Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade
Chapter I: Heroes and Wonders
Complete your curriculum Curriculum complete
CHAPTER I BOX SET
This is the beginning: the first encounter with the stories that shape a child's understanding of himself and the world. Chapter I gathers the fables and myths that have formed the foundation of Western education for centuries.
We recommend adding the Kindergarten and First Grade bundles to extend that foundation into daily practice through mathematics, handwriting, nature study, poetry, and a growing home library.
- Æsop’s Fables
- A Child’s Book of Myths & Enchantment Tales
- Fifty Famous Stories Retold
- Companion Pamphlet
ABOUT THE BOOKS
Æsop's Fables: A Version for Young Readers
J. H. Stickney's Æsop's Fables: A Version for Young Readers (1915) is the best adaptation of Æsop we have found for the early elementary years. Stickney understood that Æsop's power lies in the stories themselves, not in the morals appended to them. She resists the temptation to spell out the lesson at the end of each fable, trusting instead that a child who has heard "The Wolf and the Lamb" does not need a footnote explaining that the strong will always find an excuse to prey on the weak.
The fables include the familiar and the forgotten alike: "The Tortoise and the Hare," "The Fox and the Grapes," "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse," "The Lion and the Mouse," and dozens more. Each is short enough to read in two or three minutes, making them ideal for mornings before the day begins or evenings before bed.
This Chapter House edition restores Charles Livingston Bull's original illustrations. Bull was among the finest animal illustrators of his generation, and his work deserves recognition, not buried in an out-of-print edition.
Ages 5–8 | Kindergarten–2nd grade
A Child's Book of Myths and Enchantment Tales for Children
Margaret Evans Price wrote these myths because she believed children deserve to meet the gods and heroes of the ancient world through beautiful art and language that takes them seriously. She was right. A Child's Book of Myths (1924) and Enchantment Tales for Children (1926) have been quietly passed from parent to child for a century, loved for their warmth and for Price's extraordinary color illustrations.
You may know her name without knowing it: Price and her husband co-founded Fisher-Price, the toy company, and the first toys they produced were based on characters from her books. Her artwork inspired a generation of children's illustrators.
This Chapter House edition combines both books in a single volume and restores all of Price's original color illustrations. We also restored something missing from every other edition: The original introductions by Katharine Lee Bates, the poet who wrote "America the Beautiful." Bates understood that myths are not mere entertainment but the shared inheritance of a civilization, and she says so with a poet's clarity. No other affordable, in-print edition of this book exists.
The 28 myths include Daedalus and Icarus, Cupid and Psyche, Hercules, Proserpina, Prometheus, Pandora, Jason and the Golden Fleece, Perseus and Medusa, Orpheus and Eurydice, King Midas and the Golden Touch, and Romulus and Remus. A pronouncing vocabulary of proper names is included at the back.
Ages 5–8 | Kindergarten–2nd grade
Fifty Famous Stories Retold
James Baldwin (1841–1925) spent his career writing history and legend for children, and Fifty Famous Stories Retold (1896) is his masterpiece. The collection gathers short tales drawn from the history and legend of the Western world: King Alfred burning the cakes, the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, William Tell shooting the apple, Cincinnatus called from his plow to save Rome, Horatius holding the bridge, George Washington and the cherry tree, Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham, Robert the Bruce watching the spider.
These are the stories that educated men and women once carried as common knowledge: The stories Lincoln knew, the stories your grandparents' grandparents might have known. Too many children today have never heard them.
Baldwin distinguished his stories from fairy tales by grounding them in reality. They may be legendary (the cherry tree story is almost certainly invented), but they are plausible enough to feel true, and the virtues they teach (courage, honesty, duty, sacrifice, perseverance) are real regardless of whether every detail is verified.
Each story runs two to four pages. This edition features five new color illustrations commissioned from Cortney Skinner.
Ages 5–8 | Kindergarten–2nd grade
The Chapter I Pamphlet
The companion pamphlet, included with every Chapter I box set, is a than a teaching guide, an introduction to the books, explains the philosophy behind selecting them, and provides suggestion for how to read them well.
Contents of the Chapter I pamphlet:
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"Virtus et Miraculum": The founding essay of Chapter House. An argument for why virtue is the proper aim of education and why story is the best way to cultivate it, drawing on Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Confucius, and St. John Chrysostom.
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Introduction to Chapter I: Heroes and Wonders: An overview of all three books and how they fit together.
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Literary Essays: Individual essays on Æsop and J. H. Stickney, Margaret Evans Price and the myths, and James Baldwin's method in Fifty Famous Stories Retold, including a close reading of "George Washington and His Hatchet" and the power of story in Lincoln's life.
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How to Enjoy These Titles with Your Children: Practical guidance on read-aloud sessions, narration, comprehension questions, and pacing.
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A Sample Day with Chapter I: A full sample daily schedule showing how the Chapter House books fit alongside mathematics, handwriting, nature study, and other subjects.
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An Introduction to Homeschooling: For families new to home education.
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A Survey of Educational Philosophies: Charlotte Mason, Classical, Montessori, Waldorf, and Orton-Gillingham approaches.
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Why You Should Read the Bible: A case for biblical literacy regardless of faith background, with a reading list.
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A Note to Christian Parents Apprehensive About Ancient Mythology: A thorough response to concerns about pagan mythology, drawing on St. Paul, St. Basil the Great, J. R. R. Tolkien, and C. S. Lewis.
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Greek vs. Roman Names: A reference table for the gods and heroes who appear in multiple forms across the books.
RECOMMENDED ADD-ON: Kindergarten Bundle
The Kindergarten Bundle gathers a full year of living books for the earliest years of learning, with an emphasis on beauty, durability, and books worth returning to again and again. Many of these are substantial collected volumes and boxed sets—libraries in miniature—that give a child not just a single story, but a world to inhabit.
