It’s booklist time here at Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood! This summer, we’ll be compiling and sharing a series of world history book lists, the first of which is the popular Who Was… What Was… and Where Was… books. Written for early independent readers or as read-alouds for families with young children, these books include a biographical (or landmark) story along with factual insets that highlight events and people relating to the person’s life.
Please note that – even though we have read many of the books in this series – we have not read or previewed all of the books listed below. Also, while we do not wholly endorse all the books in this series, it’s a good series overall. A couple of our favorites have been Who Was Queen Victoria? (Age of Imperialism) and Who Was Gandhi? Some books (such as Who Was Thomas Jefferson? and Who Was Marie Curie?) include what we feel is inappropriate content, and we’ve come across a few others with poor grammar – usually in the form of sentence fragments. Nevertheless, most of the books in this series provide a good avenue for young children to learn about historical events, people, and places – and several are very well-written.
The following links will take you to the Amazon listing for further details. If you make a purchase through these affiliate links, Amazon provides a commission to us at no extra cost to you. We are grateful any time you use our affiliate links, as it supports our continued efforts (i.e., booklist updates and other resources) here at Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood! Thank you!
The Who Was… World History & Geography Book List
Ancient Egypt
Who Was King Tut?
Where Are the Great Pyramids?
What Are the Ten Commandments?
Ancient Greece
Who Was Alexander the Great?
What Are the Summer Olympics?
Where Is the Parthenon?
Ancient Rome
Who Was Julius Caesar?
Where Is the Colosseum?
Who Was Jesus?
What Was Pompeii?
China & Mongolia
Where Is the Great Wall?
Who Was Genghis Khan?
Who Was Marco Polo?
India & Tibet
Where Is the Taj Mahal?
Who Was Queen Victoria? (Imperialism)
Who Was Gandhi?
Who was Mother Teresa?
Who Is the Dalai Lama? (Buddhism; Tibet)
Where Is Mount Everest?
Australia and Pacific Islands
Where Is the Great Barrier Reef?
Where Are the Galapagos Islands?
Where Is Easter Island?
Central America & Caribbean
What Is The Panama Canal?
Where Is the Bermuda Triangle?
Who Was Blackbeard?
South America
Where Is the Amazon?
Where Is Machu Picchu?
European Landmarks
Where Is Stonehenge?
Where Is the Eiffel Tower?
Where Is the Tower of London?
The Middle Ages
Who Was Joan of Arc?
Who Was Marco Polo?
World Explorers
Who Was Leif Erikson?
Who Was Marco Polo?
Who Was Christopher Columbus?
Who Was Ferdinand Magellan?
Who Was Ernest Shackleton?
Renaissance
Who Was Leonardo Da Vinci?
Who Was William Shakespeare?
Who Was Galileo?
Absolute Monarchs
Who Was Henry VIII?
Who Was Queen Elizabeth?
Where Is the Tower of London?
Russia
Where is the Kremlin?
French Revolution
Who Was Marie Antoinette?
Who Was Napoleon?
World Wars
Who Was Franklin Roosevelt?
What Was Pearl Harbor?*
What Was D-Day?
Who Was Albert Einstein?
Who Was Winston Churchill?
What Was the Holocaust?
Who Was Anne Frank?
Who Was Dr. Seuss?
What Was the Holocaust?
Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen?
Vietnam War
What Was the Vietnam War?
Communism
What Was the Berlin Wall?
Apartheid in South Africa
Who Was Nelson Mandela?
Famous Authors*
Who Was Charles Dickens? (England)
Who Were the Brothers Grimm? (Germany)
Who Was Beatrix Potter? (England)
Who Was J. R. R. Tolkien? (England)
Who Was Jules Verne? (France)
Who Was Jane Austen? (England)
Who Was Lewis Carroll? (England)
Scientists & Inventors*
Who Was Louis Braille?
Who Was Isaac Newton?
Famous Artists & Composers
Who Was Claude Monet? (France)
Who Was Frida Kahlo? (Mexico)
Who Was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? (Austria)
Other Famous People & Events*
Who Is Wayne Gretzky? (Canada)
Who Was Jacques Cousteau? (France)
Who Is Richard Branson? (England)
Who Was Princess Diana? (Europe)
Who Is Jane Goodall? (Africa)
Who Was Steve Irwin? (Australia)
Who Is Pele? (South America)
Who Is Malala Yousafzai? (Pakistan)
Who Was… Activity Books & Resources
The Who Was History of the World
The Who Was? Activity Book
Who Is (Your Name Here)?: The Story of My Life
Knock! Knock! Who Was There?
Who Was? Mad Libs
*This book list refers primarily to world history outside of America. Because there are so many Who Was… books related to U.S. History, we separated those into a separate booklist. Refer to our American History Who Was… Book List for additional titles organized by topic.
Also be sure to check out Lesson Plans and other resources available on the Who Was HQ website!
Do you have a favorite Who Was... book that you’d recommend? If so, be sure to hop down and let us know in the comments!
If you use Classical Conversations, a printable Cycle 1 Who Was Booklist is included in the appendix of our CC Cycle 1 Planner with Planning Resources packet.
Related Posts:
American History Book List: Who Was… What Was… Where Was…
World History Magic Tree House & Imagination Station Book List
World History & Science Leveled Readers
Favorite Picture Books
Favorite Read Alouds