History Picture Books Book List

History Picture Books Book List

This is a list I’ve gathered over the years of children’s history related picture books or books that are primarily pictures sharing historical stories and info in an interesting way…vs textbooks (which feed facts, not stories, in a dry, dull way…with FAR too many words, not enough pictures. And the pictures they do have are not usually very interesting.)

I have found that I, myself, MUCH prefer short, well-written text that is written in a highly interesting way, making good use of many good pictures to make history come alive. So I have always attempted to use primarily these types of books with my children at all ages of their development.

These books seem to be aimed at elementary and middle school children…but I believe even high school age children can enjoy them as well. My older children have always delighted in picture books as much as I have! And they can help them really enjoy history in a way no boring textbook can.

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PLEASE NOTE: The Amazon links are affiliate links, and I do receive a small percentage of purchases made through those links…THANK YOU for helping to support a fellow homeschool family and all the work I’ve put into creating this website and these resources that I share with you!

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Title	Author	Amazon Link
10 Explorers Who Changed the World	Gifford, Clive	http://amzn.to/2FRUlJg
10 Inventors Who Changed the World	Gifford, Clive	http://amzn.to/2FQk4SA
10 Kings and Queens Who Changed the World	Gifford, Clive	http://amzn.to/2FErPHX
10 Leaders Who Changed the World	Gifford, Clive	http://amzn.to/2FAcJHi
19th Century Railway Station (A)	MacDonald, Fiona	http://amzn.to/2tIkV2J
Boy Who Invented TV	Krull, Kathleen
Chocolate: Riches from the Rainforest	Burleigh, Robert	http://amzn.to/2Fz7pUH
City Through Time (A)	Noon, Steve	http://amzn.to/2FUiAXc
Cod's Tale (The): A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World	Kurlansky, Mark	http://amzn.to/2FCtMo9
Cold, Hard Facts about Science and Medicine in Colonial America (The)	Raum, Elizabeth	http://amzn.to/2tOl4l4
Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors (The)	Barton, Chris	http://amzn.to/2DoOh5P
Escaping to America: A True Story	Schanzer, Rosalyn	http://amzn.to/2p86q3C
Foul, Filthy American Frontier: The Disgusting Details about the Journey Out West (The)	Schwartz, Heather E.	http://amzn.to/2FxYmmW
Great Events That Changed the World	Delf, Brian	http://amzn.to/2tKD5AL
Hairdo: What We Do and Did to Our Hair	Swain, Ruth Freeman	http://amzn.to/2FMT3PV
Houses	Gallimard Jeunesse	http://amzn.to/2FGaq1q
I Wonder What's Under There?: A Brief History of Underwear	Lattimore, Deborah Nourse	http://amzn.to/2FGasq4
Its Disgusting and We Ate It: True Food Facts from Around the World and Throughout History	Solheim, James	http://amzn.to/2p7BO1V
Johann Gutenberg and the Amazing Printing Press	Koscielniak, Bruce	http://amzn.to/2pannu4
Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea: A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants	Johnston, Tony	http://amzn.to/2HsACwQ
Nine for California	Levitin, Sonia
Oh Rats! The Story of Rats and People	Marrin, Albert	http://amzn.to/2FO8Rlf
Queen's Progress: An Elizabethan Alphabet (The)	Mannis, Celeste Davidson	http://amzn.to/2FRFChC
Samurai: Warlords of Japan	Dean, Arlan	http://amzn.to/2tHYv1J
See Inside Famous Buildings	Jones, Rob Lloyd	http://amzn.to/2HuImyt
Story of Chocolate (The)	Polin, Caryn J.	http://amzn.to/2HuKZ3k
Story of Salt (The)	Kurlansky, Mark	http://amzn.to/2Hs9bn1
Street Through Time (A)	Millard, Anne	http://amzn.to/2FBEET9
Tricking the Tallyman	Davies, Jacqueline	http://amzn.to/2tJsBlp
Ultimate Field Trip #4: A Week in the 1800s (Ultimate Field Trip)	Goodman, Susan E.	http://amzn.to/2FHArNX
What Life Was Like Amid Splendor and Intrigue: Byzantine Empire Ad 330-1453	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2peeuyK
What Life Was Like Among Druids And High Kings (Celtic Ireland AD 400-1200)	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2DoxnnU
What Life Was Like Among Samurai and Shoguns: Japan, AD 1000-1700	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2DnW0kJ
What Life Was Like at the Rebirth of Genius: Renaissance Italy, Ad 1400-1550	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2HybRzv
What Life Was Like During the Age of Reason: France Ad 1660-1800	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2tKjhO1
What Life Was Like in Europe's Golden Age: Northern Europe, AD 1500-1675	Ozment, Steven E.	http://amzn.to/2tKhZTb
What Life Was Like in Europe's Romantic Era: Europe, AD 1789-1848	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2FxTxKk
What Life Was Like in the Jewel in the Crown: British India, AD 1600-1905	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2FQhPOR
What Life was Like in the Land of the Dragon: Imperial China Ad 960-1368	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2pbf3dF
What Life Was Like in the Lands of the Prophet: Islamic World, Ad 570-1405	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2FDX7hP
