Children’s Books: Middle Ages

My 4th grader is studying the Middle Ages this year, so I am currently working out her schedule and all the books we’ll use.  I decided it would be helpful to have a list of all the Middle Ages books I have at home…which naturally led to a blog post!  I hope this helps anyone else who is planning a Middle Ages unit, and feel free to comment with any of your favorites that I left out or to ask any questions about specific books I’ve listed.  Note:  These books reflect the time period between the fall of Rome and the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Informational books

Beginning History: Medieval Markets (Barry Steel)

Days of the Knights: A Tale of Castles and Battles (Christopher Maynard)—a DK Eyewitness Reader, level 4

History in Evidence: Norman Britain (Tony D. Triggs)

Joan of Arc (Angela Bull)—A DK reader, level 4

Knights in Shining Armor (Gail Gibbons)—Gibbons is one of my favorite authors of children’s nonfiction picture books.

Making History: Vikings and Their Travels (David Salariya)

Medieval Knights (David Nicolle)

Medieval Life (Andrew Langley)—This is a Dorling Kindersely Eyewitness Guides book with lots of colorful photographs.

See Inside: A Castle (R.J. Unstead, ed.)—This book about castles allows us to see inside the different parts.

Stephen Biesty’s Cross-Sections: Castle (Stephen Beisty)

The Pastons in Medieval Britain (Martyn Whittock, ed.)—This book is a collection of real letters, written during the Middle Ages.

Usborne Beginners: Castles (Stephanie Turnbull)

Usborne Beginners: Elizabeth I (Stephanie Turnbull)

What Were Castles For? (Phil Roxbee Cox)—An Usborne Starting Point History book with internet links

William Shakespeare & the Globe (Aliki)—great illustrations and information about Shakespeare

Picture books

A Medieval Feast (Aliki)—I love Aliki’s illustrations!  This is a very colorful book.

A Where’s Waldo? Fun Fact Book: Fighting Knights (R. Wright)—This one does contain a wizard, but he’s very low-key.  Along with a fun poster, Fighting Knights has lots of fun information.

Castle (David Macaulay)—This Caldecott Honor book is very much like a nonfiction book about a castle being built step-by-step in 13th-century Wales.  It is based on a true king (Edward I) and his real castles, but this particular castle and its town are actually fictional.  The sketches are very detailed.  I would love to get Cathedral by the same author.

In the Time of Knights (Shelley Tanaka)—A real-life story of a medieval knight, beautifully illustrated

Leif the Lucky (Ingri & Edgar Parin D’Aulaire)—This Viking-era story tells the story of Erik the Red’s son who grew up in Greenland and eventually sailed to America.

Leonardo da Vinci (Ibi Lepscky)—This book focuses on da Vinci’s childhood.

Medieval Castle (Andrew Langley)—A Reader’s Digest Time Tours book with see-through windows.

Robin Hood: The Tale of the Great Outlaw Hero (Angela Bull)—a DK Classic Reader, level 4.

The Medieval Messenger (Fergus Fleming)—Medieval history and life is shown in newspaper style!

Chapter books

Adam of the Road (Elizabeth Janet Gray)—This Newbery Award-winning story is about the adventures of a minstrel’s son in late 13th-century England.

In Freedom’s Cause (G.A. Henty)—The story of William Wallace and Robert Bruce

In the Days of Alfred the Great (Eva March Tappan)—I bought this book on Kindle.  Although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I would recommend it only to older children due to some violent details contained in the story (related to Vikings mostly).

Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest (Ann McGovern)--Legend comes to life in medieval England

The Apple and the Arrow: The Legend of William Tell (Mary and Conrad Buff)—This book won a Newbery honor award.  The story of this legend takes place in late 13th-century Switzerland.

The Door in the Wall (Marguerite de Angeli)—One of my top 10 favorite children’s chapter books, The Door in the Wall is another Newbery Award winner.  This inspiring story is about a young boy who loses the use of his legs through illness but rises above his handicap to find his destiny in 14th-century England.

The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day (Scott O’Dell)—This story is based on Protestant reformer William Tyndale and his work in translating the Bible into English.

The Invisible Friend (Lois Walfrid Johnson)—This is book 3 of the Viking Quest series.  I would love to have the entire set!  This Christian story involves an Irish girl who has been kidnapped by Vikings and taken to Norway to be a slave.

The Sword in the Tree (Clyde Robert Bulla)—This story takes place during the days of King Arthur!  It is definitely a medieval story, even if the king is a legendary figure, who may or may not have been a real person.

The Trumpeter of Krakow—This Newbery Award book takes place in 15th-century Poland.  The young son of Krakow’s trumpeter must show his courage against evil.

The Whipping Boy (Sid Fleishman)—This Newbery Award book is a humorous tale, set somewhere and sometime in the middle ages.  Read this one for fun!

The Wool-Pack (Cynthia Harnett)—I just discovered this historical novel, and it is now one of my favorites!  It won a Carnegie Medal here in Britain.  The story, involving both adventure and mystery, takes place in 15th-century England and is related to the wool trade.  Note:  US editions of this book have 2 different titles (Nicholas and the Wool-Pack and The Merchant’s Mark).

