Are you ready to stock up on Classical Conversations Cycle 2 books from Usborne Books & More? Below you'll find handy dandy lists of my absolute favorites, my top picks for each subjects, and VIDEOS to peek inside EVERY TITLE LISTED!! (Don't forget to PIN IT!)
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ENCYCLOPEDIAS
If you don't pick up ANY OTHER books for the year, or you want to keep it as simple and streamlined as possible, I recommend our ENCYCLOPEDIAS! Click here to peek inside this stack.
These encyclopedias have fantastic photography, are well laid-out, full of great info without being overwhelming, and are internet-linked!! They are absolute must-haves for every home.
The top three encyclopedias here are sold as a set in HARDBACK, or you can buy them individually in hardback or paperback.
The Medieval World Encyclopedia is included IN the World History Encyclopedia!
MATH
All of these math books are fantastic. In our home, we use the Lift-the-Flap REGULARLY as part of our math practice. The activity books are engaging, bright, creative, and perfectly challenging! Peek inside this entire stack here.
Illustrated Math Dictionary (also available in two higher levels)
(Activity books also available in Fractions & Decimals, Adding & Subtracting, and Telling the Time)
ATLASES
If I had to pick just one of these, it would totally be the Lift-the-Flap (an obviously favorite in our home!) It's fun to explore, full of info, and still a great map reference! Peek inside of them here.
BIBLE STORY BOOKS
Each of these Bible Story Books are fantastic in their own right. I love the Illustrated Bible Stories because of the fantastic, bright illustrations. I love the Book of Bible Stories because it's a dual reader. Dual readers have TWO levels of text, one for beginners and one for more advanced -- an absolutely perfect pick for shared reading! Click here to peek inside!
HISTORY & TIMELINE
We are particularly excited about history this year! What a fantastic line-up of studies! From this stack, I recommend definitely grabbing the Timelines of World History book. It will be a great reference for ALL THREE Cycles! I also highly recommend the World Wars book. It is sooooo well done, perfectly written for a variety of ages, and loaded with beautiful photography!
SHAKESPEARE
If we're talking the Renaissance, we can't skip Shakespeare! My favorite book in this stack is Complete Shakespeare! EVERY PERSON needs this book! It is an abridged version of ALL of Shakespeare's plays, written in modern English. These are great for introducing his works before moving on to complete and original versions. Peek inside here!
ENGLISH & LATIN
Definitely, absolutely, without question. GRAB THE Not-Your-Everyday Illustrated Thesaurus!! Thank me later. Look inside the enter stack here!
(Note: The photo here needs to be updated, but the list corresponds with the full video!)
First Illustrated Grammar & Punctuation (not shown)
FINE ARTS
I am so surprised at how much use we've gotten out of this stack of books! They're great for all three cycles and all incredibly well done. The First Book about the Orchestra was a fantastic intro for my five year old this year. We also spend a lot of time with the Lift the Flap Art book.
Art Treasury is my personal favorite, because it teaches about artists and then teaches the reader to create art using the same techniques! Informative and fun!
(Listed are the Cycle 2 artists/musicians you can find in each book)
First Book about the Orchestra
Famous Composers: Dvorak, Brahms, Beethoven, Classical, and Romantic
Art Treasury: Degas, Monet, Van Gogh
Famous Artists: Rembrandt, Degas, Monet, Van Gogh
Famous Paintings: Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Degas, Monet, Morisot, Van Gogh
Lift-the-Flap Questions and Answers about Art
First Book about the Orchestra
Famous Composers: Dvorak, Brahms, Beethoven, Classical, and Romantic
Art Treasury: Degas, Monet, Van Gogh
Famous Artists: Rembrandt, Degas, Monet, Van Gogh
Famous Paintings: Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Degas, Monet, Morisot, Van Gogh
Lift-the-Flap Questions and Answers about Art
SCIENCE
Narrowing down my favorite in this stack is near impossible. They ALL get a lot of use in our home! The pocket books are probably pulled out most often. Otters, Snails and Tadpole Tails is an EXCELLENT book of poetry that I cannot recommend highly enough!!
If you're only grabbing one thing from this stack, I would pick one of the science dictionaries. The Illustrated Elementary Science is thorough, beautiful, and written in a very accessible but informative manner. The Illustrated Dictionary of Biology is a staple for any home. Consider grabbing the Illustrated Dictionary of Science (not shown here), which is a combined volume including Biology book as well as the Physics and Chemistry versions!
Not Shown: Illustrated Dictionary of Physics
Not Shown: Illustrated Dictionary of Science
SPACE
We have SO MANY great space books that they needed a category of their own for sure! Again, I could make a case for every book in this stack, but if I were forced to pick just a couple, I would say our two personal favorites are Look Inside Space and Big Book of Stars and Planets.
Decide for yourself by peeking inside here!
