You’ve enrolled in a Veritas Self-Paced History course, the first lesson is ready to go, and now you’re standing in front of the bookshelf (or scrolling the library website) wondering which books belong with which part of the timeline. That’s a wonderful question to be asking. The reading is where history becomes a world your child can step into and remember.
Below you’ll find free printable reading lists for all five Veritas Self-Paced History courses, with every title listed right here on the page so you can plan before you print. We’ve also gathered a few thoughts on choosing a level, keeping the reading manageable, and helping the stories stick.
Jump to a course:
- Old Testament & Ancient Egypt
- New Testament, Greece & Rome
- Middle Ages, Renaissance & Reformation
- Explorers to 1815
- 1815 to Present
How the Reading Lists Work
At Veritas, we’ve always believed children learn history best through story, in chronological order, and from a Christian point of view. The reading lists are where those three ideas meet. The lessons give your child the framework of events, and the books fill that framework with people, places, and adventures.
Each course has two reading lists. Level 1 is written for students in grades 2-3, and Level 2 for students in grades 4-6. Many titles appear on both lists, and Level 2 adds longer novels and more demanding historical fiction for readers who are ready for them.
The books on every list appear in the order they’re read. That order follows the chronology of the course, so a child studying the pharaohs in their lessons is reading about Egypt at the same time, and a child learning about Paul Revere is laughing through Jean Fritz’s take on his famous ride. When the lesson and the story meet, both become more memorable.
The printable PDFs include Veritas product numbers, which makes ordering simple. For two of the courses (Old Testament & Ancient Egypt, and New Testament, Greece & Rome) you can also order every book for a level as a single set.
If you’re wondering how the reading fits into a week that already includes lessons, worksheets, and tests, we’ve written more about using project books and reading alongside Self-Paced courses.
Old Testament & Ancient Egypt Reading List
The first course begins at the very beginning, with Creation, the Fall, and the Flood, then follows the patriarchs into the long and fascinating story of Egypt. The reading list walks the same path. Younger students start with N.D. Wilson’s The Dragon and the Garden and In the Time of Noah, meet Sarah and Abraham, and then arrive at the pyramids.
Egypt is where many children first fall in love with history, and the list leans into that. The Great Pyramid and 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle delight the child who wants to know how things were built and discovered, and Seeker of Knowledge tells how Champollion cracked the hieroglyphs. Eloise Jarvis McGraw’s The Golden Goblet, a mystery set among the craftsmen and tomb robbers of Thebes, is a favorite at both levels. Level 2 readers also enjoy Mara, Daughter of the Nile, G.A. Henty’s The Cat of Bubastes, and Joanne Williamson’s God King, which carries the story forward to Hezekiah’s Jerusalem.
Level 1 (Grades 2-3): 12 books
| # | Book | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Dragon and the Garden | N.D. Wilson |
| 2 | In the Time of Noah | N.D. Wilson |
| 3 | Noah: The Rescue Plan | Carine MacKenzie |
| 4 | Pages of History 1: Secrets of the Ancient | Alexia Detweiler and Bruce Etter |
| 5 | The Great Pyramid | Elizabeth Mann |
| 6 | Sarah & Abraham: The Wonderful Promise | Carine MacKenzie |
| 7 | 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle: Solving a Mystery of Ancient Egypt | Claudia Logan |
| 8 | Seeker of Knowledge | James Rumford |
| 9 | Tirzah | Lucille Travis |
| 10 | Tut’s Mummy: Lost…and Found | Judy Donnelly |
| 11 | The Golden Goblet | Eloise Jarvis McGraw |
| 12 | The Egyptian Cinderella | Shirley Climo |
Level 2 (Grades 4-6): 11 books
| # | Book | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam & His Kin | Ruth Beechick |
| 2 | Pages of History 1: Secrets of the Ancient | Alexia Detweiler and Bruce Etter |
| 3 | The Great Pyramid | Elizabeth Mann |
| 4 | Tales of Ancient Egypt | Roger Lancelyn Green |
| 5 | The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | James Cross Giblin |
| 6 | Mara, Daughter of the Nile | Eloise Jarvis McGraw |
| 7 | Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll | Scott Peters |
| 8 | Tirzah | Lucille Travis |
| 9 | The Golden Goblet | Eloise Jarvis McGraw |
| 10 | The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt | G.A. Henty |
| 11 | God King: A Story in the Days of King Hezekiah | Joanne Williamson |
New Testament, Greece & Rome Reading List
The second course travels from the Trojan War through Greece and Rome to the early church, and its reading list is full of adventure. Rosemary Sutcliff’s Black Ships Before Troy retells the Iliad in prose children can follow, and D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths introduces the stories every child in the ancient world knew by heart.
