Historical Picture Books
Recommended picture books portraying historical events.

A pioneer father transports his beloved fruit trees and his family to Oregon in the mid-nineteenth century.

A group of women gather to pray for the safe return of their loved one, a pilot away at war.

From the back of the bus, an African American child watches the arrest of Rosa Parks.

Shorty, a young boy living in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II, helps form a baseball league.

A man raised as a slave becomes a member of an all-black cavalry regiment on the western frontier.

This book reveals the adventure and wonders that Lewis and Clark encountered on their western expedition in the early 1800s.

Zoe and her family find strength in each other as they make a new home in the Nebraska territory.

A young boy in a remote village suddenly finds himself serving his country in eighteenth-century Korea.

Kip adopts Paleowolf as a pet after the wolf saves him from being eaten by cave bears.

During World War II in the Netherlands, a boy helps two children escape to Belgium by skating past German soldiers.

The story of Henry "Box" Brown, a slave who achieves freedom in an unusual but effective way.

Tells the story of Hiawatha, who was chosen to bring the message of unity to the five Iroquois nations.

A poignant story celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Mikey’s dad leaves to fight overseas during World War I, and Mikey wants to do something big to help.

May wants to visit her grandmother, but her family can't afford the train ticket.

Young Mae describes one day in 1969 when everyone's attention was focused on three astronauts and their historic moon landing.

In turn-of-the-century New York, Peppe takes a job lighting street lamps to help his poverty-stricken family.


A boy and his father are separated during China's Cultural Revolution, but they stay close by flying kites.

In 1777 Philadelphia, young Maddy Rose leaves secret messages for her soldier brother, using something no one would suspect.