10 Best Children’s History Books Reviewed in 2024

Fun and easy to read with the spreads of two pages and beautiful photos, this history book for kids has topics that most interest kids and 1,200 pictures. Intended for grade levels of three to seven or those aged eight to twelve, kids will learn 15 facts about peanut butter, 100 facts of oceans, and 50 facts concerning bears. Other topics are chocolate, sharks, robots, games, toys, and reptiles just to name a few. With 224 pages the design is high energy for the fact-obsessed person and the casual browser.

Educational value

You cannot help but learn something from just browsing through this enchanting volume. The facts and pictures just jump off the page into your brain to make you smarter and wiser.

Design

The two-page layouts of the 224 pages of this children's history book are put in a way that is easy to observe and absorb. The many color photos help with a load of information and make learning fun.

Entertainment value

The best part about learning the facts of this book is that they concern common things that most children are already familiar with. They will learn more about these usual objects and know them better. This is why we placed it at no. 1 of our best history books for kids list.

Age range

Children of the ages of eight to twelve will most appreciate this fact-filled book of so many topics. It is the age of questioning the world around you and wondering how everything works and where it came from.

Available in the reading formats of audio CD, paperback, hardcover, audiobook, and Kindle, this amazing kids history book is great for kids of any background. It introduces the trailblazers of Sojourner Truth the abolitionist, Bessie Coleman the pilot, Alice Ball the chemist, Katherine Johnson the mathematician, Shirley Chisolm the politician, Maya Angelou the poet, and Julie Dash the filmmaker and many more. These black women who made the world much better for girls of generations to come as it educates about black women pioneers.

Educational value

It is interesting to note that these women mentioned in the book all had prominent roles that advanced women of all colors. All children would be better in knowing of them and how they advanced their fields for women in general.

Design

The format of this history book for kids is quite simple. It is easy to read and organized into the biographies of each African American woman in a great layout.

Entertainment value

Children of any background can benefit from knowing about these superb women who boldly stood for what they believed in. it is fun for children of today to know the courage of others before them.

Age range

Intended for grade levels of three to seven or two to four-year-olds, this childdren''s history book talks about the women who are role models and heroes who accomplished extraordinary feats.

This wonderful encyclopedia has cutaways and cross-sections of topics such as the human body, the planets, galaxies, volcanos, and dinosaurs to show how they work. It is a terrific reference book for those that want answers to common questions, particularly in the age ranges of eight to twelve. Filled with graphics, timelines, statistics, and maps to explain subjects easily, this volume has six groups inside of history, science, human body, nature, and earth, and space.

Educational value

The six main topics listed in this history book for kids are vital for a basic understanding of our world and the things that are in it. with this knowledge, kids can take their educations further and deeper into these very subjects.

Design

Any encyclopedia can educate a child through reading, but this one does so with large colorful graphics, cutouts, and 3D images to show how things work and what makes them tick.

Entertainment value

You will notice that the topics of this incredible book are all the usual ones that children ask a million questions about. They want to know how things began and how they work. This children's history book has the graphics to show them.

Age range

Those of the years of eight to twelve will benefit the most from reading this encyclopedia and referencing it often. It is written for this age group to explain all the things that most kids want to know about.

Available in hardcover, Kindle, audiobook, this children's history book tells the tales of Greek mythology heroes such as Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Zeus and the monsters of Medusa, Perseus, and Helen of Troy. These are timeless stories in a wonderful new volume with lyrical text and stunning artwork for ages eight to twelve. National Geographic has embellishments for each topic to explain the stories better. Included are a character page and a family tree of the characters.

Educational value

Kids benefit from stories in general, but these legends are classics that are handed down to generations of children. They learn the characters and the importance of the tales as they read.

Design

Not only do you get the lovely stories of these mythical characters but also maps, a family tree, and a page of characters to let you know who is who and where they fit into the stories.

Entertainment value

This history book for kids is perfect for bedtime stories or sleepovers, these incredible tales that are timeless classics are perfect entertainment to spark the imaginations and dreams of kids and adults.

Age range

Older kids will be the most interested in this volume of Greek mythology. They are of the age of learning of the main characters and many adventures of the heroes and villains in them.

Edited by Philip Bigler and written by Lily Rothman and Workman Publishing, this history book for kids is part of a series of educational books that cover World History, Science, Math, and English Language Arts. Children can learn of the Revolutionary War, Colonial America, the expansion to the west, Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Movement, the Depression, and the Civil War. Each topic is summarized and simple to read with the main ideas highlighted for you.

Educational value

Almost every single event of major happening that has occurred in this country from the start is described and illustrated in this colorful volume. This history book for kids is a great reference book for those that want to know.

Design

As one of the kids history books in a series of educational home books, this one on American history covers plenty of time periods in a concise format. Most of the topics are summarized without a lot of details.

Entertainment value

It has definitions, quizzes, and Mnemonics for remembering concepts to enhance the knowledge gained. Learning is fun if the books make it fun with the chosen format and wording.

Age range

Grades six to eight or ages eleven to fourteen will find this history book for kids particularly enjoyable for learning. The subject material is too complex for little kids, but older ones will be able to read this book on their own.