Caroline Dale Snedeker’s three short novels (A Triumph for Flavius, Theras and His Town, and Lysis Goes to the Play) place children inside everyday life in the ancient world, while Detectives in Togas is pure fun, a mystery solved by a band of Roman schoolboys. As the course reaches the New Testament era, the books turn toward the courage of early Christians in Quintus, Hostage Lands, and Against the World: The Odyssey of Athanasius. Level 2 adds Patricia St. John’s Twice Freed, a moving story built around Onesimus, the runaway slave from Paul’s letter to Philemon.
Level 1 (Grades 2-3): 13 books
| # | Book | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War | Emily Little |
| 2 | Black Ships Before Troy | Rosemary Sutcliff |
| 3 | D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths | Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire |
| 4 | A Triumph for Flavius | Caroline Dale Snedeker |
| 5 | Detectives in Togas | Henry Winterfeld |
| 6 | Theras and His Town | Caroline Dale Snedeker |
| 7 | Lysis Goes to the Play | Caroline Dale Snedeker |
| 8 | Cleopatra | Diane Stanley |
| 9 | Little Miriam of Galilee | Edith Martin |
| 10 | Quintus: A Story About the Persecution of Christians | R. Weerstand |
| 11 | Pompeii…Buried Alive | Edith Kunhardt |
| 12 | Hostage Lands | Douglas Bond |
| 13 | Against the World: The Odyssey of Athanasius | Henry W. Coray |
Level 2 (Grades 4-6): 12 books
| # | Book | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Ships Before Troy | Rosemary Sutcliff |
| 2 | Twice Freed | Patricia St. John |
| 3 | D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths | Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire |
| 4 | A Triumph for Flavius | Caroline Dale Snedeker |
| 5 | Hittite Warrior | Joanne Williamson |
| 6 | Detectives in Togas | Henry Winterfeld |
| 7 | Theras and His Town | Caroline Dale Snedeker |
| 8 | Lysis Goes to the Play | Caroline Dale Snedeker |
| 9 | A Sparrow Alone | Alicia Peterson |
| 10 | Quintus: A Story About the Persecution of Christians | R. Weerstand |
| 11 | Hostage Lands | Douglas Bond |
| 12 | Against the World: The Odyssey of Athanasius | Henry W. Coray |
Middle Ages, Renaissance & Reformation Reading List
The third course spans more than a thousand years, from Augustine to the Reformation. Level 1 readers begin with Margaret Hodges’ St. George and the Dragon and Chaucer’s Chanticleer and the Fox, spend time in castles and great halls with The Door in the Wall and A Medieval Feast, and then meet the people who shaped the age: Joan of Arc, Leonardo, Gutenberg, Michelangelo, and Martin Luther.
Level 2 is the longest list of the five, and one of the richest. Students read Beowulf, King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, and The Adventures of Robin Hood alongside historical fiction like The King’s Shadow and Son of Charlemagne. Louise A. Vernon’s Reformation novels (The Beggars’ Bible, Ink on His Fingers, and Thunderstorm in the Church) bring Wycliffe, Gutenberg, and Luther close to home. There’s even a modern favorite, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, whose mystery centers on a Renaissance statue, before the list closes with Macbeth, The Shakespeare Stealer, and a biography of John Calvin.
Level 1 (Grades 2-3): 10 books
| # | Book | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. George and the Dragon | Margaret Hodges |
| 2 | Chanticleer and the Fox | Geoffrey Chaucer (adapted by Barbara Cooney) |
| 3 | Minstrel in the Tower | Gloria Skurzynski |
| 4 | The Door in the Wall | Marguerite de Angeli |
| 5 | A Medieval Feast | Aliki |
| 6 | Joan of Arc | Diane Stanley |
| 7 | Leonardo’s Horse | Jean Fritz |
| 8 | Fine Print: A Story About Johann Gutenberg | Joann Johansen Burch |
| 9 | Michelangelo | Mike Venezia |
| 10 | Martin Luther | Paul L. Maier |
Level 2 (Grades 4-6): 17 books
| # | Book | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Augustine | P. De Zeeuw |
| 2 | Beowulf | Translated by Frederick Rebsamen |
| 3 | The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow | Allen French |
| 4 | Son of Charlemagne | Barbara Willard |
| 5 | The Door in the Wall | Marguerite de Angeli |
| 6 | The King’s Shadow | Elizabeth Alder |
| 7 | King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table | Roger Lancelyn Green |
| 8 | Big John’s Secret | Eleanore M. Jewett |
| 9 | The Adventures of Robin Hood | Roger Lancelyn Green |
| 10 | Joan of Arc: Heavenly Warrior | Diane Stanley |
| 11 | The Beggars’ Bible | Louise A. Vernon |
| 12 | Ink on His Fingers | Louise A. Vernon |
| 13 | From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler | E.L. Konigsburg |
| 14 | Thunderstorm in the Church | Louise A. Vernon |
| 15 | Macbeth | William Shakespeare |
| 16 | The Shakespeare Stealer | Gary Blackwood |
| 17 | This Was John Calvin | Thea B. Van Halsema |
Explorers to 1815 Reading List
The fourth course follows the story of America from Columbus to the War of 1812. Both levels open with Columbus’s own account, First Voyage to America, which gives children the experience of reading history in the words of someone who was there.
