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Celtic History Books
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Our Top Ten Best Selling History Books for Children
The book section of our site gives you access to a select range of Amazon UK's history books. We've done the work which will save you time. There are reviews of our most popular chidren's history books but you can also navigate to a purchase history books for all age groups. See a ranked list of our Top Ten Best Selling History Books with links to book reviews. Latest History book reviews for children.
Latest History Book Reviews for Children:
Scroll down to read our latest book reviews. There are also history book reviews on the linked pages above.
Cuda of the Celts (Yellow Go Bananas)
By Susan Ashe
From the title and look of this book I was half expecting it to be historically inaccurate. However, as it sells quite well on this site I thought that I had better try it out. I was surprised that the story was well worked to include lots of information about the interaction of the Celts and the Romans in Britain; the initial conflict and later assimilation of their cultures.
This fictional story centres on a Celtic girl called Cuda and her interaction with a Roman boy called Marcus. It is the time of Boudicca's Revolt and Cuda's tribe sack Camulodunum. Marcus' family are killed when the town is sacked. The way that this is dealt with in the book is interesting. Cuda asks her father whether children were killed by the Celts and her father says that he would never kill a child. But then we learn from Marcus that his sister and mother are both killed by the Celts and it is obvious that they will kill Marcus too, if they catch him.
It has a Hollywood ending and Cuda ends up living in luxury with the Romans. Again, this makes for an interesting discussion.
The short fact and activity sections at the back of the book are of limited value.
History book review: 28/07/08
The Captive Celt (Roman Tales)
by Terrry Deary
The story of the British resistance leader Caratacus is one of the most interesting stories relating to ancient Britain and the Romans. It is good to see Caratacus getting some exposure as he has been a bit neglected in recent times as one of the great British heroes. The central plot of this historically based story is the interaction of a fictitious Celtic boy called Deri and the historical figure, Caratacus. The story is well constructed by Terry Deary but the most engaging and exiting parts of the story are when it is closest to the events described by Tacitus who was the historian who recorded this story for posterity.
There are shades of Horrible Histories when the druids deeds are described with some gruesome detail but the humour is kept well under control and does not distract from the story. Yes, there are funny elements in this book but the overriding focus of the book is telling an engaging and exiting story. The chapters are short and the book is aimed at children building reading confidence.
History book review: 22/04/08
Boudica (Brilliant Brits)
by Richard Brassey
This is the most engaging book on Boudica for children studying at Key Stage 2. The painted cartoon style drawings are witty and they paint a vivid story which will stay with the reader. The look of terror on Boudica's face as her army is routed is one example. Whilst there is artistic licence in the illustrations the text accurately informs the children about what is currently understood about Boudica and the rebellion against Rome. It also explores some popular misconceptions about Boudica including the mispelling of her name as Boadicea. This is attributed to the writing style of a medieval monk and it was thereafter mistranscribed. The focus of the book is the telling of the story of the revolt through the cartoon illustrations and the text which is succinct but engaging. My five year old son liked the simple map of Britain at the time of the revolt. The illustration of Boudica based on Dio's description of her is also very useful. If you want a history book or just a story book to engage children (6-8 years) then I recommend this one.
History book review by Nigel Cross 25/02/08
The Romans Activity Book (British Museum Activity Books)
By John Reeve, Patricia Vanags
This is our second best seller of Roman books for children. The book is made up of black and white activity sheets which could be photocopied.
Activities include: labelling modern country names against some Latin place names, matching deeds done by the Roman Emperors against the correct man and locating famous Roman places on a map of Roman Britain. Other activities include buying items from a Roman market using Roman coinage and drawing the centre of a mosaic.
Perhaps one of the best activities is the idea of making a sequence of Roman writing tablets from cardboard and writing a letter like those found at Vindolanda (a fort located at Hadrian's wall).
History book review by Nigel Cross 27/01/08
Ancient Rome (Eyewitness Guide) by Simon James
Dorling Kindersley the publishers of this book produce extremely good educational books. Simon James is a well known author of Roman books and this book is full of accurate and well researched material. The book is illustrated almost entirely of stunning photographs which present real information rather than an artistic impression of life. This book contains 72 pages so unlike some children's books this is quite a substantial volume with a wide variety of topics. This book is more about Roman Life rather than ‘Ancient Rome' as titled. Each topic covers two pages and the text is relatively short and it is therefore quite suitable for older primary school children who want a more in-depth understanding of the Romans. The photographs, which are delightful, dominate each page and are accompanied by detailed notes. There is a glossary in the back of the book to help with unfamiliar terms and there is also a timeline of the Roman Emperors and information about where to find out more information.
