Ancient World History Book List –
Part 5 (Middle Ages & the Renaissance)

Welcome back!
If you’ve been following this series, thanks!
This is the last section in the FREE Ancient World History Curriculum.
The Middle Ages & the Renaissance have SO many amazing people and places and events that it is really difficult to narrow it all down… but I’ve done my best, and here are my favorite books for the Middle Ages & the Renaissance Unit.

If you’ve just joined in, you may like to check out the first post for these units
–> Free Ancient World History Curriculum  and the supplemental book lists for the previous sections as well.
These books are NOT required for the studies… they’re just my favorite resources (most I’ve personally used).  You will find the few required books for the curriculum included on each unit’s curriculum page.

–>  This post contains affiliate links.  There will NOT be any additional charge to you if you click to Amazon through these links, but I will make a small commission if you do!  So thanks ahead for supporting my work !  🙂

Middle Ages & Renaissance Book List

*Spine Texts for the Ancient History Units-

I used 2 main history texts as the spine for the entire Free Ancient World History Curriculum series-
“A Child’s History of the World” by Virgil Hillyer (you’ll see it in the lessons as -> CHOW), and “The Story of the World” series by Susan Wise Bauer (abbreviated in the lessons- SOTW).   HOWEVER, these (and all the other books I listed) are just a suggestion.  You can use one of them, all of them, another text you already have, or none of them at all!  Each daily lesson has TONS of online reading links, hands-on project suggestions, and  other options to fully explore the given topic.

*Middle Ages Literature :

*The Middle Ages:  An Interactive History
*Good Masters!  Sweet Ladies!  Medieval Life
*The Middle Ages:  Choose Your Own Adventure 
*The Greatest Battles For Boys:  Medieval Wars
*Favorite Medieval Tales    (Mary Pope Osbourne)
*The Hawk of The Castle
*The Whipping Boy

*Beowulf  (for young readers)
*Beorn The Proud
*The Door in the Wall
*Wulf The Saxon
*Crispin: The Cross of Lead
*Anna Of Byzantium
*Son Of Charlemagne
*Fire,Bed & Bone
*The Royal Diaries:  Eleanor, Crown Jewel Of Aquitaine

*Life as a Knight: Choose Your Own Adventure
*The Making Of A Knight
*The Knight at Dawn  and  Knights & Castles: NonFiction Companion
*King Arthur & His Knights of the Round Table
*King Arthur:  Kid Classics
*The Sword In the Tree
*The Great & Terrible Quest
* St. George and the Dragon
*If You Lived In The Days Of Knights
*You Wouldn’t Want To Be A Medieval Knight
*You Wouldn’t Want To Be In A Medieval Dungeon
*The Kitchen Knight
*The Sword And The Circle

*Ink on His Fingers
*Courage & Conviction
*Monks & Mystics
*The Smugglers Flame
*With You All The Way   (Max Lucado)
*Spy For The Night Riders 
*The Bible Smuggler
*The Queen’s Smuggler
*Thunderstorm In Church
*John Knox: The Sharpened Sword
*John Wycliffe:  According To The Word

*The King’s Shadow
*Castle Diary:  The Story Of Tobias Burgess, Page
*The Prince And The Pauper
*The Black Arrow
*The Apple And The Arrow
*Joan Of Arc

*Along Came Galileo
* The Apprentice
*The Shakespeare Stealer
* The Second Mrs. Gioconda
* Monday with a Mad Genius- The Magic Treehouse  and  DaVinci NonFiction Companion
*Marguerite Makes A Book

*Middle Ages History Resource/Informational Books:

*Science In The Ancient World   (Jay Wile)
*Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi , Sir Cumference & the First Round Table
or get the whole wonderful series of these math adventures !!  LOVE THESE !!
*Sir Cumference Series
*Sir Cumference Classroom Activity Book
*Who Was Leonardo ?
*Who Was Galileo ?
*The Renaissance Thinkers   (Best for older students- great for bridging subjects)
*Days Of Knights- DK Reader
*Knights And Castles  (Usbourne Reader)
*The Minstrel In The Tower   (Stepping Stones Reader)
*DK Findout!  Castles

*Life in a Medieval Castle & Village  and Kings & Queens of England  (Dover Coloring Books)
*Usbourne History of Britain the Middle Ages
*DK Medieval Life
*DK Eyewitness Knight

*Middle Ages History Activity Guides:

*Amazing Leonardo Da Vinci Inventions You Can Make Yourself!
*Draw & Write Through History
*Days of Knights & Damsels
* Michaelangelo for Kids: His Life & Ideas ,  DaVinci for Kids , or Galileo for Kids
(21 Hands-On Activities)
*Life In A Medieval Castle   (Dover)
*Design Your Own Coat Of Arms:  An Introduction To Heraldry   (Dover)
*Shakespeare For Kids:  21 Activities
*Duct Tape Warfare
(Create your own Medieval swords, shields, etc… with DUCT TAPE!  This was recommended to me by a mom who is using it with her co-op group!)

