2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
Chapter II Complete Library
Complete your curriculum Curriculum complete
CHAPTER II
This is the bridge from childhood fable to the wider world of history and heroic literature. Chapter II carries children from the ancient Mediterranean to the Norse gods and the halls of Beowulf, while the Second and Third Grade bundles extend that work into daily practice through mathematics, handwriting, grammar, geography, music, art, and literature. Together, they form a complete course for the years when a child is ready to encounter civilization as a long continuous story.
- On the Shores of the Great Sea
- In the Days of Giants
- Stories of Beowulf
- Companion Teaching Guide
ABOUT THE BOOKS
On the Shores of the Great Sea
M. B. Synge's On the Shores of the Great Sea (1903) is one of the finest history books ever written for children. It tells the story of the ancient Mediterranean world (Egypt, Phoenicia, Israel, Persia, Greece, and Rome), not as a catalog of facts, but as a continuous narrative in which one civilization gives way to the next and every event grows out of the ones before it. Joseph is sold into slavery. Moses parts the Red Sea. The Greeks fight at Marathon. Alexander weeps because there are no more worlds to conquer. Caesar crosses the Rubicon. And at the end of the book, Rome stands at peace, waiting for something it does not yet know it is waiting for.
Synge frames her story through the Mediterranean itself (what the Bible calls the Great Sea- does it?), and the effect is to show children that history is not a collection of isolated episodes but a single story unfolding across centuries. Biblical and secular history stand side by side without apology, because in the ancient world they were not separate.
This Chapter House edition features three new color illustrations by Cortney Skinner. It is the first book in Synge's five-volume "Story of the World" series; the second volume, The Discovery of New Worlds, continues the narrative in Chapter III.
Ages 7–10 | 2nd–4th grade
In the Days of Giants
Before Thor was a movie character, he was a god. Before Loki was a pop-culture villain, he was a trickster whose cleverness brought both laughter and ruin to Asgard. And the actual stories (the ones from the Norse Eddas, not the films) are stranger, funnier, and more interesting than anything Marvel has put on screen. Odin did not lose his eye in battle. He sacrificed it willingly, paying for a single drink from the well of wisdom. Thor's hammer does not give him the ability to fly; he has a chariot pulled by two goats. Loki is not Thor's brother. He is his occasional companion and frequent tormentor.
Abbie Farwell Brown's In the Days of Giants (1902) retells sixteen Norse myths with the drama and dry humor they deserve. These are stories about sacrifice, cunning, loyalty, the price of pride, and the acceptance of fate. They are also, frankly, thrilling, which matters when you are trying to put a book in the hands of a seven-year-old boy.
In Charlotte Mason education circles, In the Days of Giants is known as a "stretching book": One that is just beyond a child's comfortable reading level, requiring real effort and rewarding it. The names are unfamiliar, the world is alien, and the effort of working through both makes better readers.
This Chapter House edition restores all six of E. Boyd Smith's original full-page illustrations, a feature no other in-print edition provides.
Ages 7–10 | 2nd–4th grade
Stories of Beowulf
Beowulf is the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and one of the foundational texts of English literature. It was one of J. R. R. Tolkien's chief inspirations for The Lord of the Rings; children who read Marshall's retelling may recognize Grendel in the orcs, the dragon's hoard in Smaug's treasure, and Beowulf's final sacrifice in Aragorn. The roots of modern fantasy are here, and they are worth knowing.
H. E. Marshall's Stories of Beowulf brings the three great episodes of the poem within reach of a seven-year-old without shrinking them. Grendel is terrifying. The Water Witch is dark. The Dragon is real enough to feel the heat on its breath. Marshall does not water it down; she trusts her young readers to handle the weight of the story. Her prose is elevated enough to feel like an epic and clear enough to follow at a sitting.
The story unfolds in three acts: Beowulf defeats the monster Grendel bare-handed in King Hrothgar's hall; descends into a dark underwater lair to face Grendel's mother; and, years later as an old king, faces a fire dragon knowing he will not survive. These are stories about courage in the face of certain danger: The same courage that Lewis had in mind when he wrote, "Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage."
This Chapter House edition includes three original illustrations by T. W. C. Shaw-Taylor.
Ages 7–10 | 2nd–4th grade
The Chapter II Teaching Guide
The companion pamphlet, included with every Chapter II box set, is more than a simple teacher's workbook. It's a full introduction to the books, the philosophy behind them, and the practice of reading them well.
Contents of the Chapter II 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 II: Warriors and Giants: An overview of all three books and how they fit together.
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Literary Essays: Individual essays on Synge's method in On the Shores of the Great Sea, the Norse myths that Marvel got wrong in In the Days of Giants, and the importance of Beowulf, including a discussion of why the 2007 Zemeckis film adaptation is a corruption of the original and why it matters.
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How to Enjoy These Titles with Your Children: Practical guidance on the "ping pong" reading approach, narration, and pacing for the early elementary years.
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A Sample Day with Chapter II: 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 series.
ADD-ON: 2nd Grade Bundle
The Second Grade Bundle gathers a full year of living books for children growing in confidence as readers and thinkers. These selections pair mathematics, handwriting, geography, literature, folklore, music, and art into a balanced and engaging year of study, with an emphasis on beautiful books that reward rereading.