Level 1 is full of picture books and short chapter books that make the founding era feel personal. Kate Waters’ Sarah Morton’s Day and Samuel Eaton’s Day show daily life in Plymouth, and Jean Fritz’s biographies of Paul Revere, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, and James Madison are funny, warm, and packed with the small details children remember. Ben and Me tells Benjamin Franklin’s story through the eyes of his mouse.
Level 2 readers take on longer novels, including Johnny Tremain, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and Douglas Wilson’s Blackthorn Winter and Susan Creek. Yankee Doodle Boy is a real soldier’s memoir of the Revolution, and a wonderful first taste of reading primary sources.
Level 1 (Grades 2-3): 20 books
| # | Book | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Voyage to America | Christopher Columbus |
| 2 | William Bradford: Pilgrim Boy | Bradford Smith |
| 3 | Three Ships Come Sailing | Gilchrist Waring |
| 4 | Samuel Eaton’s Day | Kate Waters |
| 5 | Sarah Morton’s Day | Kate Waters |
| 6 | The Courage of Sarah Noble | Alice Dalgliesh |
| 7 | The Boston Tea Party | Russell Freedman |
| 8 | The Matchlock Gun | Walter D. Edmonds |
| 9 | Sam the Minuteman | Nathaniel Benchley |
| 10 | And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? | Jean Fritz |
| 11 | Why Don’t You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? | Jean Fritz |
| 12 | Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? | Jean Fritz |
| 13 | George the Drummer Boy | Nathaniel Benchley |
| 14 | George Washington and the General’s Dog | Frank Murphy |
| 15 | George Washington | Demi |
| 16 | The 18 Penny Goose | Sally M. Walker |
| 17 | Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution | Jean Fritz |
| 18 | Ben and Me | Robert Lawson |
| 19 | Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President | Shirley Raye Redmond |
| 20 | The Great Little Madison | Jean Fritz |
Level 2 (Grades 4-6): 11 books
| # | Book | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Voyage to America | Christopher Columbus |
| 2 | Voyage to Freedom | David Gay |
| 3 | Blackthorn Winter | Douglas Wilson |
| 4 | The Witch of Blackbird Pond | Elizabeth George Speare |
| 5 | Susan Creek | Douglas Wilson |
| 6 | Duel in the Wilderness | Karin Clafford Farley |
| 7 | Johnny Tremain | Esther Forbes |
| 8 | Yankee Doodle Boy | Joseph Plumb Martin |
| 9 | Alone Yet Not Alone | Tracy Leininger Craven |
| 10 | Seaman: The Dog Who Explored the West | Gail Langer Karwoski |
| 11 | Once on This Island | Gloria Whelan |
1815 to Present Reading List
The final course covers remarkable ground: the Trail of Tears, the Alamo, the Oregon Trail, the Civil War, immigration, the Wright brothers, two world wars, the Berlin Airlift, and the moon landing.
For Level 1, the If You… books and Jean Fritz’s Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln make big events approachable for young readers. Twenty and Ten, about French schoolchildren who hide Jewish refugees during World War II, is a quiet story of courage that stays with children for years. Level 2 readers meet Sergeant York, read MacKinlay Kantor’s Gettysburg and G.A. Henty’s With Lee in Virginia, and finish with Corrie ten Boom’s The Hiding Place and Scott O’Grady’s survival story, Basher Five-Two.
Because this course touches on war and suffering more directly than the earlier ones, it can help to preview a few titles yourself, especially The Hiding Place. You’ll be ready for the good, honest conversations these books tend to start.
