History books for children

This piece discusses ten non-fiction titles for children that can work as tools to foster the development of a historical imagination and help in building a nuanced perspective to learning History as taught in school classrooms. The topics covered in these volumes range from environmental history to the interface between history and archaeology, and the freedom movement.

By Suchishraba Sarangi

1 min read

Published on : February 6, 2026

Modified On : February 12, 2026

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Children reading together

Despite the increase in popularity of animated YouTube videos on history for children, there remains a certain charm attached to illustrated books on bygone eras. These provide the scope and time that a child needs to imagine a whole new world with curious artefacts. These books also provide opportunities to children to consider how similar people can be across centuries. Maybe the beautiful illustrations also motivate children to add color to periods of history, which many would rather paint in black and white.

Here is a list of books that have accomplished such goals. These constitute a great resource for fostering critical thinking and historical awareness in children.

A common thread that runs through these books is the exploration of possibilities in a story that we might never know as objective truth. This approach opens up different worlds and perspectives for a young reader and encourages them to paint these worlds in their own colors too.