What Life Was Like in the Realm of Elizabeth: England, Ad 1533-1603	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2Hvktaa
What Life Was Like in the Time of War and Peace: Imperial Russia, Ad 1696-1917	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2paMVGJ
What Life was Like on the Banks of the Nile: Egypt 3050 - 30 BC	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2FFzrK5
What Life Was Like When Longships Sailed: Vikings Ad 800-1100	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2FNgf0f
What Life Was Like: At Empire's End : Austro-Hungarian Empire Ad 1848-1918	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2tJIjwS
What Life Was Like: At the Dawn of Democracy : Classical Athens 525-322 Bc	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2p8rXJn
What Life Was Like: In the Age of Chivalry : Medieval Europe Ad 800-1500	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2HuP7QS
What Life Was Like: When Rome Ruled the World : The Roman Empire 100 Bc-Ad 200	Books, Time-Life	http://amzn.to/2HxCGE1
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Chicago Gangster!: Some Dangerous Characters You'd Better Avoid	Matthews, Rupert	http://amzn.to/2FE0MfG
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Civil War Soldier!	Ratliff, Thomas M	http://amzn.to/2FyBFyX
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Greek Athlete!	Ford, Michael	http://amzn.to/2Fy3ebI
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Mammoth Hunter: Dangerous Beasts You'd Rather Not Encounter	Malam, John	http://amzn.to/2FQrdCg
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Medieval Knight!	MacDonald, Fiona	http://amzn.to/2FP9k6H
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Ninja Warrior!: A Secret Job That's Your Destiny	Malam, John	http://amzn.to/2FEZFfY
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Nurse During the American Civil War!: A Job That's Not for the Squeamish	Senior, Kathryn	http://amzn.to/2GmTbmV
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pirate's Prisoner!	Malam, John	http://amzn.to/2FEAQ3L
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Polar Explorer: An Expedition You'd Rather Not Go on	Green, Jen
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pyramid Builder!: A Hazardous Job You'd Rather Not Have	Morley, Jacqueline	http://amzn.to/2Dq4SpJ
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator!: Gory Things You'd Rather Not Know	Malam, John	http://amzn.to/2FDfjsc
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Secret Agent During World War II!: A Perilous Mission Behind Enemy Lines	Malam, John	http://amzn.to/2FMNH78
You Wouldn't Want to be a Victorian Schoolchild	Malam, John
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Viking Explorer!	Langley, Andrew	http://amzn.to/2GpLuMP
You Wouldn't Want to Be a World War II Pilot!: Air Battles You Might Not Survive	Graham, Ian	http://amzn.to/2tJzVxl
You Wouldn't Want to Be an American Colonist	Morley, Jacqueline	http://amzn.to/2HyyCn5
You Wouldn't Want to Be an American Pioneer!: A Wilderness You'd Rather Not Tame	Morley, Jacqueline	http://amzn.to/2pcaejn
You Wouldn't Want to Be an Aztec Sacrifice!	MacDonald, Fiona	http://amzn.to/2pcPxUv
You Wouldn't Want to Be an Egyptian Mummy!: Digusting Things You'd Rather Not Know	Stewart, David	http://amzn.to/2FFPSpV
You Wouldn't Want to Be at the Boston Tea Party!: Wharf Water Tea You'd Rather Not Drink	Cook, Peter	http://amzn.to/2p5nVBG
You Wouldn't Want to Be Cleopatra!	Pipe, Jim	http://amzn.to/2tIWD8Z
You Wouldn't Want to Be in a Medieval Dungeon!: Prisoners You'd Rather Not Meet	MacDonald, Fiona	http://amzn.to/2Go2XFq
You Wouldn't Want to Be in Alexander the Great's Army!: Miles You'd Rather Not March	Morley, Jacqueline
You Wouldn't Want to Be on Apollo 13!: A Mission You'd Rather Not Go on	Graham, Ian	http://amzn.to/2FxRZzY
You Wouldn't Want to Be on the First Flying Machine!	Graham, Ian	http://amzn.to/2HxXVFP
You Wouldn't Want to Be Sick in the 16th Century!: Diseases You'd Rather Not Catch	Senior, Kathryn	http://amzn.to/2FMPd9k
You Wouldn't Want to Explore with Lewis and Clark!	Morley, Jacqueline	http://amzn.to/2p7oP0y
You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Mayflower!	Cook, Peter	http://amzn.to/2FDN5xk
You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Railroad!: A Track You'd Rather Not Go Down	Graham, Ian
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Slave in Ancient Greece!	MacDonald, Fiona	http://amzn.to/2FMMv3L
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pony Express Rider!: A Dusty, Thankless Job You'd Rather Not Do	Ratliff, Thomas M	http://amzn.to/2FGy8uF
You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Titanic!	Stewart, David	http://amzn.to/2tLtz0j
You Wouldn't Want To Be A Crusader!: A War You'd Rather Not Fight	MacDonald, Fiona	http://amzn.to/2tKLEMe
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Mayan Soothsayer!: Fortunes You'd Rather Not Tell	Matthews, Rupert	http://amzn.to/2DoU7E8
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Sumerian Slave!: A Life of Hard Labor You'd Rather Avoid	Morley, Jacqueline	http://amzn.to/2DoTbQo