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Recommended History Books for Kids

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Recommended History Books for Kids includes All About China, Who Was Nelson Mandela?, Who Was Genghis Khan?, What Was the Hindenburg?, Story of the World: History for the Classical Child.

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All About China

by: Allison Branscombe, Lin Wang
All About China
An introduction to the geography, history, daily life and customs, beliefs, arts, and environment of China.

Who Was Nelson Mandela?

by: Meg Belviso, Pamela D. Pollack, Stephen Marchesi
Who Was Nelson Mandela?
This book tells about the life and accomplishments of Nelson Mandela, who spent twenty-seven years in prison for challenging apartheid and who became the first black president of South Africa. This biography profiles the life of Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid activist, political prisoner, and president. The coauthor is Meg Belviso.

Who Was Genghis Khan?

by: Nico Medina, Andrew Thomson, Nancy Harrison
Who Was Genghis Khan?
Named Temujin at birth by his nomadic family in early Mongolia, the great Genghis Khan used his skill and cunning to create the Mongol Empire and conquer almost the entire continent of Asia. As ruler of the largest empire in human history, he was as respected as he was feared. Learn more about the man and the legend in Who Was Genghis Khan?

What Was the Hindenburg?

by: Janet Pascal, David Groff, Kevin McVeigh
What Was the Hindenburg?
At 800-feet long, the Hindenburg was the largest airship ever built--just slightly smaller than the Titanic! Also of a disastrous end, the zeppelin burst into flame as spectators watched it attempt to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937. In under a minute, the Hindenburg was gone, people jumping from windows to escape. However, only 62 of the 97 crew members and passengers onboard survived. The exact cause of the disaster is still unknown and remains a fascinating historical mystery perfect for this series.

Story of the World: History for the Classical Child

by: Susan Wise Bauer
Story of the World: History for the Classical Child
History has been taught in a boring way for far too long. A subject as moving and powerful as humanity's past should be inviting, and when it is told well, it is. Susan Wise Bauer succeeds in telling the captivating story of history with her best-selling history series. Parents and young readers have fallen in love with her narrative history, The Story of the World, and its accompanying Activity Book. Now teachers and home educators can take advantage of a new and valuable learning tool: the Tests and Answer Key package. Included are 42 tests: one for each chapter of The Story of the World. Perfect for evaluating comprehension and retention. The narrative format of The Story of the World helps children remember the famous people, places, and events in history. These tests offer you an easy way to make sure that your child is absorbing the important events from world history. A combination of multiple choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, and short writing samples allow you to evaluate your child's retention and comprehension of key events in The Story of the World. The Tests package contains an answer key for all tests. These easy-to-use tests and answer keys, successfully used by hundreds of parents and teachers, provide an objective method for measuring retention of key facts, figures, and events from history. A combination of sequencing, matching, short-answer, and essay-style questions gives students a chance to show what they've learned. Used with The Story of the World Text Book and Activity Book (sold separately), the Test and Answer Key gives educators a complete history curriculum for their elementary school students.

The Notorious Benedict Arnold

by: Steve Sheinkin
The Notorious Benedict Arnold
An introduction to the life of Benedict Arnold that highlights not only the traitorous actions that made him legendary, but also his heroic involvement in the American Revolution.

Taking Flight

by: Michaela DePrince, Elaine Deprince
Taking Flight
The memoir of Michaela DePrince, who lived the first few years of her live in war-torn Sierra Leone until being adopted by an American Family. Now seventeen, she is one of the premiere ballerinas in the United States. Born in war-torn Sierra Leone and adopted at age four by an American family who fostered her love of dancing, Michaela became the youngest principal dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. The coauthor is Elaine DePrince.

What Was Ellis Island?

by: Patricia Brennan Demuth, Kevin McVeigh, David Groff
What Was Ellis Island?
From 1892 to 1954, Ellis Island was the gateway to a new life in the United States for millions of immigrants. In later years, the island was deserted, the buildings decaying. Ellis Island was not restored until the 1980s, when Americans from all over the country donated more than $150 million. It opened to the public once again in 1990 as a museum. Learn more about America's history, and perhaps even your own, through the story of one of the most popular landmarks in the country.

