read Alouds That Homeschool Bloggers Love
The Best Usborne Homeschool Books I Can’t Imagine Homeschooling Without
What I will always, wholeheartedly, promote are usborne non-fiction books for purely educational purposes. just having them in our home/home school has inspired my kids to learn more and expand on their current interests.
These books and other resources have inspired us to venture down various learning paths that we might never otherwise have followed.
They also brought back the concept of “looking for things” in a real book, rather than just “google it”.
Some of these books the kids pick up all the time, while others I work on at our weekly poetry tea time (it’s not just poetry).
you can buy them for:
- Read with your kids,
- use it in a morning basket, or
- keep it on the shelf for reference.
They can be especially good for younger children who are very visual and love pictures to keep them interested in the material.
These are the books that if you’re on my homeschool email list, if you’re not and you’re a laid back homeschooler you should be, you’ll probably hear me recommend over and over again. again.
so, without further ado, let me introduce you to the less than 5% of usborne books that I think every homeschool library should have, and I can’t imagine homeschooling without them (a the height of good google).
Related: Homeschool Supplies You Definitely Need When You’re Just Starting Out
1. 100 Things to Know Series
Seriously, I can’t speak highly enough about this series, and I hope that usborne never interrupts it.
Currently, they are still being added to the series, so for now, I think they are safe. but in view of the fact that usborne discontinues the books i love as breaking my heart is what they like to do the most, i highly recommend you get these books.
now.
don’t wait. get the full series before they disappear.
My kids take these books all the time. they’re full of fun and interesting facts about all kinds of things, from history to science to food.
My kids mention them all the time. They cover almost all subjects, so you can easily check the “we increased our knowledge of subject xyz” box, even if your child didn’t read anything more “educational” all year.
Get the full series of 100 things you need to know here.
2. The Usborne Science Encyclopedia
This science encyclopedia was used regularly for a good year in our homeschooling.
I’m sure he’ll be back when my younger kids get a little older.
This book touches all fields of science: physics, chemistry, biology, earth sciences, astronomy, and even information technology. also includes over 100 experiments and activities.
See Also: 30 Best Engineering Books for Kids – Teaching Expertise
Get this amazing scientific encyclopedia here.
3. Usborne Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare
We read this entire book during the 2020-2021 school year and everyone loved it (the illustrations and everyday language definitely help). They laughed out loud at the comical mistakes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and were glad that they could finally understand all the Romeo and Juliet references they kept hearing almost everywhere.
This is the perfect way to introduce children to shakespeare before high school in my opinion.
The book includes adaptations of the following stories:
- the twelfth night
- romeo and juliet
- the storm
- a midsummer night’s dream
- macbeth
- village
at the end of the book, there is a brief biography of william shakespeare, including a list of plays and suggestions for websites to visit for more information.
You can get illustrated stories of shakespeare’s usborne here.
4. See Inside Your Body
This is probably our most used flip-flap book.
Ideal for elementary students, the book covers the following:
- digestion & excretion
- respiration
- circulation
- bones & muscles
- brain
- senses
- drink & urinate
There are a lot of tabs with more information on too many things to list here, but all related to the human body. I pull this book off the shelf over and over again with my younger children.
Get a copy of See Inside Your Body here.
5. Usborne Famous Painting Cards
I love these sturdy cards of famous paintings. They are perfect for familiarizing your children with some of the world’s best known and most referenced paintings.
each card has on one side, a replica of the actual painting. on the opposite side, it appears:
- who painted it
- when they painted it
- where they painted it
- what it is made of
- where can you see it
- a brief description
- related fun facts
From the girl with the pearl, the starry night and the scream, to the hunters in the snow, the nightjars and the kiss, there is a lot of variety between periods and mediums.
Punch ’em up and put ’em in a ring, check ’em out in the morning, or just for fun one day at lunch. place them on a tray on the kitchen table.
Whatever you do, grab these cards here before they’re discontinued.
6. Timelines of World History
We don’t create our own historical chronologies, so I took this chronology book as a useful reference text.
each page shows what happens in the world in parallel during the same period of time. depending on the time period, it groups together different parts of the world for each timeline.
For example, for ancient history (10,000 – 1 BC/BC), show what happens in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
in later history, it changes to include australia, contrasts south/western europe and north/eastern europe, and groups the middle east with africa. In modern history, it is evenly divided into four groups: Europe, Africa & middle east, asia and america/australasia.
I anticipate putting this book out much more often as I dive into American history this year with my second grader, looking to see what’s going on in the rest of the world at different points in American history. .
buy here the chronologies of world history.
7. Periodic Table Puzzle/Book
The 300-piece periodic table puzzle and accompanying book are great for introducing children to the periodic table from an early age.
(By the way, this is a great Christmas present – the puzzle itself and the boxes are very sturdy and will last a long time.)
You don’t necessarily have to memorize it, but gaining a general understanding of the different types of elements and how they are grouped can be a great starting point if you decide to study chemistry in high school.
The book is styled like a comic and goes into great detail about what elements really are in the first place, how the periodic table works, the different groupings, and provides fun facts about the different elements along the way.
Alternatively, you can get the periodic table flip-up book… but I’d still choose the puzzle/book set over that.
Get the periodic table puzzle and book here.
8. The World Wars
Once we move through American history, I want to dive back into the world wars. I hope my history lover’s interest is still there by then (joy hakim’s history of us is 10 books long).
this usborne book does a great job covering both the first and second world wars.
