Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Topic: Tudors

Treason

Chapter book

Most suitable for upper KS2, Berlie Doherty offers a tensely dramatic tale with plenty of detail to explore about Tudor life. Set in the time of Henry VIII, this story explores the high tensions around religion and politics in this era as well as opening discussions about the power of the monarchy.

The Queen’s Fool

Ally Sherrick

Chapter book

Cat Sparrow lives in Tudor England during the reign of King Henry VIII. When her sister Meg is taken away by a strange figure, Cat sets out on a quest to find her. Living with a learning difficulty in a Tudor world means that Cat is often perceived by others as a ‘half-wit’. With the help of a young actor, called Jacques, who has his own quest to complete, Cat embarks upon her quest and ends up joining a travelling troupe before joining Katherine of Aragon’s court as the queen’s fool. With plenty of historical details as well as everything you’d hope for in a Tudor adventure, from plots and perils to tournaments and feasts, this story offers fresh perspective into life during the Tudor period. Free chapter-by-chapter reading resources are also available to download from the publisher.

The Secret Diary of Thomas Snoop, Tudor Boy Spy

Jamie Littler & Philip Ardagh

Chapter book

Part of Philip Ardagh’s popular ‘The Secret Diary of…’ series, this is highly entertaining historical fiction for a young audience, bringing a place, a time and a way of life alive for its readers. This one focuses on Thomas Snoop, a trainee spy looking to uncover Tudor traitors making plots against the king.

Tudors Topic Booklist

The Best Children’s Books for the Tudors History Topic

This booklist features recommended children’s books about the Tudors.

Plots and playwrights, executions and explorers, monarchs and musicians….there’s no denying that the Tudor topic is one of the most exciting periods in British history to study.

We’ve picked out some of our favourite texts suitable for primary school children to help explore the Tudor topic. For chapter books set in Tudor times, dig into Berlie Doherty’s Treason or The Queen’s Fool, or for something a little more interactive, try the search-and-find book Find Tom in Time: Shakespeare’s London.

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

Look out for Tudor stories featuring merry monarchs like Elizabeth I and Henry VIII, for galleons and gallows and also for tales containing no end of perils, including plots to the throne, sneaky spies and deadly executions, in our selection of the best children’s books about the Tudors…