The Best History Books for Kids and Teens
One book to read aloud, one to leave on the coffee table, the series that makes eight-year-olds laugh, and the books that turn teenagers into readers of history
The best history book for a child of about ten and up, and the best one to read aloud to a younger child, is E. H. Gombrich's A Little History of the World. Gombrich wrote it in 1935 in six weeks, for a German publisher who wanted a history for children, and it has never gone out of print: forty short chapters from the Stone Age to his own time, each written as if he were telling it to a curious child across a table. The Yale edition on this list is his own revised English version.
The rest of the list is sorted by age and by what a particular child wants. DK's Timelines of Everything is the book for the reader who wants to look rather than be told. Terry Deary's Horrible Histories, represented here by The Rotten Romans, is the series that has made more eight-to-twelve-year-olds enjoy history than any other. Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl is the book most readers meet at eleven or twelve and never forget. For older children and teenagers, Russell Freedman's Lincoln: A Photobiography, Jennifer Armstrong's Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World and Steve Sheinkin's Bomb are the prize-winning nonfiction that reads like fiction, Neil MacGregor's A History of the World in 100 Objects is the adult book teenagers actually finish, and Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe is the comic that has been a gateway to history for forty years.
Every title below is checked against Open Library and publisher records, with editions, years and ISBNs verified rather than scraped. Age guidance is given as a range and is a starting point, not a rule; a strong reader of nine will manage most of the middle of this list.
The books
1. A Little History of the World — E. H. Gombrich (2005)
The whole of human history can be told to a child in forty short chapters, as a story, without talking down.
The classic children's history of the world, written in 1935 and revised by the author; the best book on the list to read aloud, and the best first history for ten and up.
Pick this if: Ages 6 to 9 read aloud; 10 and up alone. (Level: General)
2. Timelines of Everything: From Woolly Mammoths to World Wars — DK (with the Smithsonian Institution) (2018)
History makes sense when you can see it laid out, and a good timeline is a story a child can read in any order.
About 130 illustrated timelines from prehistory to the present; the coffee-table book children actually pick up.
Pick this if: Ages 7 and up, and any child who prefers looking to reading. (Level: General)
3. The Rotten Romans (Horrible Histories) — Terry Deary (1997)
Children like history for the same reasons adults do, the gore, the absurdity and the detail, so give it to them straight.
The classic entry in the series that has made more children enjoy history than any other; jokes with sound facts attached. First published in 1994.
Pick this if: Ages 8 to 12. (Level: General)
4. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl — Anne Frank (1993)
A teenager's own record of two years in hiding in Amsterdam, and of what it was to grow up while the Holocaust closed in.
The book most readers meet at eleven or twelve and never forget; this is the Definitive Edition prepared by Otto Frank and Mirjam Pressler.
Pick this if: Ages 11 and up, with an adult nearby. (Level: General)
5. Lincoln: A Photobiography — Russell Freedman (1989)
A great life can be told to young readers with photographs, a clear line through the politics and no condescension.
The Newbery Medal winner that set the standard for children's biography; first published in 1987.
Pick this if: Ages 10 to 14. (Level: General)
6. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance — Jennifer Armstrong (2000)
Shackleton's Endurance expedition is the best true survival story there is, and it can be told to children without softening it.
The book to give a child who says history is boring; a Sibert Honor book, with the expedition's own photographs. First published in 1998.
Pick this if: Ages 10 to 14. (Level: General)
7. Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon — Steve Sheinkin (2014)
The making of the atomic bomb was a race between scientists, spies and saboteurs, and it reads as a thriller because it was one.
Winner of the Sibert Medal and a Newbery Honor; the best-paced nonfiction on the list. First published in 2012.
Pick this if: Ages 12 and up. (Level: General)
8. A History of the World in 100 Objects — Neil MacGregor (2013)
A hundred objects from the British Museum, each with a short chapter, add up to a history of humanity that can be read in any order.
The adult book teenagers actually finish, because every chapter is ten pages; first published in 2010 alongside the radio series.
Pick this if: Ages 14 and up, and adults. (Level: General)
9. The Cartoon History of the Universe, Volumes 1-7: From the Big Bang to Alexander the Great — Larry Gonick (1990)
History can be drawn as a comic without losing the facts or the jokes, and the comic is how many readers first find it interesting.
The comic that has been a gateway to history for forty years; accurate, funny and the first of a series that reaches the modern era.