History book review: 27/01/08
Who Were the Romans? by Phil Roxbee Cox
This book contains some fascinating information and simple illustrations for children. Each topic covers 2 – 4 pages and is composed of a series of questions which are answered in a paragraph or two each. The topics mainly cover every day living including: What did they look like? What were their houses like? Where did they go shopping? etc It has a more expansive section on Roman Gods and that includes a nice myth about the Gods and how we come to have the different seasons. There is also a short section on the Roman Army.The best way to illustrate the style of the book is to give you an example of the content. Q. ‘Were there ever traffic jams?’ A. ‘Believe it or not the answer is yes. In the city of Rome itself, there were hundreds of stores and houses needing goods. These had to be delivered in carts, and the roads often became blocked. Later, to stop this, horse-drawn carts and chariots were not allowed into the city during the day.’
The book is best suited for ages 6-8 years. This is one of our best selling books about the Romans.
History book review: 26/01/08
Celts (Usborne Beginners) by Leonie Pratt
This is a very refreshing book aimed at the younger reader up to about 7 years old. The Celts is beautifully produced by Usbourne and English Heritage. I recommend the hard back version as it will get plenty of use.
What undoubtably makes this book appeal to the younger reader is the accompaniment of excellent cartoon style pictures. These really capture the colourful nature of Celtic life and warfare and make it accessible to young minds. The illustrations kept the attention of my four year old son and he asked lots of questions about them which led to us reading the text. It is packed with simple statements, about the Celts, which a beginner needs to know.
The format is simple and uncluttered and the photographs which are included are well chosen and more obvious because they only appear on every other page.
I think that this is the sort of book which will turn a younger child onto history. This is the most popular book sold on this website and it is my son's favourite too!
History book review: Nigel Cross 16/11/07
Boudicca (Famous People, Famous Lives) by Emma Fischel
This book provides a good introduction for younger children (K.S.2) learning about Boudicca and her tribes revolt against the Romans. It is one of the best selling books on our website.The text is at the right level for children up to about eight years old. The information presented in the book is enough to tell the basic story. It's told in the style of a story and the author puts words in the mouths of Boudicca, her subjects and the Romans. The Roman writer Tacitus told the story in a similar style. This does add drama to the story but as these speeches are in quotation marks please explain to children reading this book that we don't really know what she actually said.
There are appropriate illustrations on every page. These are in the style of the front cover but they are all line drawings with no colour. Each page has the equivalent of a paragraph of text and the book has 48 pages.
History book review: Nigel Cross 12/11/07
Roman Colosseum (Mystery History of A) by Rhiannon Ash
This book examines the history of the Colosseum which it describes as “a towering symbol of Rome's power”, which “reminds us of their (the Romans) dark side”. The aim of this book is to solve a Roman mystery. By answering questions you get clues which help to eliminate the suspects. Most of the questions are educational. In answer to one of the questions we learn that “the Colosseum can hold an estimated 50,000 people. At the opening ceremony, over 9,000 animals were killed”. Due to the scale of the events at the Colosseum there was a huge amount of supporting activity throughout the Roman Empire. You will discover how the countryside supplied the water, via aqueducts, to flood the arena whilst holding naval battles. Foreign conquest provided a source of slaves which had to be transported to Rome. This is all before we get to the Gladiators training and thier big day in this iconic arena. So many aspects of Roman life are naturally covered by this topic.
History book review by Nigel Cross 21/10/07
100 Things You Should Know About Ancient Rome by Fiona MacDonald
This book cherry picks interesting facts about Rome and the Romans and for this reason its content is very engaging. The format of the book is to provide headline facts which are supported by a paragraph of text and an illustration. The illustrations are sourced from a wide variety of illustrators but they are all engaging paintings which help to bring the subject matter to life. Each page also includes a humorous cartoon strip by Mark Davis.
Did you know that:
“Some fashionable people admired delicate blonde hair, because it was unusual. Roman women used vinegar and lye (an early form of soap, made from urine and wood-ash) to bleach their own hair.”
“(Chariot) Racing rivalries sometimes led to riots. Races were organised by four separate teams – the Reds, Blues, Greens and Whites. Each team had a keen - and violent - group of fans.”
“Many people still have Roman names. Here are some popular ones: Diana (Moon Goddess), Patricia (noble) and Martin (God of War).
History book review by Nigel Cross 21/10/07
Our Top Ten Selling History Books for Children
1. Celts (Usborne Beginners) by Leonie Pratt
2. Boudicca (Famous People, Famous Lives) by Emma Fische
3. The Romans Activity Book (British Museum Activity Books) by John Reeve & Patricia Vanaqs
4. Who Were the Romans? (Starting Point History) by Phil Roxbee Cox
5. Celts (Britain Through the Ages) by Hazel Mary Martell
6. The Celts: What Life Was Like for the Warlike Tribes of Ancient Europe by Fiona Macdonald
7. Boudicca (Brilliant Brits) by Richard Brassey
8. Romans (Usborne Beginners) by Katie Daynes
9. Rome and Romans (Usborne Time Traveller) by Amery, Vanaqs & Courtwright
10. Roman Britain (100 Things You Should Know About...) by Philip Steele and Jeremy Smith
You can buy any of these books from our Bookshop or follow any of the links in this page!