Who Was Abraham Lincoln?

by: Janet Pascal, Nancy Harrison, John O'Brien
Who Was Abraham Lincoln?
Born to a family of farmers, Lincoln stood out from an early age—literally! (He was six feet four inches tall.) As sixteenth President of the United States, he guided the nation through the Civil War and saw the abolition of slavery. But Lincoln was tragically shot one night at Ford's Theater—the first President to be assassinated. Over 100 black-and-white illustrations and maps are included.
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Remember Your Name

by: Erik G. LeMoullec
Remember Your Name

2015 winner of the B.R.A.G. Medallion.  While sitting in traffic heading to her great-grandfather's eighty-fourth birthday party, Hayden asks her dad why her great-grandfather speaks the way he does. What follows is a car ride she will never forget as she learns about his difficult childhood. From living in the Lodz ghetto at age ten to surviving the hells of Auschwitz and a death march from Görlitz concentration camp at fifteen, Teddy Znamirowski faced unfathomable horrors, narrowly escaping death time and time again. Liberated at sixteen, he took on smuggling as a means to survive. It was not until the Bricha approached him and he became a lead operative - smuggling thousands of refugees across country borders - that he was finally able to begin his life again. Teddy's story is one of survival amidst horrific circumstances. The author does not sensationalize the suffering his grandfather and his family endured, but in this work of narrative nonfiction simply recreates this remarkable man's early life during one of the darkest moments of human history.

The Story of the World, History for the Classical Child

by: Susan Wise Bauer
The Story of the World, History for the Classical Child
Chronological history of the Middle Ages covering Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Far East from 400 A.E. to 1600 A.D

Farewell to Manzanar

by: Jeanne Houston, James D. Houston
Farewell to Manzanar
"Farewell to Manzanar is the true story of one spirited Japanese American family's attempt to survive the indignities of forced detention...and of a native-born American child who discovered what it was like to grow up behind barbed wire in the United States. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET

Who Was Queen Elizabeth?

by: June Eding, Nancy Harrison
Who Was Queen Elizabeth?
Our bestselling series is fit for a queen!

The life of Queen Elizabeth I was dramatic and dangerous: cast out of her father?s court at the age of three and imprisoned at nineteen, Elizabeth was crowned queen in 1558, when she was only twenty-five. A tough, intelligent woman who spoke five languages, Elizabeth ruled for over forty years and led England through one of its most prosperous periods in history. Over 80 illustrations bring ?Gloriana? and her court to life.

Who Was Anne Frank?

by: Ann Abramson, Nancy Harrison
Who Was Anne Frank?
In her amazing diary, Anne Frank revealed the challenges and dreams common for any young girl. But Hitler brought her childhood to an end and forced her and her family into hiding. Who Was Anne Frank? looks closely at Anne’s life before the secret annex, what life was like in hiding, and the legacy of her diary. Black-and-white illustrations including maps and diagrams provide historical and visual reference in an easy-to-read biography written in a way that is appropriate and accessible for younger readers.
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In the Heart of the Sea

by: Nathaniel Philbrick
In the Heart of the Sea
In 1819, the 238-ton Essex set sail from Nantucket on a routine voyage to hunt whales. Fifteen months later, the Essex was rammed and sunk by an enraged sperm whale.

Life in a Victorian Household

by: Pamela Horn
Life in a Victorian Household
What was it like to live in a Victorian Household? What time did the servants have to get up? What was the food like and who cooked it? How did the clothing differ for the different types of servants? How much did the servants get paid? This book shows you what it was really like to live in Victorian times, for those both above and below stairs.

What Was D-Day?

by: Patricia Brennan Demuth, David Grayson Kenyon, Scott Anderson
What Was D-Day?
Presents the events leading to and during the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, during World War II, describing the importance of the campaign and its effect on the outcome of the war.
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Bomb

by: Steve Sheinkin
release date: Jan 01, 2012
Bomb
In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific race that spanned 3 continents. In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos. This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and genius that created the world's most formidable weapon. This is the story of the atomic bomb.

Here There Is No Why

by: Rachel Roth
Here There Is No Why
“Here There Is No Why” was the infamous Dr. Joseph Mengele's answer to Roma, the author, and to millions of Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Written to fulfill a promise made in the darkest moment of human history, this simple and eloquent story is unique in that it spans the geography of the Nazi's Final Solution. Ruchama (Roma in Polish), the teenage daughter of a journalist, relays to us the experiences of a schoolgirl and her classmates under the German occupied Warsaw Ghetto. She is a witness and participant in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. After the Nazis smoke her out of hiding, she bravely faces the reality of the gas chambers and concentration camps in Poland and Germany. Originally written in Polish, this is an eloquent and unforgettable account of survival.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

by: Leon Leyson, Marilyn J. Harran, Elisabeth B. Leyson
The Boy on the Wooden Box
Leon Leyson describes growing up in Poland, being forced from home to ghetto to concentration camps by the Nazis, and being saved by Oskar Schindler. The text contains descriptions of violence.
Categories: Children's Middle Grade Books / History, Children's Middle Grade Books / Memoir, Children's Middle Grade Books / Holocaust

The Boys in the Boat (Young Readers Adaptation): The True Story of an American Team's Epic Journey to Win Gold at the 1936 Olympics

by: Daniel James Brown
The Boys in the Boat (Young Readers Adaptation): The True Story of an American Team's Epic Journey to Win Gold at the 1936 Olympics
The #1 New York Times bestseller about the Greatest Generation freshly adapted for the next generation.
 
