History For Kids

Includes excerpts from the journals of two of the Mayflower's passengers.

"By God's providence, upon the ninth of November following, by break of the day we espied land which was deemed to be Cape Cod, and so afterward it proved. And the appearance of it much comforted us, especially seeing so goodly a land, and wooded to the brink of the sea. It caused us to rejoice together, and praise God that had given us once again to see land." — Edward Winslow

Is screen time taking over family fun? Kids today need more engaging activities that bring them closer together. Game On! Kids Sports Trivia Adventure brings the thrill of sports right to your living room, making learning and bonding easy, interactive, and full of friendly competition!

Children’s bedtimes can be a challenge for many parents. These books can help. The stories are narrated in a intentionally calming way that has been proven to get younger children to sleep, set to soft background instrumental music. These audiobooks are created with bedtime in mind, avoiding too much drama, which may prevent kids from relaxing.

21 Months, 24 Days is an engaging memoir of a blue-collar kid turned soldier. Threatened by the draft in the late 60s, he enlisted in the Army to avoid becoming a grunt, yet ended up one anyway. He endured a grueling war in Vietnam and then returned to a country too angry to care. While his journey took unexpected turns, his choices got him there, so he did his best to react positively and keep moving forward.

Every great artist started out as a kid. Forget the awards, the sold-out museum exhibitions, and the timeless masterpieces. When the world’s most celebrated artists were growing up, they had regular-kid problems just like you. Jackson Pollock’s family moved constantly - he lived in eight different cities before he was 16 years old. Georgia O’Keeffe lived in the shadow of her “perfect” older brother Francis. And Jean-Michel Basquiat triumphed over poverty to become one of the world’s most influential artists.

Told through the eyes of parents who personally experienced the war, you'll discover valuable lessons intertwined with stories to help young listeners understand the significance of World War II. Explore life on the homefront, where ordinary people had to cope with rationing, shortages, and the power of propaganda. Discover how seemingly average individuals transformed into heroes when their countries needed them most.

Leif Erikson was born to be an explorer. His father, Erik the Red, had established the first European settlement in present-day Greenland, and although he didn't yet know it, Leif was destined to embark on an adventure of his own. The wise and striking Viking landed in the area known as Vinland almost five centuries before Christopher Columbus even set sail! "Leif the Lucky" and the other fierce, sea-fearing pirates were accomplished navigators who raided foreign lands for resources, hunted for their food, and passed down Old Norse myths from one generation to the next.

The historical significance of children’s rhymes is often lost on most adults, let alone the children who learn them by heart almost as soon as they learn to say anything at all. For all of us, the first things we are taught, after learning how to talk, are nursery rhymes. Hence by the time we are adults, we will know the words to hundreds of them without ever being aware of their meaning or real importance. And they are important, in my view, because many of them tell the true tale of some of history’s darkest or most tragic events.

Betsy Ross is one of the few women in American history whose name is known to every American, but that is not the only reason she's such a unique figure. Indeed, Betsy Ross is a true rarity in that she has been turned into a mythological heroine. Every country has legends, and tales that grow out of its founding, but given that the United States is a relatively young country, there is ample historical information on the lives and exploits of its Founders.

Many of the most well-known lawmen of the American Wild West had multiple criminal charges to their name. Some were murderers, some were thieves, and many were corrupt - in fact, sometimes it was difficult to tell who was on which side of the law. Cowboys and Native Americans, robbers and sheriffs, courageous lawmen, opportunistic prospectors, frustrated Confederate soldiers turned outlaws after the war - the Wild West was filled with all of these. And their stories are breathtaking.

Billy the Kid was a real-life outlaw, a cattle rustler in the Southwest who was wanted - dead or alive. One fateful night in 1881, he was shot and killed in a darkened room by nemesis Sheriff Pat Garrett. With this account, the sheriff aimed to set the record straight about his final showdown with the Kid. Since its publication, The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid has served as a primary source on this legendary outlaw’s life for historians and storytellers alike.

Join Amelia and Bethany on an extraordinary adventure aboard the Mayflower! Through the mystical powers of the Magic Library, the sisters are transported back in time to the perilous journey of the Pilgrims. As they navigate storms, make new friends, and face the unknown, Amelia and Bethany discover the true meaning of bravery and the power of friendship. Perfect for young readers who love history, magic, and heartwarming tales, this book brings the past to life in a way that is both educational and enchanting.

The man who saved the lives of his PT-109 crewmen during WWII and became the 35th US president fought - and won - his first battle at the age of two-and-a-half, when he was stricken with scarlet fever. Although his presidency was cut short, our nation's youngest elected leader left an indelible mark on the American consciousness and now is profiled in our Who Was...? series.

It's a new day, and Ayaan has woken up on the wrong side of the bed where nothing feels quite right. What if he doesn't know the answer at school? What if he messes up? But as he sets out that morning, all it takes is a few reminders from his mom and some friends in the neighborhood to remind him that a new day is a good day because...he is smart, he is blessed, and he can do anything!

Beginning in Italy, the Renaissance was a cultural movement that spread throughout Europe and affected art, science, technology, politics, and thought. From the 1300s to the beginning of the 1600s, scholars started to question what they knew and looked to literature and historical texts to develop new ideas for why things were the way they were. In just a short amount of time, the foundations for European life were uprooted and examined, leading people, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to explore new ways of thinking and being.

There are few places more exciting than the basketball court. Yet few kids realize just how exciting the whole story of the game really is. More than 210 million people follow the NBA league across its various social media platforms, making it the most popular sports league in the world. So why is it that no one really understands its history? If your kids aspire to be the next LeBron James, they’re already hungry for basketball knowledge.

Did you know that John Adams had to coax Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence? It's true. The shy Virginia statesman refused at first, but then went on to author one of our nation's most important and inspiring documents. The third US president, Jefferson was also an architect, inventor, musician, farmer, and - what is certainly the most troubling aspect of his life - a slave owner. Finally, here's a biography for kids that unveils the many facets of this founding father's remarkable and complicated life.

Who lived in Texas over a thousand years ago? In Porch Talk, John Erickson and his archaeologist friend Doug Boyd investigate this question while explaining the art and science of archaeology for middle listeners. On the Perryton ranch, John and his friends unearthed a ghost town that dated back to around 1300 CE. For more than twenty years, they worked together on this and other prehistoric sites, sharing a fascination for the ancient people who occupied the area. How did these people work, play, and survive?

**A READERS' FAVORITE BRONZE MEDAL AWARD WINNER. **A Red Ribbon Winner - Wishing Shelf Book Awards When you have a baby girl you envision many things for her life but becoming a boy is not one of them. This book will benefit anyone who would like to learn more about gender dysphoria and is an absolute must-read for a parent, relative or friend of a gender-questioning or transgender person. What is unique about this deeply personal parenting memoir is that it follows one transgender child from birth through age eighteen. Every step of Evan's son's transition from female to male (FTM) is ...

At 9:32 a.m. on July 16, 1969, time stands still throughout the world, as thousands converge on the Kennedy Space Center and millions tune in on live television. At that instant, the first rumbles began to shake the ground as a small spacecraft attached to a giant Saturn V rocket starts to lift off. Quickly being propelled several thousand miles per hour, it takes just a few minutes to enter orbit. Apollo 11 is on its way to a historic first landing on the Moon.