Unlike other usborne books where there’s text everywhere and sometimes you feel like you’re skipping too much (hello, lift the flaps), this one looks a lot like a typical textbook, but I love them the photos, the variety and the details.
You could spend a year covering just the world wars and read it at your own pace. If you have an independent reader who loves history, you can easily transition them to independent reading as well.
get world wars here.
9. The Usborne Book of Greek Myths
We own both this book on greek mythology, as well as the book of greek myths by d’aulaires. they cover Greek mythology from different angles and this last one goes into more detail about the minor gods and goddesses.
We first read usborne’s greek myths book, and I went through the d’aulaires version with my greek mythology-loving son who listens to rick riordan’s greek mythology fiction series over and over again.
The illustrations are fantastic and the side notes provide additional fascinating details that tie into the story.
at the end of the book, there is a very helpful “who’s who” section that covers how the gods and goddesses are related, the order they were “born” in, and descriptions of more characters from Greek mythology beyond of the gods.
also, there are two maps at the end, one of ancient greece and the other of greece in the larger mediterranean area, marking where various stories/events took place, including the journey of hercules.
you can get the usborne book of greek myths here.
10. Lift-the-Flap World Religions
Especially as we go through world history, world religions emerge repeatedly. unfortunately, when religion is not involved in some kind of conflict, be it persecution or wanting a country to be completely one religion or another.
See Also: Over 40 GREAT Bear Books for Kids
This flip-top book deals with religions not in sections (a section on Judaism, another on Christianity, another on Hinduism, etc.), although there is an overview of each religion just after ” what is religion? ”.
Instead, after covering what religion is and the basic overview, the book goes on to cover the following:
- god, gods and goddesses
- worship and prayer
- festivals and celebrations
- histories of world religions
- death and beyond, and
- religions through the ages
When religion comes up in any subject, this is a great reference book for elementary students.
although usborne has discontinued this book, they have replaced it with an encyclopedia of world religions which seems like a decent replacement. (reluctantly says after finding out that yes, usborne discontinued another favorite book – really usborne? really?).
You can get the book on world religions that we love on amazon here.
11. Understanding Money Book
This book on all things money will probably be required reading for my kids in their senior years of middle school, right before high school. and I rarely require reading.
If only I had understood certain things about money sooner, like how horrible debt is, the power of investing, and how money can buy you freedom.
all the things I didn’t learn in school.
For now, kids pick up and skim this one, stopping at topics that interest them. Like when they want to know why soccer players are paid more than outfielders…
There are seven chapters covering the following topics:
- how money works (why it is valuable)
- the history of money, from ancient times to the present
- banks and bank accounts
- earning and borrowing money
- spending, growing and giving
- governments and money (inflation, taxes, etc.)
- big existential questions about money
It turns out that usborne has an entire series dedicated to understanding big topics like economics, philosophy, politics, and government.
I don’t have the full “understanding” series yet, but I plan to buy them this year one by one, so I’ll update this post when I can say whether or not they’re worth the investment.
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You can buy comprehensive money here.
12. Time Traveler (OR Short History of the World)
These two usborne books are great story books for a child who wants more than just reading aloud without pictures (susan wise bauer’s world history books are my favorite summary of history books worldwide).
Time Traveler has excellent illustrations and approaches ancient history from a “what was it like to live in this time period?” angle.
The book covers castles during the Crusades, Viking raiders, the Roman Empire, and ancient Egypt.
A Brief History of the World is a more comprehensive summary of world history… perfect for the kid who just wants the cliff notes version. plus, this is the perfect example of an out-of-print book. I guess it wasn’t popular enough.
buy time travel here.
13. Lift-the-Flap Fractions & Decimals
Fractions can be tricky. reduce, compare, common denominators.
My head is spinning.
then there are percentages, decimals and money.
but this book? makes it very easy to show how it all works together! all the flipper-raisers are super relevant, showing how, for example, 1/2 is the same as 1/4 + 1/4. or 1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6 is the same as 1/2.
The Decimals section shows how fractions are easily converted to decimals, with a handy conversion chart at the back of the book (Fractions > Decimals > Percentages).
I wouldn’t cover fractions without having this book handy.
yet another example of a great book that you can no longer buy through usborne. sigh.
You can find this book on amazon here.
Related: Top Homeschool Tips I Wish I Had My Freshman Year
So, Are Usborne Books Essential for Homeschooling? You Decide.
I guess if I’d never heard of usborne, I’d be fine without homeschooling them.
but when i started homeschooling i bought a boxed curriculum from sonlight. that curriculum included usborne and since then I have used and loved several books.
These make up probably half of the books we have at home, so there are some you could do without. Unfortunately, until you try, you don’t always know which books will be essential.
try a few at a time (buying them this way lowers your overall shipping cost, unless of course you’re buying the discontinued ones through amazon).
see what you think.
add to your collection over time. who knows what will become a frequent reading favorite?
I stopped being as ruthless about ordering books as I used to be simply because we have a lot of kids, and you never know what will pique their interest years from now.
so I keep the unused ones in sight, mostly the ones with the flaps up, in the hope that one day they’ll make at least one child’s eyes light up. one day, someone will pull them off the shelf and flip through them.
Until then, we have these usborne favorites that I’ll keep forever and ever, amen. or until I finish homeschooling in twenty years…
if you decide to buy a usborne book and don’t already have a consultant, you can buy through my consultant link here. Thank you very much for your support!
and you? Do you like usborne books? would you homeschool without them? share in the comments!
read next: how to homeschool kindergarten and absolutely love it
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See Also: Naomi Novik – Book Series In Order