Top 10 History Books For Kids
Welcome to Part 6:
Top 10 Teaching History Helps For Kids
TOP 10 HISTORY BOOKS FOR KIDS!
**Actually… This is THE ULTIMATE HISTORY BOOK LIST For Kids!**
If you’ve been following along with these “Top 10” posts, you know that there are usually quite a few more favorites than 10… and come on… it’s a HISTORY BOOK list!!!
So…I’ve broken this Top 10 List down into TYPES of History Books for kids, and then listed my favorites under that, because there were just SO MANY really good books to share! I’ve got lists of books for your littles right on up through teens!
It is that time of year when many homeschooling families are searching for curriculum for the next school year. Whether you’ve found a history curriculum your family loves, or you’re still looking for a good fit, or you’re looking for some quality literature to enjoy together, this list will hopefully give you LOTS of ideas!
Get out your notebook and pen!
Make a list of books to search for in the library, and a list of the books for your wishlist!
If you are already using Fields of Daisies FREE World History Curriculum, or the American Girl History Curriculum Units, you may also like to add some of these resources to those as well!
And if you’re just jumping in, here are the other Top 10 History Helps Lists so far:
+Top 10 History PODCASTS
+Top 10 History SONGS
+Top 10 History TIMELINES
+Top 10 History AUDIOBOOKS
+Top 10 History MOVIES
+Top 10 History GAMES
+Top 10 AMAZING Homeschooling Resources At The Library
Why write all these “Top 10” posts ?
It’s my passion to MAKE HISTORY GREAT AGAIN! 🙂
Most adults I know either slept or complained their way through history classes. Believe it or not, I did too!
Until I started homeschooling my own children I thought history was BORING just like most of you.
Then I began to search for picture books, and read-alouds, and hands-on activities to bring some LIFE and CONNECTION to what seemed like a large collection of disconnected and dusty people and dates. And I was hooked on history!
If this book list is the first post in the series you are reading, you can check out the Top 10 History Podcasts For Kids to read more about HOW you can use these resources in your own homeschool history lessons.
*Last Note:
+Be aware that many of the links below go to Amazon. I am an Amazon affiliate and make a small commission from any sales via clicks on these links–>at NO extra cost to you of course!
Here we go….my TOP 10 favorite History Books for kids!
*History Book Favorites #1- Interactive History Books*
Do you remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books from the 1980’s and 90’s? Not what I would call fine literature by any means, but they were really FUN to read. So, if there were an entire series of these “interactive” type books that are written about a particular historic period or event, it could just draw your reluctant student into giving history a chance! As an added bonus, they might even want to read these books more than once as they change each time you read depending on the “choices” you make along the story!
Here are a few of my favorites-
*You Choose: History
There are 29 titles in this series and the focus is on real historical events and real people.
Some of the books include-
WW1, WW2, WW2 On the Homefront, The Salem Witch Trials, Exploring the New World, The Golden Age of Pirates, The Underground Railroad, The Battle of Bunker Hill, The California Gold Rush, The Dust Bowl, The Race To The Moon, and more!
*You Choose: Modern History
There are 5 books in this series.
The Berlin Wall, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, Hurricane Katrina, and The Making of the Social Network
*You Choose: Historical Eras
There are 5 books in this series.
The Aztec Empire, Ancient China, Ancient Egypt, Colonial America, and The Middle Ages
*You Choose: Ancient Greek Myths
There are 8 books in this set.
‘The Epic Adventures of Odysseus’, ‘Hercules and His 12 Labors’, ‘Perseus The Hero’, ‘Jason, The Argonauts, and the Golden Fleece’, ‘Hades and The Underworld’, ‘The Trojan War’, ‘The Quest of Theseus’, and ‘Olympians Versus Titans’
*You Choose: Spies!
There are 4 books that cover the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, WW1, and WW2
There is also a You Choose: Survival series of 8 books. Most of these are situational, but there is one about the Titanic.
*Choose Your Own Adventure Spies!
