Illustrated book · Ages 7-12 · Volume 1
The History of the World for Children
Volume 1: From the origins of humanity to ancient civilizations
“Every discovery lights a spark. And every spark lights up the future.”
The story of the world, told as one long voyage. With Argo, their trusty archaeologist, children travel through prehistory, ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley, Sumer and ancient China, and find out that the past is an adventure to live through rather than a lesson to learn by heart.
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A book to fall in love with history
Each civilization is a stop along the way, each page a discovery. And every fact has been checked.
It all began with a book I couldn't find. My son was about to turn ten, and I was looking for something that told the history of the world the way you tell an adventure story, the kind of book you don't want to put down. There wasn't one. So I decided to write it myself, one evening at a time.
Volume 1 is divided into five parts, one for each civilization, and thirteen short chapters. Every part opens with Argo's kit, and every chapter closes with a notebook of discoveries, the archaeologist's questions, a quiz and a last message from Argo. The book is honest with children about what we know, what we can only imagine and what is still a mystery. It works just as well read alone or aloud, at home or in the classroom.
Inside the book
Did you know…?
The most surprising finds from Argo's digs, little treasures unearthed just for you.
Try it yourself!
Hands-on activities that let you test the skills and habits of the past for yourself.
Curiosities from the past
The oddest entries in Argo's notebook, full of stories and unexpected details.
Time travel
Close your eyes while Argo tells you what life was really like in a faraway age.
Then and now
Traces of the past in the way we live today, from wall paintings to writing.
The archaeologist's corner
A chance to stop and study one object up close, like a real history detective.
And there's more: 21 field missions, 52 quiz questions with answers, 39 open questions to talk over in class or around the dinner table, a 74-entry time traveller's dictionary, and a section called “Our sources” that shows children where and how every name, date and fact was checked.
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Meet Argo, your guide
“Hello! I'm Argo, your trusty archaeologist. Would you like to come with me on a trip through time?”
A wide-brimmed straw hat, shirtsleeves rolled up, a notebook tucked into his belt and a magnifying glass never far from reach. Argo goes with the reader to every stop on the way. He looks, he marvels and he asks questions, the very same ones a child would ask. His magnifying glass stands for the reader's own eyes, for the urge to look closer and find out more.
Argo is the thread that ties places, civilizations and eras together. And when he doesn't know something, he says so. His rule is simple: imagining is not the same as knowing. His voice comes back again and again throughout the book, in Argo's Notes and Argo's Tips and in the message he leaves the reader at the end of every chapter.
He won't travel alone for long
The epilogue of Volume 1 gives it away. From Volume 2 onwards, three curious children will join Argo. They'll be the same age as the readers, and they'll ask questions of their own.
Fresh eyes
New characters who bring different skills, cultures and ways of seeing.
More voices
Conversations and small disagreements that keep the story moving.
Someone like me
More variety, so that every reader has a better chance of finding themselves in the story.
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A journey through history
Volume 1 crosses five worlds, from painted caves to the great Chinese dynasties.
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Part one
The origins of humanity and prehistory
The first humans, hunting, gathering and fire, painted caves and the very first villages.
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Part two
Ancient Egypt and the secrets of the pyramids
Pharaohs and pyramids, mummies, gods and hieroglyphs, and a day in the life of an Egyptian child on the banks of the Nile.
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Part three
The Indus Valley civilization
Carefully planned cities with streets as straight as rulers, seals, craftspeople and one great mystery: a script that nobody has managed to read yet.
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Part four
Sumer, land of great inventions
The first cities in history, between the Tigris and the Euphrates, with their inventions, clay tablets, scribes and unsolved puzzles.
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Part five
The fascinating civilization of China
The Celestial Empire with its dynasties and treasures, the Terracotta Army, the inventions and wise thinkers of ancient China, everyday life and festivals.
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Why this book
Once history turns into an adventure, children never stop asking it questions.
The joy of finding out
Bringing children to history through their own curiosity, with no pressure.
Everything is connected
Civilizations, lands, people and inventions are all linked. History looks more like a web than a list.
Questions as well as answers
Looking carefully, comparing and thinking for yourself. Critical thinking can start at a very young age.
Honest and never dull
The book separates what we know for certain from what is only a theory, and it names its sources.
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A series in six volumes
Volume 1 is only the beginning. The manuscripts for all six volumes are already written.
Volume 1
Origins and the first civilizations
Prehistory, ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley, Sumer and ancient China.
Volume 2
Ancient Greece and Rome
The gods of Olympus, the heroes, the Trojan War, the first Olympic Games, Athens and Sparta, Alexander the Great. Then across the Mediterranean to Rome, from the she-wolf of the Capitol to the Republic, from Caesar to Augustus, and on to Pompeii and the Colosseum.
Volume 3
The Middle Ages and the great voyages
A thousand years of castles, knights, villages and monasteries. Then out onto the open sea, with ocean crossings and meetings between worlds that had never known each other.
Volume 4
Renaissance, revolutions and the industrial age
The brilliant ideas of the Renaissance, the great revolutions and the machines that changed work, cities and everyday life.
Volume 5
The twentieth century
The two world wars, the Cold War and the long struggle for everyone's rights.
Volume 6
The information age and the future
The inventions that connected us, the adventure of space travel and a look ahead at the future of humankind.
Every volume keeps what makes the series recognizable (Argo, the recurring features, the end-of-chapter pages, the sources) and opens up new ground, with new characters, new missions and new questions. From Volume 2, three curious children will travel alongside Argo.
“See that thread running on past the last stop? The journey doesn't end here.”
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About me
“I didn't read my first adventures. I lived them.”
I'm Riccardo. I spent my childhood and teenage years in several African countries, mainly Rwanda, Burkina Faso and Benin. There I learned something early on that schools rarely teach: the world doesn't tell just one story. Every place has its own, kept in its gestures, its festivals, its everyday objects and even in the way people live with time.
For twenty-six years I have worked in international cooperation, on environmental and sustainable development projects, side by side with local communities. Studying economics at the University of Rome gave me a method I still rely on. Start from the sources, check the figures, and keep what is established apart from what is still being debated. I speak Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. I'm also a musician and composer, and music has taught me that a good idea told with the wrong rhythm never reaches anyone.
This is my first book. I'm not a historian and I don't claim to be, which is why every chapter weighs the sources against each other and says plainly what remains uncertain. My three children were my first readers, and my toughest critics. They taught me that a chapter that runs too long gets closed, and that a good question opens more doors than a perfect answer.
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An idea for the future
Argo's Time Explorer
The journey could carry on after the last page.
We're imagining a free educational app, designed to keep the books company and never to replace them. For now it is an idea we'd like to explore. The features below are working ideas, and they would build on the quizzes, questions and missions in the book.
Interactive maps and timelines
Moving between eras and places with the tip of a finger.
Missions led by Argo
New expeditions linked to the chapters of the book.
Quizzes and learning games
Playing with what you've discovered, on your own or with the family.
Activities for school and home
Ideas made for the classroom and the kitchen table.
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Beyond the book
A small family of objects inspired by the illustrations could grow up around the book, so the adventure can carry on away from the page.
- In the worksIllustrated posters
- In the worksAtlases and timelines
- In the worksActivity books
- In the worksMaterials for teachers
- In the worksEducational games and cards
end of the notebook… for now
Let's keep in touch
Do you have a question about the book? Would you like to introduce it to your school or library, or hear about the next volumes? Write to us. We're always glad to hear from families, teachers, booksellers and curious minds of any age.