Written by Jill Esbaum for grade levels of pre-kindergarten to third grade or ages of four to eight-years-old, kids will explore many great characters that have influenced our lives and the face of history. It discusses such personalities as Martin Luther King, Amelia Earhart, Leonardo Da Vinci, Jackie Robinson, and Abraham Lincoln just to name a few in the large colorful pages with a myriad of photos of the subject people. This author teaches writing for kids and has written several other children’s books.

Educational value

All of the great people that have made their mark in history are in this simple volume for little ones. It is a great start or beginning to their world of history at a very young age.

Design

Written in a way that is fascinating for the younger crowd of kids, this book from National Geographic will be a hit in your family. It is colorful and well-planned to be fun and enjoyable.

Entertainment value

Favored personalities can be quite entertaining for children who want to know about the important role models in history. Having their pictures and reading about their lives is very exciting.

Age range

The littlest of children will be able to look at the photos in this history book for kids and learn the names of these great people who were once a part of our world. They may not be able to read the words but will enjoy the book along with parents.

Authored by Charlotte Foltz Jones and illustrated by Ho John O’Brien, it covers forty inventions that are familiar and tells how they evolved. This wonderful book discusses patent inventions and ones that are generic too. Fun cartoons illustrate the ideas and concepts of Coca Cola, popsicles, Silly Putty, cheese, donut holes, bricks and many more. Included are sketches, recipes, anecdotes, and fun facts to entertain kids and get them to enjoy the subject material.

Educational value

Just looking at the topics of this children's history book has us curious and wanting to read it ourselves! It is fascinating to know where things started and how they came about to better appreciate them.

Design

With cartoons, sketches, and fun facts in this history book for kids, children will discover how some fairly common items we have today were almost not invented at all. It may inspire them to get creative on their own.

Entertainment value

Some of our very favorite products are included in this book of mistake inventions. It is interesting to know their histories as we enjoy them every day and not realize their greatness.

Age range

The middle range of children that are not too young to understand but not too old to already know are the best candidates for this interesting read. They will be amazed at some of the facts.

Including over 1,500 images to bring the facts to life, it explores the history of humans and runs from 3.5 million years prior to the year 2012. In the 320 pages, it uses a detailed timeline to help kids visualize history as it really happened. There is actually a time ribbon in the middle of all pages that branches off for various events and happenings. Featured is a “child of the time” segment that tells of the kids of certain time periods, such as the French Revolution and the Renaissance period.

Educational value

As a huge timeline, it will be easy for children to put events and time periods in order in their minds. So much has happened that kids have a lot to learn in a short time period with such creative books.

Design

The entire book is like one giant timeline that runs the span of all the pages. Right down the middle center, you will see the events unfold and know at a glance when they occurred.

Entertainment value

This is a browser-friendly history book for kids that is meant to be consumed a little at a time. The multitude of information is too much for a single sitting, as it is as entertaining as it is informative.

Age range

Best for ages nine to twelve-years-old and grade levels four to seven, this fabulous children's history book helps connect the events of history all around the globe from beginning to end.

Updated to the year 2017, this cartoon illustrated history book for kids of all the US presidents is written in a style that is easy to read for kids. It tells a bit of the personal life of the president before he became the nation’s leader and has a variety of fonts and artwork. This volume will interest children in the presidency of this country with its 64 fun pages. Best for ages five to nine or grades from kindergarten to fourth grade, it has appendixes for first ladies, White House kids, a bibliography, and a map of the presidents’ birthplaces.

Educational value

Meant for the youngest of learners, this volume can educate kids before they even study the presidents in school. Your child will be a whiz when the subject comes around because of this book.

Design

Easy to read because of the simple format of a president on a page, this kids history book will be a favorite for children. It is not busy or cluttered to confuse or disinterest kids in the leadership of this nation.

Entertainment value

Learning about the presidents can be challenging and fun for kids and adults with this book of cartoon likenesses. This history book for kids is interesting to read about their personal lives too before their marvelous role.

Age range

Once children become aware of the president of this country, then they will want to know of the others before the current one. It is at that age that they will be interested in this great history book for kids.

It presents all topics in the form of a story that explains who, how, why, and when of each subject. The 169 pages of this children's history book are best for grade levels three to seven or ages eight to twelve. Kid-friendly and packed with plenty of facts and information, it discusses such topics as if meteors will hit us, the size of the universe, why oceans are salty, and where did the dinosaurs go. Children will love the format and the various subjects that they may have never even thought of yet.

Educational value

If your child learns about all of the subjects in this volume, they will be quite up on the workings and events of where we live. It is true life reading that will benefit them throughout their lives.

Design

This terrific history book for kids asks the question of the world that possibly children have not discovered or even pondered before now. When they see the questions in print, then they will want to know more.

Entertainment value

Children will be addicted to the pages of this cartoonish children's history book that reveals the secrets of their world in detail. It makes for a wonderful read because it is not just a list of facts but a story for each topic.

Age range

Once kids start to know about their world, then they will begin to question it. This is where history books for kids like this one come in to save the day with its load of answers and pictures to show them.