Picture Books about the Middle Ages

For the past two years I have been teaching history to my oldest children, ages 5 and 7, by reading picture books. I have enjoyed using picture books because it’s easy and not at all stressful. With younger siblings along for the ride, there needs to be some simplicity in our day. I wish I had compiled a list of all the books we read, but I wasn’t thinking that far in advance.

I started off with American history. I found book lists online and requested the books from the library. Even though I wasn’t following a curriculum, my kids still learned a lot. We usually read two to three historical picture books a week. It was simple and fun, and not overwhelming. I did maybe one or two art projects, but not much else. I sometimes thought I should do more when teaching history, but I found that combining read alouds and history was effective. I wondered whether something so simple should be allowed. The answer is yes! That’s the great part of homeschooling.

This past year we read picture books about ancient Egypt, Greece, and the Roman Empire. We are currently finishing up the Middle Ages. Some time periods had lots of great books, like Egypt, and others had only a few high-quality books, like the Roman empire. Since my children are still young, I think it’s helpful to think of these early years as an introduction to the past. I don’t care for memorizing dates. What I want them to have is a basic understanding of our country and other ancient civilizations. It’s also nice to just sit down and read to my kids and say that we are doing our history lesson.

 Below are a few of the picture books about the Middle Ages that we have enjoyed.

·      Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson

·      Chanticleer – adapted from Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and illustrated by Barbara Cooney

·      Princess Cora and the Crocodile by Laura Amy Schlitz

·      Knights in Shining Armor by Gail Gibbons

·      Classic Fairy Tales – illustrated by Scott Gustafson

·      The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

·      See Inside Castles by Kate Daynes

·      Michelangelo by Toni Hart

·      The Kitchen Knight by Margaret Hodges

·      What Were Castles For? by Phil Roxbee Cox

·      I Galileo by Bonnie Christensen

·      Brother Hugo and the Bear by Katy Beebe

·      Breaking into Print by Stephen Krensky

Princess Cora and the Crocodile is sure to make you laugh. Michelangelo will make your kids curious. Classic Fairy Tales will surprise and enchant your kids. If you’re someone like me who is busy taking care of a house, keeping children alive, and oh yes, educating the children, then read alouds are a simple way to introduce the past.