Story of the World (Well-Trained Mind Press)

Story of the World is a four-volume history of the world written for elementary students.

Last updated: 2026-10-06 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Narrative history / chronological / living-book approach
Worldview	Religiously-inclusive secular; treats all world religions descriptively
Grades	Grades 1-4 (grammar stage); secondary volumes (History of the Ancient World, Medieval, etc.) serve middle/high school
Formats	Print narrative textbooks + activity books + audio recordings
Cost tier	Budget to Standard
Parent intensity	3
ESA-common	Yes
Accredited	No
Website	welltrainedmind.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	Strong content at age level; adult secondary volumes are serious scholarship
Ease of teaching	4	Narrative format is readable; activity book guides supporting work
Content quality	5	The writing is genuinely excellent
Flexibility	5	Works with nearly any curriculum
Value for money	5	Low-cost relative to comprehensiveness
Worldview scope	4	Inclusive; treats Christianity as one major world religion without privileging it
Visual/design	3	Illustrated but not visually lavish; audio versions are excellent
Support resources	4	Well-Trained Mind community, activity book maps, substantial online support

Who the publisher is

Well-Trained Mind Press is the publisher of Story of the World. The press also publishes the Writing with Ease and Writing with Skill programs, First Language Lessons, The Story of Science, and the adult-level "History of the Ancient World," "History of the Medieval World," and "History of the Renaissance World" volumes.

The core pedagogy

Story of the World's pedagogy is classical in the classical-education sense, chronological, narrative, and cumulative. Children study world history in story form from Volume 1 (Ancient Times: from the earliest records through the fall of Rome) through Volume 4 (Modern: 20th century). The four-year cycle can be repeated at the grammar-stage level and again at the logic/rhetoric stage (with the adult-level volumes).

Scope and sequence is linear and chronological. Each chapter tells a short story (typically 5-15 pages) about a specific event, figure, or civilization. A typical Story of the World chapter is reading-aloud-length, a parent can read one chapter in a single sitting, and the child can remember its contents. This structure differs from topic-based reference textbooks.

Signature mechanics: (1) Narrative chronology, history told as a story, in order, without the cross-cutting topic organization of conventional textbooks. (2) Short, rich chapters, each chapter stands alone as a coherent story and is short enough to read aloud. (3) Activity book as supplement, each volume has a companion activity book with maps, coloring pages, discussion questions, additional reading recommendations, and hands-on projects. (4) Audio versions. Audio versions are available for all four volumes, and in our assessment the audio is excellent. (5) Ecumenical and descriptive treatment of religion. The text covers Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous religions as historical phenomena, describing beliefs and practices without either dismissing or privileging any.

What they do exceptionally well

Narrative history writing. In our assessment, the prose is adult-quality history writing made accessible to 7-10-year-olds without becoming simplistic.

Audio versions. In our assessment, the narration is excellent and the audio versions are genuinely enjoyable.

Ecumenical flexibility. In our assessment, because the text treats religion descriptively rather than polemically, Story of the World works for Christian, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, secular, and eclectic families.

What they do poorly

Focus lags on American history. Story of the World is a world history series. American history receives appropriate proportion within world history, but families who want extensive American history coverage at the elementary level can supplement with a dedicated American history spine such as Beautiful Feet Books. Notgrass lists Our Star-Spangled Story as a one-year U.S. history course for grades 1 to 4.

Activity book work can feel thin. The companion activity books are competent but not distinguished. Map work and coloring pages are adequate; discussion questions are adequate; hands-on projects are adequate. Families wanting richer activities can supplement with Pandia Press' History Odyssey or with unit studies.

Late-modern volume (Volume 4) feels different. Volume 4 (Modern) covers much more compressed time (the 20th century) across fewer pages than earlier volumes covered ancient and medieval history. The result is a less-balanced final volume that feels crowded relative to the earlier books. This is a minor but real complaint.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Story of the World if: you want narrative chronological history that works across worldview traditions; you have a family with multiple young children and want shared history reading; you want a flexible history spine that works with nearly any other curriculum; you value audio versions; you want low cost.

• Skip Story of the World if: you want exhaustive American history at the elementary level (supplement); you want a history program that takes a specific religious or ideological stance; you prefer visually-lavish textbooks; you want a curriculum that provides extensive daily activities and worksheets; your child is past the early-middle-school age range where narrative history works best.

Cost honest assessment

Story of the World Volumes 1-4 (hardcover or paperback) run approximately $15-$25 per volume; audio versions $20-$30 per volume. Activity books $25-$35 per volume. All four volumes plus activity books and audio: $250-$400 one-time.

Because the volumes are reusable across multiple children and multiple cycles, the per-child-per-year cost amortizes to $30-$50 for a family with three children doing the four-year cycle twice.

ESA eligibility notes

Story of the World is approved on essentially all state ESA marketplaces including Arizona ClassWallet, Florida Step Up For Students, Iowa Student First, Utah Fits All, and Arkansas LEARNS. The secular-but-respectful content faces no religious-content restrictions on any marketplace. Well-Trained Mind Press has a dedicated ESA ordering workflow.

Alternatives

• Mystery of History, a family would choose Mystery of History over Story of the World because Mystery of History is explicitly Christian in framing and includes Bible history integrated with world history.
• Beautiful Feet Books, a family would choose Beautiful Feet over Story of the World because Beautiful Feet specializes in American history and geography through literature rather than world history narrative.
• TruthQuest History, a family would choose TruthQuest over Story of the World because TruthQuest is Christian-worldview and more focused on primary-source engagement.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed Well-Trained Mind Press's catalog at welltrainedmind.com, sample chapters from Story of the World Volumes 1 and 2, the companion activity books, and selected chapters from the adult-level History of the Ancient World. We cross-referenced against Cathy Duffy's review, HSLDA's publisher profile, and extensive community discussion across classical, Charlotte Mason, and eclectic homeschool communities.