My daughters really enjoyed the Childhood of Famous Americans series. Instead of hearing about the accomplishments of famous people, they learned about their childhoods and some of the circumstances that shaped their lives. Often these books sparked an interest in learning more about what these famous people accomplished as adults.

This series was written for grades 4-6, but younger children would enjoy it as a read-aloud. Find a living book to complement your history studies in this listing by time period.

New World Colonization (16th & 17th Cent)

• John Alden: Young Puritan by Olive Woolley Burt
• Pocahontas: Young Peacemaker by Leslie Gourse
• William Bradford: Pilgrim Boy by Bradford Smith

Colonial Era (1620-1765)

• Benjamin Franklin: Young Printer by Augusta Stevenson
• Daniel Boone: Young Hunter and Tracker by Augusta Stevenson

Revolutionary Era (1765-1800)

• Abigail Adams: Girl of Colonial Days by Jean Brown Wagoner
• Benjamin West: Gifted Young Painter by Dorothea J. Snow
• Betsy Ross: America’s Flagmaker by Ann Weil
• Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots by Dharathula H. Millender
• George Washington: Our First Leader by Augusta Stevenson
• Martha Washington: America’s First Lady by Jean Brown Wagoner
• Molly Pitcher: Young Patriot by Augusta Stevenson
• Paul Revere: Boston Patriot by Augusta Stevenson
• Thomas Jefferson: Third President of the United States by Helen Albee Monsell

Westward Expansion (1801-1860)

• Andrew Jackson by George E. Stanley
• Brigham Young: Covered Wagon Boy by Polly Carver Jordan
• Davy Crockett: Young Rifleman by Aileen Wells Parks
• Francis Scott Key: Maryland Boy by Augusta Stevenson
• Geronimo by George E. Stanley
• John Deere: Blacksmith Boy by Margaret Ann Bare
• Mark Twain: Young Writer by Miriam E. Mason
• Meriwether Lewis: Boy Explorer by Charlotta M. Bebenroth
• Sacagawea: American Pathfinder by Flora Warren Seymour
• Sequoyah: Young Cherokee Guide by Dorothea J. Snow
• Sojourner Truth by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
• Susan B. Anthony: Champion of Women’s Rights by Helen Albee Monsell
• Will Clark: Boy Adventurer by Katharine E. Wilkie
• William Henry Harrison: Young Tippecanoe by Howard S. Peckham
• Zeb Pike: Boy Traveler by Augusta Stevenson

Civil War (1861-1865)

• Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator by Augusta Stevenson
• Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross by Augusta Stevenson
• Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist Hero by George E. Stanley
• Harriet Tubman: Freedom’s Trailblazer by Kathleen Kudlinski
• Jeff Davis: Confederate Boy by Lena DeGrummond
• Mary Todd Lincoln: Girl of the Bluegrass by Katharine E. Wilkie
• Robert E. Lee: Young Confederate by Helen Albee Monsell

Reconstruction, Wild West, and Victorian Era (1865-1900)

• Annie Oakley: Young Markswoman by Ellen Wilson
• Buffalo Bill: Frontier Daredevil by Augusta Stevenson
• Elizabeth Blackwell: Girl Doctor by Joanne Landers Henry
• Harry Houdini: Young Magician by Kathryn Kilby Borland
• John Muir: Young Naturalist by Montrew Dunham
• Laura Ingalls Wilder: Young Pioneer by Beatrice Gormley
• Louisa May Alcott by Beatrice Gormley
• Sitting Bull: Dakota Boy by Augusta Stevenson
• Teddy Roosevelt: Young Rough Rider by Edd Winfield Parks
• William Fargo: Young Mail Carrier by Katharine E. Wilkie

Industrialization & Immigration (1900-1914)

• Edward Bok: Young Editor by Elisabeth P. Myers
• Hellen Keller: From Tragedy to Triumph by Katharine Wilkie
• Harvey S. Firestone: Young Rubber Pioneer by Adrian Paradis
• J.C. Penny: Golden Rule Boy by Wilma J. Hudson
• Jim Thorpe: Olympic Champion by Guernsey Van Riper
• Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier by M.M. Eboch
• Robert Goddard: Pioneer Rocket Boy by Clyde B. Moore
• Thomas A. Edison: Young Inventor by Sue Gutheridge
• Walt Disney: Young Movie Maker by Marie Hammontree
• Wilbur and Orville Wright: Young Flyers by Augusta Stevenson

Between the World Wars (1920-1939)

• Amelia Earhart: Young Aviator by Beatrice Gormley
• Babe Ruth: One of Baseball’s Greatest by Guernsey Van Riper Jr.
• Knute Rockne: Young Athlete by Guernsey Van Riper Jr.
• Lou Gehrig: One of Baseball’s Greatest by Guernsey Van Riper Jr.
• Louis Armstrong: Young Music Maker by Dharathula H. Millender
• Mahalia Jackson: Young Gospel Singer by Montrew Dunham
• Richard Byrd: Boy of the South Pole by Guernsey Van Riper Jr.
• Susan B. Anthony: Champion of Women’s Rights by Helen Albee Monsell

WWII (1940-1945)

• Albert Einstein: Young Thinker by Marie Hammontree
• Douglas MacArthur: Young Protector by Laura Long
• Eleanor Roosevelt: Fighter for Social Justice by Ann Weil
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom by Kathleen Kudlinski
• George S. Patton: War Hero by George E. Stanley
• Joe DiMaggio: Young Sports Hero by Herb Dunn

Modern Era (1946-present)

• Arthur Ashe: Young Tennis Champion by Paul Mantell
• Christopher Reeve: Young Actor by Kathleen Kudlinski
• Coretta Scott King: First Lady of Civil Rights by George E. Stanley
• Dale Earnhardt: Young Race Car Driver by Paul Mantell
• Dr. Seuss: Young Author and Artist by Kathleen Kudlinski
• Dwight D. Eisenhower: Young Military Leader by Wilma J. Hudson
• Harry S. Truman: Missouri Farm Boy by Wilma J. Hudson
• Jackie Robinson: Young Sports Trailblazer by Herb Dunn
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: Friend of the Arts by Beatrice Gormley
• John Fitzgerald Kennedy: America’s Youngest President by Lucy Post Frisbee
• John Glenn: Young Astronaut by Michael Burgan
• Martin Luther King, Jr.: Young Man with a Dream by Dharathula H. Millender
• Mr. Rogers: Young Friend and Neighbor by George E. Stanley
• Neil Armstrong: Young Flyer by Montrew Dunham
• Ray Charles: Young Musician by Susan Sloate
• Roberto Clemente: Young Ball Player by Montrew Dunham
• Thurgood Marshall by Montrew Dunham
• Virgil I. Grissom: Boy Astronaut by Carl L. Chappell
• Walt Disney: Young Movie Maker by Marie Hammontree
• Wilma Rudolph: Olympic Runner by Jo Harper

Find more living history book suggestions as well as the history sequence we follow.