For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Great Depression comes the astonishing tale of nine working-class boys from the American West who at the 1936 Olympics showed the world what true grit really meant. With rowers who were the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington's eight-oar crew was never expected to defeat the elite East Coast teams, yet they did, going on to shock the world by challenging the German boat rowing for Adolf Hitler.
 
At the center of the tale is Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, whose personal quest captures the spirit of his generation—the generation that would prove in the coming years that the Nazis could not prevail over American determination and optimism.
 
This deeply emotional yet easily accessible young readers adaptation of the award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller features never-before-seen photographs, highly visual back matter, and an exclusive new introduction.

Malala

by: Malala Yousafzai, Patricia McCormick
Malala
Poems were written in honor of Malala Yousafzai. The book marks the one-year anniversary of 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai's shooting by the Taliban for speaking out for the right of girls to an education.

Red Scarf Girl

by: Ji-li Jiang
Red Scarf Girl
The author tells about the happy life she led in China up until she was twelve-years-old when her family became a target of the Cultural Revolution, and discusses the choice she had to make between denouncing her father and breaking with her family, or refusing to speak against him and losing her future in the Communist Party.

Unbroken

by: Laura Hillenbrand
Unbroken
On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War. The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.
Categories: Nonfiction / Biography, Nonfiction / Historical, Nonfiction / War

A Young People's History of the United States

by: Howard Zinn, Rebecca Stefoff
A Young People's History of the United States
A Young People's History of the United States brings to US history the viewpoints of workers, slaves, immigrants, women, Native Americans, and others whose stories, and their impact, are rarely included in books for young people. A Young People's History of the United States is also a companion volume to The People Speak, the film adapted from A People's History of the United States and Voices of a People's History of the United States.
Beginning with a look at Christopher Columbus's arrival through the eyes of the Arawak Indians, then leading the reader through the struggles for workers' rights, women's rights, and civil rights during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and ending with the current protests against continued American imperialism, Zinn in the volumes of A Young People's History of the United States presents a radical new way of understanding America's history. In so doing, he reminds readers that America's true greatness is shaped by our dissident voices, not our military generals.

Kennedy's Last Days

by: Bill O'Reilly
Kennedy's Last Days
A historical narrative of the events surrounding the death of the 35th president is set against the backdrop of an escalating Cold War and describes the many political challenges Kennedy was facing before his assassination, in an account that also describes Lee Harvey Oswald's story and the events surrounding his death. Adapted from the historical thriller KILLING KENNEDY, this book provides, through photographs, maps, charts, and text, a historical narrative of the shocking events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

The Hiding Place

by: John Sherrill
The Hiding Place
The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom by Corrie ten Boom, John Sherrill, Elizabeth Sherrill (Goodreads Author) "At one time Corrie ten Boom would have laughed at the idea that there would ever be a story to tell. For the first fifty years of her life nothing at all out of the ordinary had ever happened to her. She was an old-maid watchmaker living contentedly with her spinster sister and their elderly father in the tiny Dutch house over their shop. Their uneventful days, as regulated as their own watches, revolved around their abiding love for one another. However, with the Nazi invasion and occupation of Holland, a story did ensue. Corrie ten Boom and her family became leaders in the Dutch Underground, hiding Jewish people in their home in a specially built room and aiding their escape from the Nazis. For their help, all but Corrie found death in a concentration camp. The Hiding Place is their story. (less)" Good readers review.

Hitler's Last Days

by: Bill O'Reilly
Hitler's Last Days

By early 1945, the destruction of the German Nazi State seems certain. The Allied forces, led by American generals George S. Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower, are gaining control of Europe, leaving German leaders scrambling. Facing defeat, Adolf Hitler flees to a secret bunker with his new wife, Eva Braun, and his beloved dog, Blondi. It is there that all three would meet their end, thus ending the Third Reich and one of the darkest chapters of history.

Hitler's Last Days is a gripping account of the death of one of the most reviled villains of the 20th century―a man whose regime of murder and terror haunts the world even today. Adapted from Bill O'Reilly's historical thriller Killing Patton, this book will have young readers―and grown-ups too―hooked on history.

See Inside the Middle Ages

by: Rob Lloyd Jones, Barry Ablett
See Inside the Middle Ages
This is a fabulous flap book for older children showing what life was like in the 14th century. Stunning illustrations and over 80 flaps reveal fascinating historical facts of life in the Middle Ages. Scenes include a town market day, a lord's castle, a country village and a castle under siege. It includes an illustrated who's who in medieval society, a delightful small booklet on living in a castle and internet links to fun websites to find out more.

Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt

by: Gill Harvey, Struan Reid
Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
Introduces the history, government, religion, and culture of ancient Egypt, describes how archaeologists learn about Egyptian civilization, and suggests related Web sites.
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