I couldn’t find a list of these in one place, but there are quite a few history themed versions of the classic Choose Your Own Adventure series! Here are just a few to get you started-
–Spy For Cleopatra
–Mystery Of The Maya
–Inca Gold
–James Armistead Lafayette
–Spy For George Washington
–Terror On The Titanic
*History Book Favorites #2- Visual History Books*
Sometimes it’s hard to PICTURE history! This genre of books will help your whole family SEE history! The books below (especially the DK series) are without a doubt some of my kids all time favorites! These are the kinds of books that are great to leave out on the coffee table to catch the attention and curiosity of anybody flopping down for a minute. Easy to pick up and enjoy, and also a great resource to use along with whatever period of history you are studying.
*DK Eyewitness History Books–
This is one of our all time favorite series of books! I love that they cover the same topics on several different levels of reading and abilities. The DK Find Out! books are written for your youngest kiddos, the DK Eyewitness books are a bump up in challenge, and the DK Smithsonian and DK Definitive Visual Histories are more complex in information and images.
Here are just a few titles in the HUGE selection to give you an idea!
–DK America’s Century
– DK Eyewitness Ancient Civilizations, DK Eyewitness Mesopotamia
–DK Find Out! Ancient Egypt, DK Eyewitness Ancient Egypt, DK Eyewitness Mummy!
–DK Eyewitness Ancient Greece
–DK Find Out! Ancient Rome , DK Eyewitness Ancient Rome
–DK Find Out! Castles, DK Eyewitness Castles, DK Eyewitness Knights
–DK Find Out! Vikings, DK Eyewitness Viking
–DK Eyewitness North American Indian
–DK Eyewitness American Revolution
–DK Eyewitness The Civil War
–DK Find Out! WW1, DK Eyewitness WW1, DK Smithsonian WW1
–DK Find Out! WW2, DK Eyewitness WW2, DK Smithsonian WW2
–DK Eyewitness Vietnam War
–DK Smithsonian The Presidents
–DK Smithsonian History Year By Year (Just FYI, early history is not from a Christian viewpoint)
–DK Inventions & Discoveries
–DK Smithsonian Timelines Of Everything!
*The Whole Story-
This series, though technically literature based and not history focused, still made my favorites list. Our copy of “Around The World In Eighty Days” has literally traveled around the world with us and made the cut many times into our moving boxes.
Every page includes beautifully done illustrations or photos, and is full of historical details in bitesize insets. My kids loved reading the descriptions of the pictures even more than the story itself I think!
–Around The World In 80 Days (set in the 1800’s)
–Little Women (set during the Civil War 1860’s)
–The Jungle Book (set during British Colonial India 1800’s)
–The Call Of The Wild (set during the 1890’s Klondike Gold Rush)
–White Fang (Sequel to “The Call Of The Wild”, set during the Yukon Territory’s Gold Rush late 1800’s)
*National Geographic Kids!
This is a spin off magazine of the classic, just for kids with the same bright and beautiful photographs. These magazines read more like an almanac and there are quite a few history focused issues. They also have a companion series of activity and sticker books like this one –> Knights & Castles Sticker Activity Book and an early readers series like this one –> National Geographic Readers: Egypt Collection.
These would be a super addition to help your Littles and younger kiddos stay involved in the learning!
–Everything Ancient Egypt!
–Everything Vikings!
–Everything Castles!
–Everything WW1 !
–Weird But True: Know It All American Presidents
*Graphic Novels-
*Nathan Hales Hazardous Tales
This is a fun series recommended by a fellow homeschooling mom! There are 12 books in this series.
Some titles include “The Underground Abductor”, “Big Bad Ironclad!”, “Alamo All Stars”, “Major Impossible”, and “Above The Trenches”.
*I Survived! Graphix
There are 9 books in this graphic novel themed series covering events such as The Great Chicago Fire, 9/11, The Battle of D-Day, and more!
*I Survived Series
These aren’t Graphic Novels, but I wanted to include them here as they are part of the “I Survived” series.
There are 24 different adventures in this series! They cover a really broad range in history from AD79 to 2011!
*Pretty much anything USBOURNE HISTORY!
My son was a visual learner and used to leaf through these books for hours sometimes. Some of the older versions can be kind of busy if you have a child that is bothered or distracted by that, look for the newer, updated versions.
–Usbourne Beginners History
I linked to the set so you could see most of the titles, but they are also available individually of course!
–Usbourne History See Inside Flap Books
These are an excellent resource to include your Littles in with the learning!
–Usbourne Illustrated World History
–The Usbourne Book of World History (or the UPDATED version of the World History Book)
There is definitely a newer version, but this is the one I STILL have and love!
