Barbarians

As several homeschool curriculum have Ancient and European history starting at primary and elementary grades I've been searching for resources that meet those needs. A family member will be covering the Fall of Rome moving into the Middle Ages as part of a grade 2 curriculum and I've been looking for some books that address that time period accurately, but keeping the age level of the child in mind when writing about the topic.

In my search I came across Barbarians part of the X fighters series. I am not often a fan of the extreme styled books as they tend to lose sight of the education in order to provide the shock and awe factors to get parents and children to buy the book. I was suitably impressed with this book.

There are thousands of books that focus on the Middle Ages for children, some clearly more accurate and authentic than others, but a selection for parents, homeschoolers, and teachers who want materials to use with primary and elementary children. I've found the periods between Rome and the more established Middle Ages to be a bit more challenging as the material can be more complicated and it hasn't always been traditionally material for this age group.

The book begins with an introduction to who the Barbarians were and the main groups of Barbarians, the Celt, Saxons, Franks, Goths, Huns, and Vandals. A handy map is provided to demonstrate where these groups eventually ended up living, although the book explains they didn't all begin in these areas. I thought the author did a good job of giving an age appropriate explanation of the relationship between the tribes and Rome.

The theme Xtreme Fighters is built around mini biographies of 5 Barbarian Chiefs. The biographies are brief, but certainly could lead to further research if so desired. The books counts the leaders down from 5 to 1.

1.Attila the Hun
2.Alaric I Visgoth
3.Queen Boudicca Celtic
4.Gaiseric Vandal
5. Clovis Frankish Chief

The author provides information about weapons, writing, and battle tactics. War is never pleasant in any time period and any discussion of it often has certain unpleasant facts. I didn't find the author to be be inappropriately detailed, but as with all books you may want to preview before reading with or giving it to a child to read if you are concerned that some information might not be appropriate. I find people have different levels of tolerance. I plan on having this book available next year, others may feel differently.