*Middle Ages Craft Kits and Games:

*Craft Your Own Shield!
*Melissa & Doug Build Your Own Castle 3D Puzzle

*Kingdomino
*Break The Siege
*Easy To Make Medieval Castle
*Design Your Own Coat Of Arms
*Build and Color Your Own Castle   (Super cute for younger kids!)
*Paper Flying Dragons Kit
*Catapult Wars

*Keys To The Castle Game
*Professor Noggin’s History of Art Card Game
*The Medieval Castle Coloring Book
*Castles Of The World Coloring Book
*Life In A Medieval Castle & Village Coloring Book   
*Knights And Armor Coloring Book
*Medieval Fashions  Coloring Book

*Shakespeare BrainBox
*Castle Logix
*My First Dragon Adventure

*Middle Ages History Movies:

Historical movies (or any movies for that matter) are a very individual choice for families.
What one family loves, another rejects.  And each child’s sensitivity is uniquely wired by God.
I recommend reading the detailed reviews and watching the trailer before viewing with your children.
Focus On The Family does a good job-  Plugged In

*Drive Thru History:  Ends Of The Earth  (Amazon Prime)
*Ends Of The Earth    (DVD set)
*Pendragon
*The Story of Robin Hood
*Red Wall
* Disney’s The Sword & the Rose
*Joan of Arc (Hero Classics)   and   Activity Book
*The Sword in the Stone
*A Kid in King Arthur’s Court
*Torchlighters:  The Martin Luther Story
*The Excalibur Kid

*More History Book Lists To Check Out-

**Ultimate History Book List For Kids**

*Section 1:  Ancient Civilizations & the Old Testament & Book List
*Section 2: Ancient Egypt  (includes Ancient China)   &  Book List
*Section 3:  Ancient Greece  &  Book List
*Section 4:  Ancient Rome  &   Book List
*Section 5:  The Middle Ages &  Book List

**Also, in this series,  FREE Early American History Curriculum  and   FREE Modern American History Curriculum  !

*Early American History Books & Resources List
*Modern American History Books & Resources List
*Great Books & Resources for American History Unit Studies
(These go along with the American Girl Unit Studies, but have TONS of other resources as well.  You will also find a CHRISTMAS section with some super fun ideas for Holiday Homeschooling!)

**Be sure to check out the new posts in the History Top 10’s Series for even MORE Middle Ages learning FUN!

+Top 10 History PODCASTS
+Top 10 History SONGS
+Top 10 History TIMELINES
+Top 10 History AUDIOBOOKS
+Top 10 History MOVIES
+Top 10 History BOOKS
+Top 10 History GAMES
+Top 10 History HANDS-ON
+Top 10 History PRINTABLES
+Top 10 History FIELD TRIPS

And a bonus…
+Top 10 History for the HOLIDAYS

*More Fields of Daisies Middle Ages Products & Posts*

*Section 5: Middle Ages & the Renaissance
+ FREE History of the Middle Ages Lessons Plans
+ Middle Ages History Curriculum-  Printable PDF
+ Books and Resources List
+ Printable Middle Ages History Cards
+ FREE 21 30 Fascinating Facts About the Middle Ages
+ 21 30 Fascinating Facts About the Middle Ages- Printable PDF Version

*Other Ancient History Resources from Fields of Daisies-

*Section 1:  Ancient Civilizations & the Old Testament
+FREE History of Ancient Civilizations/Old Testament Curriculum Lesson Plans
+FREE Ancient Civilizations / Old Testament Printable History Cards
+Ancient Civilizations/OT Printable PDF Version
+FREE 21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Civilizations
+21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Civilizations Printable PDF 
+Ancient Civilizations/OT Great Books Reading List

*Section 2: Ancient Egypt  (includes Ancient China)
+FREE History of Ancient Egypt/China Curriculum Lesson Plans
+Ancient Egypt/China Curriculum Printable PDF Version
+Ancient Egypt Printable History Cards
+FREE 21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Egypt
+21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Egypt Printable PDF Version
+Ancient Egypt/China Great Books List !

*Section 3:  Ancient Greece
+FREE History of Ancient Greece Curriculum Lesson Plans
+ Ancient Greece History Curriculum- Printable PDF
+ Printable Ancient Greece History Cards
+ Ancient Greece Books and Resources List
+FREE 21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Greece- History Starters
+21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Greece-  PDF Version

*Section 4:  Ancient Rome
+FREE History of Ancient Rome Curriculum Lesson Plans
+ Ancient Rome History Curriculum- Printable PDF
+ Ancient Rome Books and Resources List
+Printable Ancient Rome History Cards
+FREE 21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Rome-  History Starters
+21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Rome-  PDF Version

*Section 5: Middle Ages & the Renaissance
+ FREE History of the Middle Ages Lessons Plans
+ Middle Ages History Curriculum-  Printable PDF
+ Books and Resources List
+ Printable Middle Ages History Cards
+ FREE 21 30 Fascinating Facts About the Middle Ages
+ 21 30 Fascinating Facts About the Middle Ages- Printable PDF Version

*If you are continuing on to American History, I’ve got you covered with that too !
The next part in the series is theFree Early American History Curriculum !

FREE Early American History Curriculum     and    Book List
FREE Modern American History Curriculum   and   Book List

Great Books & Resources for American History Unit Studies
(These go along with the American Girl Unit Studies, but have TONS of other resources as well.  You will also find a CHRISTMAS section with some super fun ideas for Holiday Homeschooling!)

Hope these lists are helpful !
I’d love to know what YOU are using too !
Leave a comment.
HAPPY LEARNING !