The Book of Knowledge

Have you been looking for an encyclopedia set compatible with your Christian world view? Pre-1940 sets of The Book of Knowledge by Grolier are the closest thing to a Christian encyclopedia that I have seen!

For isolated fact questions that need an up-to-date answer, I prefer to use living books, the Internet with supervision, or a compact, recent encylopedia on CD, again with supervision. For this purpose, I do not believe that a set of 20 thick volumes soaked in the humanistic world view are the best resource.

For one thing, such a set takes up shelf space that is exceeding precious in our homes. For another, it brings in too much garbage with the good information that children want and need. And the writing style and vocabulary leave more and more to be desired with each new edition.

For delightful reading, for fact-browsing, and for answers to questions that haven't changed in the last hundred years, the old sets of The Book of Knowledge are outstanding--unmatched in my experience with Living Books!

The shelf where our set lives is one of the most often used shelves in the house. My children are drawn to these books--they are pretty, they are well-written, and they offer so much more than the bare-bones facts of history and science.

As far as I know, the pre-1940 sets are without parallel for wonderful living projects--making soap and jelly, serious sewing, making dollhouses and miniatures, making dolls from around the world, real carpentry in a broad variety of projects, science experiments, illusions, making toys, and so much more. And the emphasis in the projects is on blessing, helping, and encouraging family members and the needy!

(My oldest daughter helped me with the previous paragraph and said, "Well, they teach you how to take a bath and how to go to sleep, but most of the projects are great!")

Nature study is emphasized. Subjects from plant identification to how to perform tree surgery are included--and usually with gorgeous color plates!

There are outstanding literature selections, French lessons, Christian poetry, and the biographies are wonderful! History is rich and so much more complete in these books--missionaries, saints, and hymnwriters are not forgotten, but are treated as the major figures they are!

There *is* some theistic evolution in these books, but it is isolated as a topic, not drilled into children's heads with every bird, flower, and tree.

Sets after 1940 deteriorated quickly. The literature selections were dumbed-down. The quality of illustration deteriorated. The project emphasis went from love to selfishness. Instead of, "your little brother would love this" useful article, it became "if you are bored on a rainy day" make this simple object of fleeting value..

I see post-1940 sets at book sales repeatedly. In the first year after we found our 1935 set, I asked my children to look at several 1940's and 1950's sets, thinking of adding a later set to our collection, but every time they looked through one, it just didn't compare. After having the earlier set, they have had no appetite for the later ones.