The Story of the World vs The Mystery of History
The main differences
Both tell world history in time order across four volumes, written to be read aloud to the family. The Story of the World pairs each volume with an Activity Book of review questions, narration, maps, coloring pages and projects, for about 1st to 8th grade; Volume 2 with its Activity Book was $53.47 on sale. The Mystery of History pairs a hardback reader with a digital Companion Guide of activities for younger, middle and older students, reaching into high school; Volume II was $79.95.
| The Story of the World | The Mystery of History | |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects | History and geography | History and geography |
| Grades | About 1st to 8th grade: Volume 1 is mainly for 1st to 4th grade and Volume 4 for 4th to 8th | Ages 5 and up, about kindergarten to 12th grade; Volume I reads at a 3rd to 4th grade level and Volume IV at 9th grade and up |
| Method | Classical | Traditional |
| Format | Books and workbooks | Books and workbooks |
| Faith label | Not labelled | Faith-based |
| Cost a year | $53.47. Volume 2, The Middle Ages, in paperback: text $16.96 (list $19.95) and Activity Book $36.51 (list $42.95), $53.47 together on sale today. PDFs cost less. | $79.95. Volume II hardback Student Reader with the digital Companion Guide: $79.95 on the publisher's site (retail $99.95), for the whole family for a year. |
| Placement | None on the publisher's site | Scope and sequence paths by age (free download) ↗ |
| Parent time | Not stated by the publisher | Not stated by the publisher |
| It fits | A family that wants world history told as one story in time order, read aloud together, with narration, mapping and projects for children of several ages. | A family with children of different ages who wants one world history read together in time order, with a choice of activities at each child's level. |
| It doesn't fit | A family that wants a workbook course a young child can do alone, or a program that continues into high school. | A family that wants a separate grade-level workbook for each child, or a course focused on US history. |
The Story of the World
The Story of the World is a four-volume narrative world history, from ancient times to the modern age, written to be read aloud to elementary children or read alone by older ones. Each volume becomes a year of history and geography with its Activity Book: parent pages with review questions, narration exercises, reading lists and project directions, and consumable student pages with maps, puzzles and coloring pages. Volume 1 has a new edition that splits this into an Instructor Guide and a Student Workbook; tests and audiobooks are sold separately.
Does well: One volume and its Activity Book make a full year of history and geography, with review questions, narration, map work and projects laid out for the parent.
Watch for: The new Volume 1 edition and the older Activity Books do not mix, so check that the text and guide you buy are the same edition.
The Mystery of History
The Mystery of History is a four-volume world history, from ancient times to the modern era, meant to be read or heard by the whole family together. Each volume is a hardback Student Reader (84 lessons in Volume II) with a digital Companion Guide of more than 500 pages: pretests, activities for younger, middle and older students, mapping, timeline prompts, quizzes and literature lists. One volume gives 28 to 36 weeks of study; audiobooks and planning pages are sold separately.
Does well: One Student Reader serves the whole family for a year, with activities for younger, middle and older students after each lesson.
Watch for: Even Volume I reads at a 3rd to 4th grade level, so young children mostly listen and do the simpler activities.
Lists with both
How we label
Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.
Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction; publishers can send corrections, never money. Every program compared