–Usbourne Medieval World
–Usbourne History of the Twentieth Century
*History Book Favorites #3- Hands-On History Books*
If you have ever used any of the Fields of Daisies History Curriculum, you know that I always include LOTS of hands-on history projects! If you have a tactile learner in the group, this is likely to be how they lock in what they’ve been learning. Whether it is cooking Colonial recipes, making Medieval shields and swords, or mapping the stars that the slaves followed along the path to freedom, hands-on projects make MEMORIES!
I’ve listed a few of my favorite activity guides below-
*A History With 21 Activities
This series is packed full of short bites of history to read, and then activities to give you a chance to EXPERIENCE what you’ve learned! Here are just a few of the MANY books in this series-
–Cleopatra and Ancient Egypt
–Native American History For Kids
–Texas History For Kids
–Washington DC For Kids
–The White House
–New York City For Kids
–World War 1
–World War 2
–The Civil War
–The American Revolution
–Lewis & Clark
–Marco Polo’s Marvelous Journey To China
–George Washington
–Abraham Lincoln: His Life & Times
–Alexander Graham Bell
–The Wright Brothers
*Hands-On History Activity Guides
Another great series for trying your hand at history! These books tend to be more projects and less text.
I used these with my own children have so many fun memories of those days.
–Old Testament Days- Kid’s Activity Guide
–Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors
–Archeology for Kids , Uncovering the Mysteries of Our Past
–Draw & Write Through History (Creation through Jonah)
–More Than Moccasins:
–Colonial Kids: An Activity Guide To Life In The New World
–Classical Kids: An Activity Guide To Life In Ancient Greece & Rome
–Huzzah Means Hooray! Activities From The Days of Damsels, Jesters, And Blackbirds Baked In a Pie
–Days of Knights And Damsels: An Activity Guide To The Middle Ages
–Westward Ho! An Activity Guide To The Wild West
*History Pockets
Ok, so these are like the OG of hands-on history activity books… like late 1990’s and early 2000’s… BUT there is a reason they are still in print and still selling like crazy. They’re fun, they’re easy, and they’re well done! Pretty much every era in history has a History Pocket book to use as a companion with your curriculum. There is some text, some worksheets, and lots of related projects to choose from. Most of the books have a lower elementary version (Grades 1-3) and an upper elementary version (Grades 4-6+).
Here are just a few of the MANY History Pockets to check out-
–Ancient Civilizations (grades 1-3)
–Ancient Egypt (grades 4-6+)
-Native Americans (grades 1-3)
–Colonial America (grades 4-6+)
–Moving West (grades 4-6+)
–The American Civil War (grades 4-6+)
*Dover History Coloring Books
If you’ve ever bought one of these coloring books, you know it’s an entire textbook but with COLORING! If you have kids who love to color these are a wonderful hands-on way to learn. My kids frequently would color while listening to our read alouds. Double win! Here are just a few examples to give you an idea-
–Life In Ancient Egypt
–Story Of The Pilgrims
–Kings & Queens Of England
–The United States Coloring Book
–Exploration Of North America
–Life In A Medieval Castle And Village
–Heroes And Heroines Of The American Revolution
–The Lewis & Clark Expedition
–Presidential Dogs
*History Book Favorites #4- Historical Fiction*
There isn’t a long enough post for this section! This genre of books are my absolute FAVORITE! Engaging stories packed full of historically accurate details will have your children begging to read just one more chapter. THIS is a great way to show your children (and even convince yourself) that history is fascinating, and concrete, and something you can actually relate to and connect to the present world we live in!
I am not listing individual books below, just my favorite genres of historical fiction books.
I do have many Book List posts broken down by periods of history, and I’ve listed just a few of them below to give you an idea.
+Native Americans Book & Resources List
+Colonial America Book & Resources List
+Early American History Book & Resources List
+Modern American History Book & Resources List
+Ancient Egypt Book & Resources List
+The Middle Ages & The Renaissance Book & Resources List
+Historical Fiction Diaries-
When I started this post I called my now adult daughters and asked them what history books they remembered liking the most. My oldest is 29, so if she remembers liking a book, it must have been good 😀 ! Interestingly, BOTH of my daughters chose the ‘Dear America’ diaries as their most memorable and favorite history books, with the American Girl books a close second. As a side note, my son’s favorites were the DK and Usbourne books which makes sense as he is a very visual learner. Below I’ve listed a few of my favorite Historical Fiction Diary style series, with just a few titles.