This bundle is designed to support the Kindergarten year alongside the Chapter I Box Set, giving parents a ready-made shelf for daily reading, copywork, nature study, and the quiet formation of taste through high-quality editions that are meant to last.
THE BOOKS
- Let’s Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together and Enjoy It A practical, activity-based introduction to mathematics built around conversation, games, and family learning.
- Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series: Book A The first volume in a complete K–6 handwriting series, introducing letters through a structured, self-correcting method.
- The Burgess Bird Book for Children A narrative introduction to bird life told through memorable characters and stories from the natural world.
- The Handbook of Nature Study A foundational reference work covering animals, plants, weather, and the natural world—a lifelong teaching companion.
- James Herriot’s Treasury for Children A beautifully illustrated collected volume gathering Herriot’s beloved Yorkshire animal stories into one enduring book.
- Pooh’s Library A four-volume hardcover set including the original Pooh stories and poetry collections—a complete childhood library in one box.
- Make Way for McCloskey A substantial treasury of McCloskey’s classic picture books, gathering multiple stories into a single collectible edition.
- The Real Mother Goose A century-old nursery rhyme collection with iconic illustrations—one of the foundational books of early childhood reading.
- Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales All 23 of Potter’s tales collected in a single deluxe slipcased volume with hundreds of original illustrations.
- Just So Stories Kipling’s imaginative origin stories, originally told aloud, blending humor, rhythm, and wonder.
RECOMMENDED ADD-ON: 1st Grade Bundle
The First Grade Bundle gathers a full year of living books for children transitioning from read-aloud dependence to early independent reading. These selections combine mathematics, handwriting, geography, nature study, music, and a growing library of classic children’s literature, many presented in collected volumes and boxed sets that give a child more than a single story.
This bundle is designed to support the First Grade year alongside the Chapter I Box Set, giving parents a ready-made shelf for daily lessons, copywork, map work, reading practice, and the gradual formation of confident, joyful readers.
THE BOOKS
- Math Mammoth Grade 1-A Worktext First half of the year; introduces addition, subtraction, and place value with clear explanations and practice.
- Math Mammoth Grade 1-B Worktext Second half of the year; continues arithmetic with time, money, measurement, and geometry.
- Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series: Book B Second volume in a complete K–6 handwriting series, reinforcing letterforms through simple words and sentences.
- Maps and Globes An accessible introduction to geography, teaching children how to read maps and understand the world.
- The Burgess Animal Book for Children A narrative introduction to North American mammals told through engaging stories and characters.
- Half Magic A humorous fantasy about siblings who discover a coin that grants only half of every wish.
- Frog and Toad Storybook Favorites A collected treasury of four beloved Frog and Toad stories celebrating friendship and everyday adventure.
- Dr. Seuss’s Beginner Book Boxed Set A five-book boxed set of classic early readers designed to build confidence and fluency.
- Charlotte’s Web A timeless story of friendship, sacrifice, and the cycle of life, illustrated by Garth Williams.
- A Child’s Garden of Verses A classic collection of poetry capturing the imagination and emotional world of childhood.
- Little Creatures: An Introduction to Classical Music A beautifully illustrated introduction to classical music, pairing stories of small creatures with musical works.
Age and Grade Guidance
Chapter I is designed for children ages 5 through 8, corresponding roughly to Kindergarten through 2nd grade. These are the read-aloud years. All three books work beautifully when read aloud by a parent; the shorter pieces in Æsop's Fables and Fifty Famous Stories Retold are also accessible to early independent readers by the end of 1st grade.
Do not let the age range be a strict limit. A curious four-year-old who loves being read to will find much to enjoy. A nine-year-old who has not yet encountered these stories will find them fresh, not babyish. We have met adults who encountered Æsop for the first time in their thirties and found it revelatory. The right time to read these books is now, whatever age "now" happens to be.
How to Use This Chapter
The three books of Chapter I are designed for daily read-aloud time, ideally fifteen to twenty minutes with children ages 5 through 7, and twenty to twenty-five minutes for older children. Because the stories in all three books are short and self-contained, you need not read them in strict order. A fable at breakfast, a myth in the afternoon, a story from Baldwin at bedtime. This kind of relaxed, unhurried encounter with good stories is exactly what the books are built for.
We strongly encourage the practice Charlotte Mason called narration: After each story, ask your child to tell it back to you in his own words. Do not quiz. Do not test. Simply listen, ask follow-up questions if the child's account is incomplete, and let the conversation find its own direction. A child who can retell a story has understood it. That understanding will go deeper with each retelling.
For families using Chapter I as part of a broader homeschool curriculum, we recommend visiting chapter.house for our current curriculum recommendations, which pair these books with mathematics, handwriting, nature study, music, and language arts resources for Kindergarten through 2nd grade.
Series Connection
Chapter I is the first of four curated box sets from Chapter House. The series is designed so that each chapter builds on the one before it, though you may begin at any point.
What comes before: Nothing. This is where we begin.
What comes next: Chapter II: Warriors and Giants (ages 7–10) introduces Norse mythology, ancient history, and the oldest epic poem in the English language. Children who have met the Greek gods in Chapter I will recognize echoes of them in the Norse stories Brown tells in In the Days of Giants, and the wider world of On the Shores of the Great Sea will feel like a natural expansion of the legends they have already encountered.
The gods and heroes of Chapter I (Hercules, Perseus, Achilles, and the rest) reappear in fuller, more complex form in Chapter III: The Triumph of the West, when Alfred J. Church's The Story of the Iliad brings children back to the Trojan War as full participants in a great epic rather than listeners to simplified myths. The journey that begins with "The Tortoise and the Hare" ends, four chapters and many years later, with Shakespeare.
