HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TWO HOURS

Hailed by the New York Times as "a spunky recap of what’s been going on since the Big Bang that really does, by the end, feel like everything you need to know about history," this fast-paced program uses stunning CGI animations to tell the story of the Earth and humanity from the planet’s beginning to contemporary times. However, the program does much more than recap key events: it also reveals the connections between these events, such as how grass was a key factor in primates learning to walk upright, and how the domestication of donkeys ultimately made trade possible. Grades 6 and up. Color. Total time: 88 minutes. History Channel. ©2011.