This bundle is designed to support the Second Grade year alongside the Chapter II Box Set, giving parents a ready-made shelf for daily lessons, narration, map work, creative exploration, and the steady expansion of a child’s literary and intellectual world.
THE BOOKS
- Math Mammoth Grade 2-A Worktext First half of the year; emphasizes conceptual understanding, mental math, and mastery-based learning.
- Math Mammoth Grade 2-B Worktext Second half of the year; continues second-grade topics with clear explanations and steady practice.
- Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series: Book C Third volume in the series; advances italic handwriting with longer words and early cursive forms.
- Paddle-to-the-Sea A Caldecott Honor classic following a carved canoe’s journey through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic.
- St. George and the Dragon A Caldecott Medal–winning retelling of the legendary knight and his battle with the dragon.
- The Cricket in Times Square A charming story of friendship and music set in the unexpected world of a New York City subway station.
- Understood Betsy A gentle coming-of-age story about independence, responsibility, and the quiet strength of childhood.
- The Wind in the Willows A beloved classic celebrating friendship, loyalty, and life along the English countryside.
- The Blue Fairy Book A foundational collection of fairy tales from around the world, including many of the best-known stories.
- Do, Re, Mi: If You Can Read Music, Thank Guido d’Arezzo An engaging introduction to the origins of musical notation and the story behind Do-Re-Mi.
- Discovering Great Artists A creative activity-based introduction to the great artists, pairing biography with hands-on exploration.
ADD-ON: 3rd Grade Bundle
The Third Grade Bundle gathers a full year of living books for students ready to move into sustained reading, structured language study, and wider imaginative worlds. These selections pair mathematics, grammar, handwriting, geography, language, folklore, and literature into a balanced and engaging year of study.
This bundle is designed to support the Third Grade year alongside the Chapter II Box Set, giving parents a ready-made shelf for daily lessons, narration, copywork, map work, and deeper encounters with longer stories and richer language.
THE BOOKS
- Math Mammoth Grade 3-A Worktext First half of the year; builds arithmetic through clear explanations and conceptual practice.
- Math Mammoth Grade 3-B Worktext Second half of the year; continues multiplication, place value, and problem-solving skills.
- Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series: Book D Strengthens italic and cursive handwriting through structured practice and language-rich exercises.
- The Phantom Tollbooth A witty, imaginative adventure that turns boredom into a journey through language, numbers, and meaning.
- Getting Started with Spanish A self-paced introduction to Spanish designed for homeschool and independent learners.
- Minn of the Mississippi A beautifully illustrated narrative tracing the geography and history of the Mississippi River.
- American Tall Tales A lively collection of American folklore featuring larger-than-life heroes like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill.
- Hans Christian Andersen’s Complete Fairy Tales A classic collection of enduring fairy tales including “The Ugly Duckling” and “The Princess and the Pea.”
- The Princess and the Goblin A rich fantasy of courage and imagination as a princess and a miner face the hidden world beneath the mountain.
- Music and How It Works An engaging introduction to music, explaining how it is structured and experienced.
Age and Grade Guidance
Chapter II is designed for children ages 7 through 10, corresponding roughly to 2nd through 4th grade. The three books work well as read-alouds; children who read independently at an early-elementary level will find the shorter chapters in On the Shores of the Great Sea accessible on their own, and confident 3rd- and 4th-grade readers can work through any of the three volumes independently.
Do not let the age range be a strict boundary. A six-year-old who loved the fables and myths of Chapter I may be ready for these stories sooner than the numbers suggest. An older child who has not encountered Beowulf or Norse mythology is missing something that deserves to be remedied at once, whatever his age. These are not books for a particular grade. They are books for a growing mind that is ready to encounter the wider world.
How to Use This Chapter
The three books of Chapter II are built for daily read-aloud time: Fifteen to twenty minutes for children ages 7 through 8, twenty to thirty minutes for older children. All three books are composed of short, self-contained chapters, making them the appropriate length for most children to read. One chapter from On the Shores of the Great Sea in the morning and one from In the Days of Giants in the afternoon is an entirely reasonable approach.
We 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 open-ended follow-up questions, and let the conversation go where it goes. A child who can retell the story of Beowulf and Grendel has understood it. What he does with that understanding over the years is not something you can measure in a single sitting.
Many of the stories in these three books feature historical figures and unfamiliar geography. Have a map nearby when reading On the Shores of the Great Sea, pointing to the Mediterranean, to Greece, to Rome, to Egypt, gives children a sense of the world's actual scale. Do not feel compelled to supplement with encyclopedias at every turn. At this age, you are planting seeds.
For families using Chapter II 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, and language arts resources for 2nd through 4th grade.
Series Connection
Chapter II is the second 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: Chapter I: Heroes and Wonders (ages 5–8) introduces Æsop's fables, Greek and Roman mythology, and fifty tales from Western history. Children who have met Hercules and Perseus in Chapter I will find those gods and heroes reappearing in On the Shores of the Great Sea, now in their full historical context. The transition is natural.
What comes next: Chapter III: The Triumph of the West (ages 8–11) picks up where Chapter II leaves off. The Discovery of New Worlds continues Synge's history from Rome through the Age of Exploration. Alfred J. Church's The Story of the Iliad brings children back to Homer's Greece as full participants in a great epic rather than listeners to simplified myths. The Norse warriors of In the Days of Giants will seem, in retrospect, like early training for the demands of Homer.
