Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Topic: History

The First Drawing

Picturebook

A story set in the Stone Age that explores how the first drawing could have come to be, based on real discoveries made in the Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc in France, which contains some of the oldest known cave drawings made 30,000 years ago. A free educator’s guide is also available.

The History Detective Investigates: Stone Age to Iron Age

Clare Hibbert

Non-fiction

An accessible information text designed especially for the National Curriculum, this is a text pitched for teachers and pupils of lower KS2. Taking an investigative approach to history, The History Detective Investigates Stone Age to Iron Age examines key questions and pieces of evidence from the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages in order to build a picture of life in prehistoric times.

Stig of the Dump

Clive King & Edward Ardizzone

Chapter book

A well-loved option for a class reader or chapter book to study at KS2. First published in 1963, Stig of the Dump is a classic children’s novel about a young boy called Barney who encounters a strange cave-dwelling creature called Stig. Stig takes Barney on a series of fantastic adventures into prehistoric times.

This memorable text is a popular choice for a class reader or a literacy unit. Many teachers enjoy the opportunity to introduce pupils to a classic children’s book and there is also an accompanying Read & Respond (click to see on Amazon) book to help teachers with planning.

The Boy with the Bronze Axe

Kathleen Fidler

Chapter book

Kathleen Fidler’s The Boy with the Bronze Axe is a chapter book that sums up the achievements of the early Bronze Age well. Set in the Scottish settlement of Skara Brae at the very end of the Stone Age and just before the dawn of the Bronze Age, The Boy with the Bronze Axe is a well-researched story filled with exciting challenges and mysteries.

Perfect for confident readers or as a mid- and upper- KS2 class novel, the book explores the changes between the Neolithic period and the discovery of bronze. As characters who had only ever seen stone tools respond to bronze, there is an opportunity to consider what the discovery meant to people who had never seen it before and why it impacted the prehistoric lifestyle.

Defenders: Pitch Invasion

David Shephard & Tom Palmer

Chapter book, Dyslexia-friendly

Books on the Iron Age period tend to focus on the warring nature of tribes, on life in hillforts or the cross-over with the Roman period. Bestselling author Tom Palmer’s Pitch Invasion brings together the author’s passions for football and history in a haunting story that is ‘super-readable’ due to its accessible layout, including a dyslexia-friendly font and tinted paper.

In this story, a boy called Seth encounters visions of severed heads raised high on spikes surrounding an Iron Age hill fort. Seth discovers that the heads were a means of keeping intruders out of the hill fort in Iron Age times and must find a way to face the horrors of the past that echo through the ages. There are plenty of gruesome moments in this story – but it is an exciting and gripping one too. Author Tom Palmer provides supporting materials like quizzes and videos on his website.

Vikings Topic Booklist

Best Vikings Books For Children

A guide curated by the experts at BooksForTopics.

Looking for the best children’s books on the Vikings topic? From raiders and traders to myths and monsters, the Vikings history topic offers a hoard of fascinating themes and this reading list of recommended children’s books about the Vikings is here to help.

Dig into the mysteries and action of the Viking topic with recommended chapter books like Riddle of the Runes, She Wolf and Viking Boy, or get stuck into some non-fiction with the fantastic illustrated information book Viking Voyagers.

Illustrated Norse mythology books are also an important addition to your Vikings topic book selection for KS2, such as The Dragon’s Hoard or Legends of Norse Mythology – both colour illustrated anthologies of Viking myths and legends.

As well as the recommended Vikings reading list below to browse, we’ve also got a printable poster, and schools can purchase the full set of books via Peters.

We’ve put together this list of the best Viking-themed children’s books to help readers take a voyage back in time to the Viking age.

History Topic Booklists

Primary History Topic Booklists

Looking for the best history books for children?

Travel back in time with our handpicked selection of recommended children’s books for history topics. From books for children about the Vikings and Victorians to topic books about Great Fires and Ancient Greeks, we’ve got oodles of book recommendations to support your topic.

Each of our history topic booklists contains a carefully curated selection of books to support the teaching of the curriculum. When we are assessing the quality of books to consider them for our website, we take into account a number of factors – including age suitability, quality of text, visual appeal, readability, level of interest for children, underlying values, curriculum relevance and print production quality. Our review panel of teachers and education experts is invaluable in providing information about which books support the curriculum effectively, as well as writing detailed reviews for some of the books that we feature too.

In addition to our Review Panel feedback, we work with a team of booksellers to make sure that the books on our lists are readily available from publishers in order to supply them to schools and classrooms. Schools can buy full packs of most of our topic booklists directly from Peters.

Topic booklist posters are also available to download for many of our history booklists.

Whether it’s a trip to the Roman bathhouse, a whistle-stop tour of the Egyptian pyramids or a deep dive into Black British History, our booklists will help you to find the best history books for children. Browse the full list of history topic booklists below.