Books for Young Readers: The 18th Century

Last updated: Oct 15, 2024

I compiled this list for a webpage of suggestions for librarians who wished to feature books on the 18th century in conjunction with events & activities on related themes, including colonial America and the Revolutionary War. These would also be good choices for parents who want to provide their children with interesting books on the 18th century.

This list mixes non-fiction with historical fiction; read the descriptions on Amazon for details. This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

A list of children’s books on life in the Middle Ages and Renaissance is available elsewhere on this site.

Ages 4-8

Heroes of the Revolution by David A. Adler
Revolutionary Prudence Wright: Leading the Minute Women in the Fight for Independence by Beth Anderson
Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution by Laurie Halse Anderson
From a Small Seed: The Story of Eliza Hamilton by Camille Andros
George the Drummer Boy and Sam the Minuteman by Nathaniel Benchley
The History of the American Revolution by Emma Carlson Berne
If You Lived In Williamsburg in Colonial Days by Barbara Brenner
Did It All Start With a Snowball Fight? (Good Question!) by Mary Kay Carson
Revolutionary Friends: General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette by Selene Castrovilla
D is for Drums: A Colonial Williamsburg ABC by Ka Chorao
The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
The Fourth of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh
Let It Begin Here!: Lexington & Concord: First Battles of the American Revolution by Dennis Brindell Fradin
George Washington's Breakfast by Jean Fritz
More books about 18th century historical figures & events by Jean Fritz: Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May?, What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?, Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?, And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?, Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams?, and Shh! We're Writing the Constitution
The Ride: The Legend of Betsy Dowdy by Kitty Griffin
Our Colonial Year by Cheryl Harness
Jack Jouett: Portrait of an American Hero by Martha J. Hutcherson
Colonial Life by Brendan January
A Fine Dessert: Four Centuries, Four Families, One Delicious Treat by Emily Jenkins
Homespun Sarah by Verla Kay
Hornbooks and Inkwells by Verla Kay
Redcoats and Petticoats by Katherine Kirkpatrick
Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the True Story of an American Feud by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain
Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution by Betsy Maestro
Anna Strong: A Spy During the American Revolution by Sarah Glenn Marsh
Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word by Sarah Jane Marsh
Most Wanted: The Revolutionary Partnership of John Hancock & Samuel Adams by Sarah Jane Marsh
Eliza: The Story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Margaret McNamara
The Scarlet Stockings Spy by Trinka Hakes Noble
Dear Benjamin Banneker by Andrea Davis Pinkney
The Boston Coffee Party by Doreen Rappaport
Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France by Mara Rockliff
A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent by Anne Rockwell
They Called Her Molly Pitcher by Anne Rockwell
Leave It to Abigail! The Revolutionary Life of Abigail Dams by Barb Rosenstock
Her Name Was Mary Katharine: The Only Woman Whose Name Is on the Declaration of Independence by Ella Schwartz
John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith
Postcards from Daniel, 1755-1784: Daniel Boone Writes from the Kentucky Wilderness and Postcards from George, 1763-1781: George Rogers Clark Writes to Virginia from the Kentucky Wilderness by Betty Southard Stokes
Katie's Trunk by Ann Turner
Hogsheads to Blockheads: The Kids' Guide to Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area by Barry Varela
The 18 Penny Goose by Sally M. Walker
The Listeners by Gloria Whelan
The Founding Fathers!: Those Horse-Ridin', Fiddle-Playin', Book-Readin', Gun-Totin' Gentlemen Who Started America by Jonah Winter
My Name Is James Madison Hemings by Jonah Winter
Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence by Gretchen Woelfle