+The ‘Dear America’ series (Written from a Girl’s viewpoint)
–So Far From Home
–Early Sunday Morning
–A Picture Of Freedom
–A Journey To The New World
–One Eye Laughing, The Other Eye Weeping
–My Face To The Wind
–Land Of The Buffalo Bones
+The ‘My Name Is America’ series (Written from a Boy’s viewpoint)
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–The Journal of Sean Sullivan
–The Journal of Augustus Pellitier
–The Journal of Otto Peltonen
+The ‘My America’ series (Written for younger readers- there are 3 books in each series)
–Our Strange New Land (Jamestown series : ‘The Starving Time” and “Season of Promise”)
–Five Smooth Stones (Revolutionary War series: “We Are Patriots” and “When Freedom Comes”)
–The Wild Year (The Oregon Trail series: “Westward To Home” and “A Perfect Place”)
–As Far As I Can See (The Prairie series: “For This Land” and “A Fine Start”)
–Message In The Sky (The Underground Railroad series: “Freedom’s Wings” and “Flying Free”)
–My Brother’s Keeper (The Civil War series: “After The Rain” and “A Time To Dance”)
–Hope In My Heart (The Immigrant series: “Home At Last” and “An American Spring”)
+The Royal Diaries series (Written from a historic Royal’s perspective)
–Elizabeth I: Red Rose Of The House Of Tudor
–Cleopatra VII: Daughter Of The Nile
–Isabel: Jewel of Castilla, Spain
–Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa
–Mary Queen Of Scots: Queen Without A Country
–Catherine: The Great Journey, Russia
+Historical Fiction Series-
It always feels kind of sad when you get to the end of a great book! If you have a voracious reader in the bunch, here are a few of my favorite Historical Fiction series for kids!
*Ranger In Time
This is such a fun series, especially if you have an animal lover in your family! Travel through time with Ranger, a mystery sniffing Golden Retriever. There are 12 books in this set.
*Otto’s Tales
American History as told by Otto, the cutest and most patriotic pup!
*Sarah, Plain And Tall Saga
There are 5 sweet and poignant books in this series. There is a reason these are found on most homeschoolers bookshelves. Another series you may want to box up one day and stick in that hope chest!
*In Grandma’s Attic
Sweet and educational, each one with a positive message! Very family oriented which is a breath of fresh air these days.
*Little House On The Prairie
I know everyone knows about these already, but what’s a booklist without these?
These are also all available on Audible so they are great for traveling or car school!
Also, if you have Littles in the mix the Little House Picture Books are beautiful! They are the kinds of books you’ll want to save for keepsakes (if they survive all the love they’ll get by little hands)!
*Little House On The Prairie Chapter Books
These are just as sweet and wonderful as the full length books, but your children can get the satisfaction of curling up with a first chapter book that they can read all by themselves!
*Louis Lensky American Regional Collection
There are some really interesting topics in this series that you might find are different from what you’ve covered before in history. House Boat Girl (1950’s Mississippi) caught my attention as a child growing up on a sailboat! I’m looking forward to reading this one! I’ve read only 2 of this series so please preview as always!
+History Mysteries-
*The Cooper Kids Adventures
Think Indiana Jones’ kids with Grandpa Doc (Back To The Future) driving! If your kids love solving mysteries, adventures, and a good book, these are great! Most of these have a clear and unapologetic Christian message tucked in as well. The author is Frank Peretti.
*The Secret Of The Hidden Scrolls
This 9 book series is similar to the Magic Treehouse series, but the kids travel wayyyy back in time to the Garden of Eden and other places you’re likely to find in the Bible. Lots of fun and good for the younger kids in the bunch!
*AIO- Imagination Station
My kids LOVED Adventures In Odyssey, but this is a newer series with a focus on history that will make learning absolutely painless!
*Kid Detective Zet: History Mysteries
This is by the same author who wrote many of the “I Survived!” series.
*The Virginia Mysteries Series
PACKED with tidbits of history and an intriguing mystery in each of the books!
These would be extra good if you are teaching Virginia state history.
*American Girl History Mysteries
As always these books are SO MUCH FUN! Think Nancy Drew HISTORY series!!
