📖 The Story of the World, Volume 2: Middle Ages and Volume 3: Early Modern Times by Susan Wise Bauer. The second volume in The Story of the World series begins in 400 AD with the fall of Rome and ends in the year 1600. Volume 3 spans the years 1600 to 1850. – Elementary

📖 An Age of Voyages, 1350–1600 from Oxford University Press.
The Oxford University Press books can be used as a spine for Middle School History. There are three titles that cover the Early Modern Era. In An Age of Voyages, learn about the Renaissance, the printing press, Reformation, and the Age of Exploration. – Middle

📖 An Age of Empires, 1200–1750 from Oxford University Press. Spanning the late Middle Ages to the Early Modern Era, Age of Empires “captures both the historical sweep and vivid details of this transformative period. From Marco Polo's eyewitness account of an opulent Chinese banquet to a missionary's sermon denouncing Spanish atrocities in the Caribbean, these documents bring the era dramatically to life.” – Middle

📖 An Age of Science and Revolutions, 1600–1800 from Oxford University Press. With a focus on the Enlightenment period and Revolutionary movements, An Age of Science and Revolutions “tells the colorful story of a pivotal period in human history, an era that is crucial to understanding our own times. The expansion of trade and city life, the spread and reform of religious institutions, the rise of regional empires and local feudal regimes, and revolutionary advances in science and technology laid the foundation for the modern world.” – All

📖 Human Odyssey, Volume 2. The Human Odyssey textbook series is a fine choice for a Middle School World History spine.  The second volume covers the period from 1400-1914. Topics in Early Modern History include the Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, Elizabethan England, Islam, Ming China, Feudal Japan, and Russia.  – Middle

📖 Cartoon History of the Modern World, Part I: From Columbus to the US Constitution by Larry Gonick. Picking up where the Cartoon History of the Universe series left off, this volume covers—in some detail—an impressive range of topics in Early Modern History, from the Reformation to the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I to the Spanish Conquest and the American Revolution. Recommended for older students; this Cartoon History could almost be used as a spine for a study of the Early Modern Era. – Middle • High

📖 The World of Columbus and Sons by Genevieve Foster.
This classic horizontal history by Genevieve Foster takes a look at the world during the lifetime of Christopher Columbus and his sons - from 1451 to 1539. "With Columbus as the central figure of this narrative, readers will also learn the fascinating stories of Prince Henry the Navigator, Ivan III of Russia, Gutenberg, Queen Isabella, Leonardo da Vinci, Mohammed II, the African ruler Nomi Mansa, Martin Luther, Erasmus, Albrecht Dürer, Copernicus, Michaelangelo and many others." First published in 1965; expect to find cultural attitudes reflective of the era. – All

🔗 Content Connection: Early America. Study US History from the First Americans to the Revolution.

🔗 Content Connection: Young Nation. Study US History from the War of 1812 to the Civil War.