Ages 9-12

Sybil Ludington, Revolutionary War Rider by E.F. Abbott
Anna Strong and the Revolutionary War Culper Spy Ring by Enigma Alberti & Laura Terry
Cloaked in Courage: Uncovering Deborah Sampson, Patriot Soldier by Beth Anderson
The Fighting Ground by Avi
Sophia's War: A Tale of the Revolution by Avi
Toliver's Secret by Esther Wood Brady
Boys of Wartime: Daniel at the Siege of Boston, 1776 by Laurie Calkhoven
The Kidnapped Prince by Ann Cameron
Revolutionary Rogues: John André and Benedict Arnold by Selene Castrovilla
Black Heroes of the American Revolution by Burke Davis
Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge: George and Martha Washington’s Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away by Erica Armstrong Dunbar & Kathleen Van Cleve
The Matchlock Gun by Walter D. Edmonds
Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes
The Signers: The 56 Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence by Dennis Brindell Fradin
Lafayette and the American Revolution by Russell Freedman
The Complete Bostock and Harris: The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris and The Night of the Comet by Leon Garfield
Smith: The Story of a Pickpocket by Leon Garfield
Phoebe the Spy by Judith Griffin
The World Turned Upside Down: The Yorktown Victory That Won America’s Independence by Tim Grove
Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski
Forgotten Founders: Black Patriots, Women Soldiers, and Other Thinkers and Heroes Who Shaped Early America by Mifflin Lowe
Yankee Doodle Boy: A Young Soldier's Adventures in the American Revolution by Joseph Plumb Martin
Spies in the American Revolution for Kids: A History Book by Carla Killough McClafferty
The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah Sampson by Ann McGovern
A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy [Joseph Plumb Martin] by Jim Murphy
An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy
DK Eyewitness Books: American Revolution by Stuart Murray
The Keeping Room by Anna Myers
Divided Loyalties: The Barton Family During the American Revolution by National Geographic Learning
The Dreadful, Smelly Colonies: The Disgusting Details About Life in Colonial America by Elizabeth Raum
Guns for General Washington: A Story of the American Revolution by Seymour Reit
Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies by Cokie Roberts
George vs. George: The American Revolution As Seen from Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer
Anson's Way by Gary D. Schmidt
The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery by Steve Sheinkin
Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare
Diary of Anna Green Winslow, a Boston School Girl of 1771 (also available online)
Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak by Kay Winters
Answering the Cry for Freedom: Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution by Gretchen Woelfle
Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates
American Diary books:

Summer MacCleary, Virginia, 1749 by Kathleen Duey
Mary Alice Peale, Philadelphia, 1777 by Kathleen Duey

Dear America books:

Standing in the Light: The Diary of Catharine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763 by Mary Pope Osborne
My Name Is America: The Journal of William Thomas Emerson, A Revolutionary War Patriot, Boston, Massachusetts, 1774 by Barry Denenberg
Hope's Revolutionary War Diary: Five Smooth Stones, We Are Patriots, and When Freedom Comes by Kristiana Gregory
The Winter of Red Snow: The Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 and Cannons at Dawn: The Second Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1779 by Kristiana Gregory

You Wouldn't Want To series: You Wouldn't Want to Be an American Colonist You Wouldn't Want to Be at the Boston Tea Party, etc.

Young Adult

The Seeds of America Trilogy: Chains, Forge, and Ashes by Laurie Halse Anderson
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: The Pox Party and The Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson
1789: Twelve Authors Explore a Year of Rebellion, Revolution, and Change edited by Marc Aronson and Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Christopher Hawkins and His Daring Escapes by Jeanne Brownlee Becijos
My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier
A Stolen Life by Jane Louise Curry
A True Patriot: The Journal of William Thomas Emerson, a Revolutionary War Patriot by Barry Denenberg
Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper
Duel in the Wilderness by Karin Clafford Farley
April Morning by Howard Fast
I Am Regina by Sally M. Keehn
Why Longfellow Lied: The Truth About Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride by Jeff Lantos
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Jockey Hollow: Where a Forgotten Army Persevered to Win America's Freedom by Rosalie Lauerman
1776 by David McCullough
Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen
Colonial Comics: New England, 1620-1750 and Colonial Comics, Volume II: New England, 1750-1775 by Jason Rodriguez
King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution by Steve Sheinkin
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
National Geographic's Voices from Colonial America series