*Secrets Of The Manor
This is a fun series set at the Turn of the Century! If you are using the Free Turn of the Century (Samantha) Unit Study, these would be additions.
*Solve Them Yourself Mysteries
These books aren’t really overwhelming history themed, but they do have some history woven through and they’re just great fun and a challenge that will keep kids solving these mysteries THEMSELVES!
*The Truth Chronicles
(I haven’t read these personally, but they were recommended especially for teens. There are 9 books in this series)
*History Book Favorites #5- Biographies*
Giving your child a real life look at history through someone who lived during that time helps them connect emotionally to the era. Your children will likely forget dates, but remember the people of grit and courage that lived during those times!
Here are a few of my favorite History Biography series for kids-
*Heroes Of History & Heroes Of History For Young Readers
This is a wonderful series with hundreds of titles in the set. These make wonderful read alouds for the whole family! We read lots and lots of these over the years and always enjoyed them.
*Builders Of America
This is the same patriotic series as the Otto’s Tales books I listed in the list above!
*The Sowers
This is a series of biographies about famous Christians throughout history. They are meaty and a bit more in depth than the “Heroes Of History” biographies in my opinion.
*Childhood Of Famous Americans
These biographies are really nice for reluctant readers. Interesting, large print, and simple vocabulary. There are more than 70 books in this series!
*Time For Kids Biographies
If your kids enjoy reading books with bright visuals and an almanac or magazine feel, they’ll love these!
*Light Keepers Girls Set and Light Keepers Boys Set
Biographies with an emphasis on character qualities that will inspire your child (and you)!
*Who Was… Series
Y’all there are over 200+ books in this series. If your child wants to know who someone in history was, you’ve got a good chance at finding a book about them. 😀
*Do Great Things For God Series
I heard the author read the Corrie Ten Boom story in this series. It was lovely! This is a good series for your younger children especially.
*History Book Favorites #6- Leveled Reading Series*
Most of the resources in this list are aimed at independent readers, but I also want to keep in mind the Littles when I can. You’d be amazed at how much they absorb just by being around an environment of learning and curiosity!
This series is perfect for your new readers to have some books that they can read independently! You’ll also find lots of Biographies for your new readers in these series that may complement some of the ones for older readers in the *BIOGRAPHY* section above.
*Step Into Reading Series
*Step Into Reading 1 & 2
(I’ve listed just a few titles, but there are LOTS more!)
–The Statue of Liberty
–John F. Kennedy
–Long Tall Lincoln
–George Washington
–Martin Luther King, Jr.
–Alexander Hamilton
–Ben Franklin Thinks Big
*Step Into Reading 3 , 4 , and 5
(There are TONS of history books in this section! I just picked a few.)
–The First Thanksgiving
–First Flight
–Lewis & Clark: A Prairie Dog For President
–Abe Lincoln’s Hat
–Eat My Dust! Henry Ford’s First Race
–Dust For Dinner
–The Titanic: Lost & Found
–Pompeii Buried Alive
–The Trojan Horse
–The Long Way To A New Land
–Tut’s Mummy Lost and Found
–Ben Franklin And The Magic Squares
–The Trail Of Tears
–Moonwalk: The First Trip To The Moon
–Baseball’s Best
*A History Of Series For New Readers
These books are about one step up from the ones I listed above, but the font is large and the illustrations are nice and not too distracting. There is a good selection of pages you can see in “view more” to gauge the level for each book.
*The Ready To Read Series
Another leveled readers series with TONS of history selections! I’ve only listed SOME, so be sure to search the reader level and topic you’re looking for if you don’t see it below!
+Ready To Read Levels 1, 2, and 3
–Martin’s Dream
–Johnny Appleseed
–Election Day!
–President’s Day
–The Statue Of Liberty
–Wonders Of America
–Babe Ruth And The Ice Cream Mess
–Jackie Robinson And The Big Game
–Surprise! Trojans
–Pigeon Hero!
