Favorite Medieval History Books for Elementary-Aged Students

Our family LOVES studying history, and we study history on a four-year rotational cycle: Ancients, Medieval, Renaissance/Modernity, and American History. We just wrapped up our second cycle of teaching Ancient History, and we're excited to dive into our second cycle of Medieval History. Here I am sharing some of our favorite chapter books for elementary-aged students. I used several of these books 4 years ago, the last time we studied Medieval History. Some of these I read to my children as a read-aloud, and others I assigned to my older children at the time. This year I'll pick a few of these to read-aloud to my 1st, 4th, and 6th grade students, and some of these I'll assign as independent reads for my 4th and 6th graders. 

Each of these books helps bring history to life through narrative stories, wonderful characters, and classic tales of the Medieval world. I truly believe children will come to love history through quality literature that tells stories and brings students into adventure so much more than any text book, worksheet or quiz can accomplish! 

• The Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway 

• Castle Diaries: The journal of Tobias Burgess

• The Minstrel in the Tower by Gloria Skurzynski 

• Knights of the Round Table -  Adapted by Gwen Gross, (Bullseye Step into Classics)

• The Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

• The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla 

• The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne 
• Sir Gawain and the Green Night by Michael Morpurgo
• Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo