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When I get bored with the monotony of my daily routine, I begin planning for the next school year. And thus, my Claritas Cycle 2 Book List was born.
We plan to begin Claritas Cycle 2 in fall 2023. We’ve been using Claritas Cycle 1 this school year with great enjoyment.
Claritas Cycle 2 will cover the Middle Ages, earth science, and astronomy.
When we use this list, my boys will be in 2nd grade and kindergarten. The choices reflect their young ages. There are more advanced books for the Medieval time period out there, but I did not include them here. You’ll notice that some weeks have more books than others.
Week 1
Starry, Starry Night by Scholastic
Galaxies, Galaxies by Gail Gibbons
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 1-2
Week 2
Augustine of Hippo by Simonetta Carr
Brother Hugo and the Bear by Katy Beebe
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 2-3
Week 3
Once Upon a Starry Night by Jacqueline Mitton
Zoo in the Sky by Jacqueline Mitton
A Search for the Northern Lights by Elizabeth Rusch and Izzi Rusch
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 4
Week 4
The Sun: Our Nearest Star by Franklyn Branley
Sun Up, Sun Down by Gail Gibbons
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 5
Week 5
Rockets and Spaceships by Karen Wallace
There’s No Place Like Space by Tish Rabe
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 6-7
Week 6
Dragon of the Red Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne
Midnight on the Moon by Mary Pope Osborne
Sun, Moon, and Stars by Usborne
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 8
Week 7
Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French
I, Galileo by Bonnie Christensen
Galileo’s Treasure Box by Catherine Brighton
Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei by Peter Sis
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 10
Week 8
The Life and Times of Clovis, King of the Franks by Earle Rice, Jr.
The Holy Twins by Kathleen Norris
The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane by C.M. Millen
A Rock is Lively by Dianna Hutts Aston
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 11
Week 9
Season of the Sandstorms by Mary Pope Osborne
Nicolaus Copernicus: The Earth is a Planet by Dennis Fradin
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 12
Week 10
Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osborne
The Kitchen Knight by Margaret Hodges
Night of the Ninth Dragon by Mary Pope Osborne
Narwhal on a Sunny Night by Mary Pope Osborne
Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar d’Aulaire
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle
Ada and the Galaxies by Alan Lightman and Olga Pastuchiv
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 13
Week 11
Viking Ships at Sunrise by Mary Pope Osborne
Imagination Station: Voyage with the Vikings
Ranger in Time: Journey through Ash and Smoke
Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
The Hawk of the Castle by Danna Smith
Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess by Richard Platt
William the Conqueror by Thomas Costain
Anselm of Canterbury by Simonetta Carr
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 14-17
Week 12
The Minstrel in the Tower by Gloria Skurzynski
Francis Woke Up Early by Josephine Nobisso
Brother Sun, Sister Moon by Katherine Paterson
Saint Francis of Assisi by Tim Ladwig
The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne
Saladin: Noble Prince of Islam by Diane Stanley
Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney (for my kindergartener)
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 18
Week 13
Rupert’s Parchment: The Story of the Magna Carta by Eileen Cameron
Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D’Agnese
Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
Planet Earth/Inside Out by Gail Gibbons
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 19
Week 14
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 20
Week 15
Imagination Station: Peril in the Palace
Tectonic Plates Are on the Move by Nadia Higgins
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 21-22
Week 16
Vassilisa the Wise: A Tale of Medieval Russia by Josepha Sherman
Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Sidals
You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Dirt by Ian Graham
Dirt: The Scoop on Soil by Natalie M. Rosinsky
Under Your Feet by Wenjia Tang
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 23
Week 17
Chanticleer and the Fox by Barbara Cooney
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Jessie Weston
The Knight and the Dragon by Tomie dePaola
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 24
Week 18
Joan of Arc by Nancy Wilson Ross
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
A Rock is Lively by Dianna Hutts Aston
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 25-26
Week 19
The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz
The Spanish Empire: The Inquisition by Tamra Orr
Stickmen’s Guide to Earth’s Atmosphere in Layers by Catherine Chambers
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 28
Week 20
Imagination Station: Hunt for the Devil’s Dragon
Sundiata: Lion King of Mali by David Wisniewski
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 29
Week 21
The Great Mughals by Anant Pai
The Magic School Bus Rides Again: Frizzle of the Future episode
What is a Biome? By Bobbie Kalman
Many Biomes, One Earth by Sneed Collard III
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 30
Week 22
Imagination Station: Islands and Enemies
Imagination Station: Revenge of the Red Knight
Who Eats What? By Patricia Lauber
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 31
Week 23
Aztec, Inca, and Maya – DK Eyewitness
The Chocolate Tree: A Mayan Folktale by Linda Lowery
The Cloud Book by Tomie dePaola
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 32
Week 24
A Drop Around the World by Barbara Shaw McKinney
Water is Water by Miranda Paul
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 33
Week 25
Martin Luther by Simonetta Carr
Johann Gutenberg and the Amazing Printing Press by Bruce Koscielniak
From the Good Mountain: How Gutenberg Changed the World by James Rumford
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 34
Week 26
The Tudors: Kings, Queens, Scribes, and Ferrets by Marcia Williams
Lady Jane Grey by Simonetta Carr
Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole
The Magic School Bus Takes a Dive episode
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 34
Week 27
Around the World in a Hundred Years by Jean Fritz
Roanoke, the Lost Colony by Jane Yolen
Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson
Ocean: A Visual Encyclopedia by DK Publishing
The Magic School Bus Takes a Dive episode
Story of the World, Volume 2 – ch. 38, ch. 40-41
Week 28
You Wouldn’t Want to Sail in the Spanish Armada by John Malam
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