–American Heroes
–Thomas Jefferson And The Ghostriders
–Paul Revere And The Bell Ringers
–Sacagawea And The Bravest Deed
–Betsy Ross And The Silver Thimble
–Annie Oakley Saves The Day
–George Washington’s First Victory
–Abe Lincoln And The Muddy Pig
–Davy Crockett
–Amelia Earhart More Than A Flier
–Teddy Roosevelt: The People’s President
–Clara Barton
–John Adams Speaks For Freedom
–Albert Einstein
–From Slave To Soldier: A True Civil War Story
–Billy And The Rebel: A True Civil War Story
–Harriet Tubman And The Freedom Train
–Abigail Adams: First Lady Of The American Revolution
–Susan B. Anthony
–Sojourner Truth: Path To Glory
–The Founding Fathers Were Spies ?!?
–World War 1
–World War 2
–The Civil War
–The Space Age
*On My Own Readers For History
One of the things I appreciate about this series is that they have covered quite a few historic events that are difficult to find children’s books for!
–Buttons For General Washington
–Fire At The Triangle Factory
–An American Army Of Two
–Clouds Of Terror
–Rescue On The Outerbanks
–The School Children’s Blizzard
–The Pledge Of Allegiance
–The Star Spangled Banner
–Saving The Liberty Bell
–Will And Orv
–The Day Of The Black Blizzard
–Sam Collier And The Founding Of Jamestown
*DK Early Readers
+DK Levels 1 , 2, 3, and 4
–Pirate Attack!
–Great Explorers!
–Journey Of A Pioneer
–Survivors: The Night The Titanic Sank
–The Story Of Pocahontas
–Battle At The Castle
–What Is The President’s Job?
–Space Busters: Race To The Moon!
–The Story Of Anne Frank
–Helen Keller
–Titanic: The Disaster That Shook The World
–Knights & Castles
–The Story Of Civil Rights
–Moon Landings!
–Thomas Edison The Great Inventor
–First Flight: The Wright Brothers
–Secrets Of The Mummies
–Free At Last! The Story Of Martin Luther King, Jr.
–Pirates Of The High Seas
–Days Of The Knights
*History Book Favorites #7- History Spine “Text” Books*
What I mean by a History spine?
If you’ve used any of the Free Ancient World History Curriculum you will notice that there are 2 main books that were included in the reading on most days. These books are more like a textbook than I usually like using, but I chose them for their conversational, story type format. This is what I mean by a spine… a sort of overall guide book that we can use to build off of by adding fun games, great historical fiction, hands-on projects, field trips, and other activities!
There are lots of good books to use for this, but here are my favorite History Spine Books-
+ “A Child’s History of the World” by Virgil Hillyer
+“The Story of the World” series by Susan Wise Bauer
+“Mystery Of History” (My kids LOVED this series!)
This is a homeschooling favorite for lots of reasons. I’m linking to Christian Book Distributors as they have the best descriptions and pricing for this series!
+Journey Through The Bible
(This is a really good spine for teaching through the Bible! Brief text, has great photos, and makes a perfect launching point!)
+”Discovering God’s Story: Chronological Illustrated Bible“
+A Child’s Story Of America
+The Complete Book Of World History
This is perhaps not the most academic selection, but my kids LOVED these text/workbooks. They are colorful and really engaging. Honestly, you could take most anything of a solid presentation of history and turn it into your history spine for the year. We’ve used these Carson-Dellosa workbooks for all kinds of units just for the fun of it! They are also a great resource for when you’re traveling or for the summer break. They also have A Complete Book Of Presidents & US States.
I have frequently found these workbooks at Costco on their book tables!
*History Book Favorites #8- Historical American Girl Books*
You didn’t think I’d get through a FAVORITES Book List without including the Historic American Girl Books did you? If this is the first time you’ve landed at Fields of Daisies, you will soon learn that I adore this series of old books. I have a huge collection of them from when my girls were little and I have written TONS of FREE American History Unit Studies around these books!
These historical fiction books are packed full of solid historical details and always include great lessons and character qualities!
*Welcome To… Series
This is a FANTASTIC series that visual learners are going to LOVE! I’ve used them in each of my American Girl Unit Studies.
–Welcome To Kaya’s World, 1764 (Native Americans)
(This particular book can be hard to track down. I’d start at the library!)