Pick this if: Ages 12 and up, and any adult who never liked history class. (Level: General)
Which history book to give a child, by age
For six to nine, read aloud. Gombrich's A Little History was written to be read aloud and it still works that way; a chapter is ten minutes. DK's Timelines of Everything is the book to leave open on a table for the same age group, because it rewards looking without demanding reading: it is a hundred and thirty illustrated timelines, from dinosaurs to the internet, and children find their own way through it.
For eight to twelve, Horrible Histories. Terry Deary's series is built on the true premise that children like history for the same reasons adults do, the gore, the absurdity and the detail, and The Rotten Romans is the classic entry. The books are jokes with facts attached, and the facts are sound; a child who has read three of them knows more about daily life in the past than most adults. Anne Frank's diary belongs at the top of this age range, usually around eleven or twelve, and it needs an adult nearby to talk about how it ends.
For twelve and up, the prize-winners. Russell Freedman's Lincoln: A Photobiography won the Newbery Medal, which is rare for nonfiction, and it is the model for how to write a life for young readers: photographs on every spread, a clear line through the politics, no condescension. Jennifer Armstrong's Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World is the story of Shackleton's Endurance expedition and it is the book to give a child who says history is boring. Steve Sheinkin's Bomb is the race to build the atomic weapon told as a spy story, and it won both a Newbery Honor and the Sibert Medal.
For teenagers, MacGregor and Gonick. A History of the World in 100 Objects is an adult book, written from the British Museum's collection, but its hundred short chapters are exactly the length a teenager will read, and it is the book on this list most likely to be kept. Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe is a comic, funny and accurate, and for forty years it has been the way a certain kind of reader discovers that history is interesting.
What to know before you buy
Gombrich's book is a product of 1935, revised by the author late in life; its perspective is European and its final chapters are personal. That is part of its charm and worth explaining to a child. Horrible Histories is British, and its jokes and some of its references assume a British reader, which American children generally find part of the fun.
Anne Frank's diary exists in several editions. The Bantam edition on this list is the Definitive Edition prepared by Otto Frank and Mirjam Pressler, which restores passages the earlier edition cut, and it is the one most schools use. It is not a difficult read, but it is a hard one, and the age at which a child is ready for it varies.
The Newbery and Sibert winners on this list are American, and the Sibert Medal in particular is the reliable guide to good children's nonfiction; a reader who finishes Bomb will want Sheinkin's other books, and the Sibert list is the place to find more like them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best history book for a 10-year-old?
E. H. Gombrich's A Little History of the World, forty short chapters from the Stone Age to the twentieth century written to be read by or to a child. For a reluctant reader of the same age, Terry Deary's Horrible Histories (start with The Rotten Romans) or Jennifer Armstrong's Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World.
What is the best history book for a teenager?
Steve Sheinkin's Bomb (2012) for a reader who wants a story: the race to build the atomic bomb told as a thriller, and a Sibert Medal and Newbery Honor winner. Neil MacGregor's A History of the World in 100 Objects is the adult book most teenagers will actually finish, because every chapter is ten pages.
What age is Anne Frank's diary suitable for?
Most readers meet it at eleven or twelve, and most schools teach it in that range. The Definitive Edition restores passages the earlier edition cut, including some about Anne's body and her feelings about her mother, so a parent may want to read it first. It is not a difficult book, but it is a hard one.
Are Horrible Histories accurate?
Yes, within their format. Terry Deary's books are jokes with facts attached, and the facts are sound; they are British in their humour and references, which children elsewhere generally find part of the fun. They are the series that has made more eight-to-twelve-year-olds enjoy history than any other.
Explore related events on the timeline
- The Great Pyramids of Giza on the interactive timeline
- Julius Caesar Crosses the Rubicon on the interactive timeline
Related guides
- The Best History Books: One Per Era (for adults)
- The Best History Audiobooks
- Best Books on the Holocaust
- A Chronological World History Reading Plan
Sources consulted
- A Little History of the World — Open Library record
- Timelines of Everything — Open Library record
- The Rotten Romans — Open Library record
- Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl — Open Library record
- Lincoln: A Photobiography — Open Library record
- Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World — Open Library record
- Bomb — Open Library record
- A History of the World in 100 Objects — Open Library record
- The Cartoon History of the Universe — Open Library record
As an Amazon Associate, AskHistoryAI earns from qualifying purchases. Recommendations are chosen editorially — see our methodology.