For quite a few years, the books I’ve written on history for middle school kids have been published by two different publishers – Wayside Publishing (Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages, and West Meets East) and Pemblewick Press (the Renaissance, two books on Native Americans, two books on China, and Islam). But now they all belong to Wayside, and they are beginning a whole new life in revised editions.

 I began writing the books while I was teaching history at Fay School in Southborough, Massachusetts. I didn’t like the textbooks that were available, and, having spent a year as an apprentice teacher at Shady Hill School (where teachers write most of their curricula content themselves), I decided to create my own set of materials. My intention was to make history fun and intriguing for my students, focusing upon the story aspect, the personalities, and the unique features of an ancient culture. I also needed to come up with a set of projects and activities that would clarify and illuminate particular elements of that culture. Within a couple of years I had a created a set of three units based on the curricula I taught at the time – Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome.  These worked really well. The kids seemed to be enjoying history almost as much as I was, and they were more than willing to make constructive suggestions for activities and projects, many of which I included in my annual revisions.

 In 1993 I encountered the owner of Wayside Publishing at a Teacher’s Conference. He liked the manuscripts I showed him and said he would like to publish and market them. Since then, the books have been out there, used in many schools – private and public – as well as by homeschoolers across the country.  When I produced a fourth manuscript on the Middle Ages, it was added to the series, now known as Early Times. West Meets East: the Travels of Alexander the Great came next.

 In 1997 I set up my own publishing company, Pemblewick Press, and began printing and marketing new books as I completed them. Since many teachers were already familiar with my earlier books, they took to the new ones as well.

 Now that all the books belong to Wayside Publishing they can be edited and reproduced in a similar format – and in living color! I am still involved with the writing and editing of the books. Since I am no longer in the classroom, I have the luxury of time and the availability of excellent internet materials to do this very thoroughly. Information is constantly being updated on the most ancient of civilizations – for example, I was amazed to read recently that the vast majority of ancient Egyptian artifacts are still buried in the sands, just waiting to be discovered – as they are, little by little, with the aid of modern high-tech  instruments.

 Revised editions of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece are already available, and I am working diligently and happily on the revisions of Ancient Rome. Having such primary sources as Livy and Plutarch at my fingertips, thanks to Google, has enabled me to further enrich the text, and the wealth of online images of ruins, statues, sarcophagi, will certainly beef up the visual impact.

 So that’s the background of Early Times. I will be writing entries in this blog from time to time. I’d like to focus upon teaching techniques, response to inquiries about content, and anything else that comes up related to the series. I strongly welcome any suggestions or reactions you might have to any of the books.

 Hoping to hear from anyone who uses or is interested in learning more about my books.

 Suzanne Art

Author, Early Times Series