–Welcome To Felicity’s World, 1774 (Colonial America and The American Revolution)
–Welcome To Josefina’s World, 1824 (America’s Southwestern Frontier)
–Welcome To Kirsten’s World, 1854 (Pioneers of America)
–Welcome To Addy’s World, 1864 (The Civil War)
–Welcome To Samantha’s World, 1904 (The Turn Of The Century)
–Welcome To Kit’s World, 1934 (The Dust Bowl & The Great Depression)
–Welcome To Molly’s World, 1944 (World War 2)
*Historical American Girl “Meet ____” Series
The first book in each of the 6 book sets is called “Meet (name of character)” . You can purchase each book separately, or buy the set of 6. I’d highly recommend the whole sets if you’re studying this time period. They aren’t repetitive and fill out the whole story of the girl represented.
–Meet Kaya
–Meet Felicity
–Meet Josefina
*Or the updated Josefina’s Story Collection (I haven’t read these yet)
–Meet Marie-Grace and Cécil
–Meet Kirsten
–Meet Addy
–Meet Rebecca
–Meet Samantha
–Meet Claudie
–Meet Kit
–Meet Molly
–Nanea (This is part of the newer AG series)
–Meet Caroline
–Melody Ellison (This is part of the newer AG series)
*American Girl History Mysteries Series
Here are just a few of the fun Historical American Girl Mystery books for your sleuth kiddos!
–Kaya And The Ghost Wind Stallion
–Kaya And The Silent Stranger
–Felicity’s Mysteries (Boxed Set)
*Traitor In Williamsburg
*Peril At King’s Creek
*Lady Margaret’s Ghost
–Samantha: The Curse Of Ravenscourt
–Samantha: Danger In Paris
–Kit: Danger At The Zoo
–Kit: Thief In The Theatre
–Kit: Menace At Mammoth Cave
–Kit: The Jazzman’s Trumpet
–Kit: Midnight In Lonesome Harbor
–Molly: A Spy On The Homefront
–Nanea: The Legend Of The Shark Goddess
–Melody: A Lady’s Slipper
–Nanea: The Legend Of The Shark Goddess
If you want to check out any of the FREE American Girl History Unit Studies, here are the ones I’ve posted so far:
+American Girl Kaya (Native America-1764)
+American Girl Felicity (Colonial America-1774)
+American Girl Josefina (America’s Southwest Frontier- 1824)
+American Girl Kirsten (Pioneer America- 1854)
+American Girl Addy (Civil War America- 1864)
+American Girl Samantha (Turn of the Century- 1904)
+American Girl Kit (The Great Depression- 1934)
+American Girl Molly (World War 2- 1944) <– NEW!!
*History Book Favorites #9- History Through Science, Art, Music and Other Interests*
Don’t forget that you can study HISTORY through many other subject areas as well! If you have a child who is passionate about MUSIC, or art, or science, or invention, or even MATH… try approaching history through the events, people, and places that touch on those areas! Our family had the best time keeping a history binder each year. We would add in scientists, artists, musicians, and even photos and brochures from field trips we took, taking care to add them into the right place chronologically in the binder. Every time we added something it was like an instant history review!
Here are a few of my favorite resources that could teach history through other subjects-
*History Through Art-
*Discovering Great Artists
This is another one of those books that I have kept through international moves and many, many years. It starts in the year 1226 AD and moves through art history one artist at a time. There is a brief introduction to the artist, his or her genre of art, and then a hands-on project to make. I could have listed this as one of my favorite history spines above really. It’s the perfect place to jump off and add all kinds of other information when the curiosity strikes!
*Getting To Know The World’s Greatest Artists Series
There are LOTS of titles in this series! Here’s just a few-
–Pablo Picasso
–Vincent Van Gogh
–Claude Monet
–Georgia O’Keeffe
–Michaelangelo
–Andy Warhol
*Other Art History Books-
–The Story Of Paintings: History Of Art For Children
–Dover Art Masterpieces To Color
–Dover Masterpieces: Color Your Own Modern Art
*History Via Science-
*Jeanne Bendick Science History Books
–Archimedes And The Door Of Science
–Galen And The Gateway To Medicine
–Herodotus And The Road To History
–Along Came Galileo
*More Science History Books
–Science Year By Year: From Stone Tools To Space Travel
–Ancient Science: 40 Time Traveling, World Exploring, History Making Activities For Kids
–Stories Of Inventors & Inventions- Dover History Coloring Book
–Spectacular Stories For Kids: STEM Edition
–Tools of the Ancient Greeks: A Kid’s Guide to the History and Science of Life in Ancient Greece
–Tools of the Ancient Romans: A Kid’s Guide to the History and Science of Life in Ancient Rome
–Accidental Inventions and Discoveries That Changed Our World
–Greatest Inventors: Coloring Book and History and Facts
*Math History Books-
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–The History Of Counting
–Code Cracking: Secret Communications Throughout History With 21 Codes & Cyphers
––
–Lines, Bars, And Circles: How William Playfair Invented Graphs
–Ben Franklin And The Magic Squares!