Level 1 (Grades 2-3): 19 books
| # | Book | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad | Ellen Levine |
| 2 | Trail of Tears | Joseph Bruchac |
| 3 | The Boy in the Alamo | Margaret Cousins |
| 4 | Pioneer Cat | William H. Hooks |
| 5 | Next Spring an Oriole | Gloria Whelan |
| 6 | If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon | Ellen Levine |
| 7 | Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln | Jean Fritz |
| 8 | If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War | Kay Moore |
| 9 | The Drinking Gourd | F.N. Monjo |
| 10 | Eat My Dust! Henry Ford’s First Race | Monica Kulling |
| 11 | Sitting Bull | |
| 12 | Hannah | Gloria Whelan |
| 13 | Bud & Me | Alta Abernathy |
| 14 | The Long Way to a New Land | Joan Sandin |
| 15 | First Flight: The Story of the Wright Brothers | Leslie Garrett |
| 16 | Dust for Dinner | Ann Warren Turner |
| 17 | Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot | Margot Theis Raven |
| 18 | Twenty and Ten | Claire Huchet Bishop |
| 19 | Moonwalk: The First Trip to the Moon | Judy Donnelly |
Level 2 (Grades 4-6): 16 books
| # | Book | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears | Cornelia Cornelissen |
| 2 | The Boy in the Alamo | Margaret Cousins |
| 3 | Children of the Covered Wagon | Mary Jane Carr |
| 4 | Bound for Oregon | Jean Van Leeuwen |
| 5 | With Lee in Virginia | G.A. Henty |
| 6 | Gettysburg | MacKinlay Kantor |
| 7 | Iron Scouts of the Confederacy | Lee McGiffin |
| 8 | Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time | James Cloyd Bowman |
| 9 | Carry a Big Stick | George Grant |
| 10 | Journey to America | Sonia Levitin |
| 11 | The Wright Brothers | Quentin Reynolds |
| 12 | Sergeant York and the Great War | Tom Skeyhill |
| 13 | Hitch | Jeanette Ingold |
| 14 | The Hiding Place | Corrie ten Boom |
| 15 | It Began with a Parachute | William R. Rang |
| 16 | Basher Five-Two | Scott O’Grady |
Choosing a Level (and What to Do When the List Feels Long)
If you counted the titles on your list and felt your heart sink a little, that’s an understandable reaction. Some of these lists run close to twenty books, and you’re managing a whole household alongside them. A few things may help.
Think of the list as a menu. It offers the full selection, and you choose what fits your children and your year. Many families read most of the books, and many read a handful of favorites. Your child will still gain a great deal from the course if some titles stay on the shelf. (If you’d like to tailor the course itself, too, here are two ways to skip content in Self-Paced courses.)
Read-alouds count. A Level 2 novel read aloud to a second grader is time well spent, and so is a Level 1 picture book enjoyed by an older sibling. Children’s listening comprehension runs well ahead of their reading level for years (Jim Trelease makes this case beautifully in The Read-Aloud Handbook).
Siblings can share. If a third grader and a fifth grader are working through the same course, the overlapping titles make great family read-alouds, and the older child can add the Level 2 novels on their own.
Choose by the reader, then adjust. Grade bands are a starting point. A strong second-grade reader may be ready for a few Level 2 books, and a fifth grader who is still building confidence can enjoy Level 1 with no loss at all. You know your child best.
Use the library. Most of these books are widely available, and borrowing is a perfectly good way to work through a list.
Helping the Stories Stick
Children in these grades are wonderfully suited to stories. Dorothy Sayers described these as the years when children memorize easily and enjoy doing it (The Lost Tools of Learning, 1947), and classical education has long made good use of that season. The books on these lists give the events of each lesson a face, a voice, and a setting.
A few simple habits go a long way:
- Ask for a retelling. Have your child tell you what happened in the chapter. Putting a story into their own words is one of the best ways to remember it.
- Point out connections. When a character meets a pharaoh or sails with Columbus, pause and ask what your child remembers from the lesson.
- Give the stories a place to land. A timeline on the wall or a simple map nearby helps children see where each book fits.
- Welcome rereading. Returning to a favorite book is how a story becomes part of a child.
If you’d like more ideas for talking about books together, Sarah Mackenzie’s The Read-Aloud Family is a warm and encouraging place to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the books required for Veritas Self-Paced History?
The books are suggested companions to the course. The lessons stand on their own, and the reading deepens and enriches what your child learns. Read as many as fit your family’s year.
Where can I buy the books?
Veritas Press carries the titles on these lists, and the product numbers on each printable PDF make ordering simple. Complete Level 1 and Level 2 sets are available for Old Testament & Ancient Egypt and for New Testament, Greece & Rome. Many titles are also easy to find at your local library.
Do we need to read the books in order?
Following the order keeps the reading in step with the lessons, which helps the connections land. If a book isn’t available yet, it’s fine to read ahead and circle back.
Can older students use these lists?
Absolutely. Level 2 is written for grades 4-6, but books like The Golden Goblet, Johnny Tremain, and The Hiding Place are worth reading at any age, and older students new to a period will enjoy them too.
Happy Reading
However many books your family reads this year, we hope these lists mean more time on the couch with a good story and less time wondering what comes next. Print the list for your course, tuck it inside your planner, and enjoy traveling through history together.
New to the courses? Explore Veritas Self-Paced History to see how the lessons and the reading work together.