Wulf the Saxon (G.A. Henty)—This story (which I haven’t actually read yet) takes place during the Norman invasion of Anglo-Saxon England.  This book is free online at www.gutenberg.org, as are most G.A. Henty books.

I have read Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife’s Apprentice (both by Karen Cushman), which won the Newbery Honor and Newbery Medal, respectively.  They are well-written stories about life in the Middle Ages.  I’d recommend checking them out of the library and see what you think.  I am rather picky about what books my children read, and these didn’t set well with me for various reasons.  Everyone has different opinions about books…

Here are links to a few lists of children’s historical novels that are set in medieval Europe:

Historical Fiction for Children and Young Adults—Follow links to Europe-Middle Ages and others in this time period.  This is a great resource, though you may want to pre-read books before giving them to your children.

Amazon book list—This list includes both historical novels and picture books that are related to the Middle Ages.

Do you have favorite children’s books on the Middle Ages or good historical novels that I didn’t list?  Please share them in comment section!

Lapbook: The Door in the Wall

This was our historical fiction selection.  We spent 4 weeks on this unit.  I read aloud to Isaac, and he worked on the lapbook daily.

Isaac designed and made the cover. 

On the back, he copied and decorated a Bible verse which was at the beginning of the book.

Several of the minit books were made using blank lapbook templates from Homeschool Share.  I got “The Life of a Knight” minit book from a unit on knights at Homeschool Share and the two castle booklets from a unit on knights and castles from Homeschool Share (click on Chapter 3 Minit Books).

Medieval History Update

I haven't posted on Isaac's history studies since school started in September (see that post here). Here's a look at a few of the projects and activities he's done so far:

We do a timeline entry each week...this is one of the pages he's done:


I get the timeline forms at Simply Charlotte Mason. It's a free download!

Justinian and Theodora paper dolls (Byzantine Empire) from Story of the World Middle Ages Activity Book:


Activity sheet from Story of the World: Middle Ages Activity Book--illumination (he even used a gold pen for highlights--he loved that!):




Coloring some Celtic cards (scenes and also designs) I picked up at a museum shop here in England:


Eating rice with chopsticks...well, they weren't real chopsticks (they came with a kids' meal at a fast-food restaurant), but they worked alright.


Kai-awase (Shell memory game played in medieval Japan):


I put Japanese pictures on the back of the shell shapes:


Haiku: Isaac wrote his own and decorated it.


Charlemagne stick puppets (Story of the World: Middle Ages Activity Book):




Viking boat (template from Story of the World Middle Ages Activity Book):

I still need to fit in that trip to the Jorvik Viking Centre in York!

Working on his Vikings Sticker Activity Book (He loves it when I put one of these in his workbox!):




Coat of Arms--the shield template came from Story of the World Middle Ages Activity Book. Isaac designed his own coat of arms for the shield.




Press-out 3D Model of a Knight's Castle:






Thought I would end with a picture of Isaac looking at a typical medieval feast display...he thought the tongue looked gross (so did I, in fact). This photo was taken when we went to Little Moreton Hall on a field trip--it's a Tudor-era house and had a special display at Christmas on medieval meals.

Medieval History, week 1

Isaac began his medieval history studies this week with the Fall of Rome. His project for the week was to make a Roman standard. It turned out very well, except that it's shorter than it's supposed to be. We didn't have any spare wrapping paper tubes!

Medieval History Curriculum

This year we're using The Story of the World: Middle Ages by Susan Wise Bauer. Last year we used the first book in the series, The Story of the World: Ancient Times. Instead of getting the book to read to Isaac this coming year, I decided to get him the audio CDs of the book. This way, he can do his own history lesson while I work with Moriah. I also purchased the activity book that goes with it. The activity books are great because they have wonderful coloring sheets and maps, which you can photocopy for your own children. Also they have reading lists and wonderful activity ideas that bring history to life! Isaac does the coloring sheets and map activities and places them in his history notebook. He also does a timeline. Isaac loves to draw, so I let him draw a picture or symbol for each time block. For 3rd grade, I'll be giving Isaac independent reading assignments in books that go along with our history lessons.

We will be reading Door in the Wall as part of our storytime this year, and I plan to have Isaac do a lapbook on it. Along with the books pictured above, Isaac will also be reading Castles, What Were Castles For?, Once a Mouse, Lon Po Po, Baboushka and the Three Kings, Explor-a-Maze, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, and William Shakespeare and the Globe. If you've never watched Animated Hero Classics, they are wonderful! I look for them on Ebay and have several already. This year Isaac will be watching the DVDs on Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci, Joan of Arc, Marco Polo, and Christopher Columbus. In Science this year Isaac is studying Earth and Space. Around the time we study the Renaissance, Isaac will read a biography on Galileo as part of his science study. I'm planning to look in charity shops for books of Renaissance art. I particularly want to study da Vinci as part of Isaac's history. I also have a few field trips in mind. It REALLY helps that we live in England!!! We normally go somewhere every Saturday and have already visited loads of castles, but I have in mind 2 particular "big" trips for this year. We are planning to visit Warwick Castle (which is supposed to be the best medieval experience at a castle and also costs a lot--we're going to save our money!) and also the Jorvik Viking Centre in York. We visited it when Isaac was 3 1/2, but it would be so much more to him when he studies Vikings!