*Sir Cumference Series
There are 12 titles in this math series. Technically it isn’t HISTORY, but it would be a perfect fit with your Middle Ages History unit!!
*The Charlesbridge Math Adventures
There are 17 books in this series, but not all would be history related.
Here are a few of the good fits-
–What’s Your Angle Pythagoras?
–Pythagoras And The Ratios
*Music History Books-
Why not study the music during different parts of history to understand the culture and people of that time?
My daughter did a unit about music through the ages and made a really nice timeline (strings, drums, classical, spirituals, jazz, pop, etc…)
Here are a few of my favorite resources to get your creative ideas flowing-
*Getting To Know The World’s Greatest Composers
This is the same author who I included above in the art history section. SO GOOD!
Just a few of the many titles-
–Ludwig von Beethoven
–Johann Sebastian Bach
–Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
–Frederic Chopin
–Leonard Bernstein
*Classical Giants For Inquiring Minds
There are 6 different books in this series.
*More Music History Books
–Why Beethoven Threw Stew And Other Stories Of Great Composers
–Why Handel Waggled His Wig
–First Notes: The Story Of Do Re Mi
–A Horn For Louis
–Beethoven For Kids: His Life And 21 Activities
–A Child’s Introduction To The Orchestra
–A Child’s Introduction To Jazz
*History Book Favorites #10- History of Government*
This might be the least exciting subject in history to teach for some of you, but it is of UTMOST importance in this generation in my opinion!! Teach your children what the Constitution IS, where it came from, why we have it, and who wrote it. It’s good to learn how the government is supposed to function in the United States, but it is really good to know WHY it was created to function like that! There are books on all different levels below. I always suggest having 3 levels of books when studying any subject… some that are below your students’ current reading/comprehension level (makes topic fun and simple to get a basic foundation in)… some that are right on target for their current level (first floor built on top of that foundation)… and then books that are above their current level to make them REACH up (this is what goes on up on top of the first floor! The sky is the limit!)
Here are a few government resources to have FUN learning this timely topic-
*What Is…What Was…Series
–What Is The Constitution?
–What Is The Declaration Of Independence?
–What Is The Supreme Court?
–What Is A Presidential Election?
*Kids Have Questions Too!
This is a 2 book set on the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights
*The Little Book Of… Series
–The Little Book Of Presidential Elections
–The Little Book Of Government
–The Little Book Of The Supreme Court
–The Little Book Of The White House
–The Little Book Of The United States Capitol
*The Tuttle Twins Books
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–The Tuttle Twins Learn About The Law
*Otto’s Tales
–Otto’s Tales: The American Trinity
–Otto’s Tales: The National Anthem And The Pledge Of Allegiance
–Otto’s Tales: Let’s Visit The Liberty Bell
–Otto’s Tales: Today Is Flag Day
*Ellis The Elephant Series (Give it a chance! 🙂 Written by Callista Gingrich)
*More History Of Government books-
–Weird But True! Know It All US Government
–The Constitution Of The United States
–The Congress Of The Unites States
–The Constitution Decoded
–We The People: The Constitution Of The United States
–The US Congress For Kids: With 21 Activities
–Our Supreme Court For Kids: With 14 Activities
–Whatever Happened To Justice? (An Uncle Eric book)
–Are You Liberal? Conservative? Or Confused? (Also Uncle Eric)
–Our Government: The 3 Branches
–US Government: How Taxes Work
*To my Christian parents- I recently read this book and found it highly impactful in addressing both the history and slow changes in our culture that have brought us to our present. It is written by Dr. Erwin Lutzer, pastor emeritus at Moody Bible College. It would make a great companion for you to read personally (even older teens may enjoy it) as you are teaching government.
–We Will Not Be Silenced
Happy Living, Loving, Learning… and READING friends!
I really hope you enjoyed this post! I may have gone a little CRAZY with the list… because… BOOKS!
I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment and share with us what YOUR family’s favorite HISTORY BOOKS are !
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