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50 Favorite Historical Nonfiction Books

Nonfiction doesn’t have to be boring! These 50 living history reads use engaging text, vibrant visuals, and story-driven structures to make real people, places, and events leap off the page. From timelines and tools to big ideas and bold actions, these books help kids build knowledge while staying hooked.

Pyramid

Beautifully detailed exploration of ancient Egyptian pyramid building and use

If Stones Could Speak

Award-winning archeological exploration of Stonehenge

Turtle Island

Back to the Ice Age, explores archaeological evidence for earliest North Americans

Buried Beneath Us

Illustrations and descriptions bring ancient American cities back to life

City: A Story of Roman Planning & Construction

Beautifully detailed exploration of Roman city planning and construction

Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road

Gripping nonfiction about famous journeys on the silk road, including by Genghis Khan and Marco Polo

1001 Inventions

Exploration of inventions from the medieval Islamic empires that shape our modern world

Who Made England?

Stories of Anglo-Saxons and Vikings as modern England took form

Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction

Beautifully detailed exploration of cathedral building and use

The Illustrated Book of Knights

Very informative intro to life as a knight

Walter Dragun’s Town

Exploration of the economic and social life of a medieval trading town

Great Zimbabwe

Introduction to the history and archaeology of Great Zimbabwe

Machu Picchu: The Story of the Amazing Inkas and Their City in the Clouds

Riveting description of Incan life in Machu Picchu

The Adventures of Marco Polo

Excellent exploration of Marco Polo’s stories and whether they were true

Into the Unknown

Exciting cross-sections of Age of Exploration vessels along with stories of their historic journeys

Elizabethan World Reference Library: Primary Sources

Primary sources from Elizabethan England, with introductions and explanations

Mosque

Beautifully detailed exploration of mosque building and use, set in the early Ottoman Empire

Captured in Miniature: Mughal Lives through Mughal Art

Exploration of Mughal art

Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado

Biography of Sir Walter Ralegh's achievements, failures, and quest for El Dorado

Everyday Life in Traditional Japan

Exploration of daily life in Tokugawa Japan, for older readers

John Winthrop, Oliver Cromwell, and the Land of Promise

Great introduction to the political context of the English colonization of North American

Birchbark Brigade: A Fur Trade History

Deeply researched and readable explanation of the fur trade in North America between Cartier and the Louisana Purchase

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland

Archaeological exploration of Jamestown for middle-grade and older readers

Sugar Changed the World

Cross-cutting history of sugar, including its role in the slave trade

The Whydah

True story of one pirate ship’s adventures and rediscovery, with a focus on marine archaeology

The Salem Witch Trials

Picture book introduction to the Salem trials where you’re the detective

Mill

Beautifully detailed exploration of mill building and use during the Industrial Revolution

George vs. George

Engaging story of the American Revolution from both perspectives

The Real Revolution: The Global Story of American Independence

Excellent exploration of the American Revolution in its global context

Paris 1789

Compelling introduction to Revolutionary France through a time travel guide

What’s the Deal? Jefferson, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase

Engaging explanation of the Louisiana Purchase

The Boys’ War

Excellent primary-source exploration of life as a boy soldier on both sides of the Civil War

Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850

Excellent explanation of the Great Irish Famine for middle-grade readers

Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London

Deep dive into the world of Victorian London poverty that Dickens wrote about

Children of the Indian Boarding Schools

Sobering, photo-rich introduction to the experiences of native children in boarding schools

Children of the Wild West

Excellent, photo-based introduction to children’s lives in the Old West

Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy

Gripping story of the Triangle Fire and its connections to immigration, industrialization, and reform

Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York, 1880-1924

Stunning exploration of tenement slum life through the stories of five real immigrants

The Poison Eaters

Award-winning story of the scary states of American food and drugs during the Gilded Age, and Progressive reforms

Muckrakers

Exciting story of the rise of Progressive Era investigative journalism

Immigrant Kids

Excellent introduction to immigrant life for kids at the turn of the century

Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain

Excellent introduction to immigration via Angel Island

Very, Very, Very Dreadful

Award-winning survey of the Influenza Pandemic of 1918, for older readers

The Family Romanov

Excellent introduction to the Romanov family and their fall

Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition

Exciting overview of Prohibition

Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929

Gripping story of the stock market crash that started the Great Depression

Farewell to Manzanar

Powerful true story of the author’s life as a child in a Japanese-American internment camp

A Time of Fear

Excellent exploration of Cold War tensions in America, for middle- and upper-grade readers

Freedom Walkers

Riveting story of the Montgomery bus boycott, with primary sources and photos

How We Got to the Moon

Excellent guide to the people and events that led to the first moon landing

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