Literature based education is my jam. I try to fit in as many books as we can throughout our school year. Forget the text books, I want real, living books! Picture books, novels, you name it. All of our Rabbit Trails through History curriculum is filled with amazing pictures books and is a great fit for both elementary and middle school learners. I always add novels to my middle schooler’s lessons, but that leaves the rest of the families using Rabbit Trails saying, “What novels should my child read along with these lessons?” Never fear, the ultimate list of middle grade history books is here!

I’m going to break these books down by time period to go along with all of our Rabbit Trails through History units. You can easily pop over to a specific time period by using the handy legend below. Each list will have plenty of novels for you to choose from to go with your middle grade learner’s history studies! Wanting some amazing picture books, too? Those are all inside of our Rabbit Trails through History units!

Ancient History Middle Grade Books

The Golden Bull by Majorie Cowley

Tizrah by Lucille Travis

The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus

Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters by Donna Jo Napoli

Roman Diary: The Journal of Iliona, A Young Slave by Richard Platt

The Well of Sacrifice by Chris Eboch

Medieval History Novels

Who was Martin Luther? by Danika Cooley

What was the Gutenberg Bible? by Danika Cooley 

Why did the Reformation Happen? by Danika Cooley

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz

The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

The King’s Fifth by Scott O’Dell

Horrible Histories: The  Measly Middle Ages by Terry Deary

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli

The Canterbury Tales by Geraldine McCaughrean

Shakespeare’s Spy by Gary Blackwood

Leonardo’s Shadow by Christopher Grey

White Stag by Kate Seredy

Books about Inventors throughout History

Ink on His Fingers by Louise A. Vernon

Da Vinci’s Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Ben and Me by Robert Lawson

Out of Darkness by Russell Freedman

Who Was Thomas Alva Edison? by Margaret Frith

Who Was George Washington Carver by Jim Gigliotti

Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science by Jeannine Atkins

The Wright Brothers by Quentin Reynolds

Novels about Early American History/Early Settlers

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich

Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway

Who Was Christopher Columbus by Bonnie Bader

Pirates on the Bay by Steven K. Smith

The Mayflower & The Pilgrims New World by Nathaniel Philbrick 

The Winter People by Joseph Bruchac

America’s Founders- Books about the Revolutionary Time Period

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady

The Winter of Red Snow by Kristina Gregory

Sophia’s War by Avi

Susanna’s Midnight Ride: The Girl Who Won the Revolutionary War by Libby Carte McNamee

Rush Revere and the American Revolution: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans by Rush Limbaugh & Kathryn Adams Limbaugh

I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis

Who Was George Washington by Roberta Edwards (there are books about many of the Founding Fathers in this series!)

Books about the Westward Expansion

The Captain’s Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe by Roland Smith

Jeremy’s War 1812 by John Ibbitson 

Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War by Helen Frost

Dolley Madison and the War of 1812 by Libby Carty McNamee

Thunder Rolling in the Mountains by Scott O’Dell

On This Long Journey, the Journal of Jesse Smoke by Joseph Bruchac

Streams to the River, River to the Sea by Scott O’Dell

Sing Down the Moon by Scott O’Dell

What Was the Alamo? By Pam Pollack

Bound for Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen

Gold Rush Fever, A Story of Klondike 1898 by Barbara Greenwood

Jimmy Spoon & The Pony Express by Kristiana Gregory

The Quilt Walk by Sandra Dallas

The Civil War Middle Grade Novels

Who Were the Abolitionists? by Danika Cooley

What was the Underground Railroad? by Danika Cooley

Why Did Slavery End? by Danika Cooley

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

North by Night by Katherine Ayres

Who Was Harriet Tubman by Yona Zeldis McDonough

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P Figg by Rodman Philbrick

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

Girl in Blue by Ann Rinaldo

The River Between Us by Richard Peck

Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes

More Middle Grade History Books

Wanting more middle grade history books? Don’t worry! We will be adding to this list as we complete more units of Rabbit Trails through History on topics such as immigration, the World Ward, and more!

What books would you add to this list? Let us know in this comments below or in our online homeschool community.