Welcome to our list of American history leveled readers! This collection includes books related to U.S. history with text and vocabulary that young children can easily read and understand. Although we own many of the books on this list, we don’t own them all. The links here are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission from Amazon at no extra expense to you if you shop through these links. If you’re looking for our list of read alouds and picture books for American history and geography and/or human anatomy and chemistry, click here. (Looking for a shorter list? Check out our reading plans and our personal reading lists.)
Our Ultimate List of U.S. History Readers
Value Packs
Childhood of Famous Americans Ready-to-Read Value Pack: Abe Lincoln and the Muddy Pig; Albert Einstein; John Adams Speaks for Freedom; George … and the Ghostriders (Ready-to-read Level 2)
Childhood of Famous Americans Ready-to-Read Value Pack #2: Abigail Adams; Amelia Earhart; Clara Barton; Annie Oakley Saves the Day; Helen Keller and … and the Silver Thimble (Ready-to-read COFA)
Wonders of America Value Pack: The Grand Canyon; Niagara Falls; The Rocky Mountains; Mount Rushmore; The Statue of Liberty; Yellowstone (Ready-to-Read Level 1)
Columbus
Christopher Columbus (Step into Reading, Step 3)
Story of Columbus (DK Reader Level 2)
Colonial America
The True Story of Pocahontas (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3)
DK Readers L2: Pocahontas
Pocahontas: An American Princess (Penguin Young Readers, Level 4)
Sam Collier and the Founding of Jamestown (On My Own History)
The First Thanksgiving (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3)
Finding Providence: The Story of Roger Williams (I Can Read Chapter Books)
American Revolution & Founding Fathers
Thomas Jefferson’s Feast (Step into Reading) (Step 4)
Alexander Hamilton: From Orphan to Founding Father (Step into Reading, Step 3)
Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares (Step-Into-Reading, Step 4)
Sam the Minuteman (I Can Read Level 3)
Saving the Liberty Bell (On My Own History)
Abigail Adams: First Lady of the American Revolution (Ready-to-read Level 3)
John Adams Speaks for Freedom (Ready-to-Read Level 3)
George the Drummer Boy (I Can Read Level 3)
Paul Revere’s Ride (Step into Reading, Level 3)
Prisoner for Liberty (On My Own History)
Sybil Ludington’s Midnight Ride (On My Own History)
Buttons for General Washington (On My Own History)
George Washington’s First Victory (Ready to Read Level 2)
George Washington and the General’s Dog (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3)
George Washington – Soldier, Hero, President (DK Reader, Level 3)
National Geographic Readers: George Washington (Level 2)
Thomas Jefferson and the Ghostriders (Ready-to-read Level 2)
Childhood of Famous Americans Value Pack (Ready-to-Read Level 2): Abe Lincoln and the Muddy Pig; Albert Einstein; John Adams Speaks for Freedom; George … and the Ghostriders
Lewis & Clark & Frontiersman
Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President (Step into Reading, Step 3)
National Geographic Readers: Sacagawea (Level 3)
Sacajawea: Her True Story (Penguin Young Readers, Level 4)
Johnny Appleseed: My Story (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3)
Davy Crockett: Life on the Frontier (Ready to Read, Level 3)
War of 1812
Francis Scott Key’s Star-Spangled Banner (Step into Reading, Level 3)
The Star-Spangled Banner (Smithsonian) (Penguin Readers Level 4)
The Star-Spangled Banner (On My Own History)
An American Army of Two (On My Own History)
Washington Is Burning (On My Own History)
Westward Expansion & Pioneers
Trail of Tears (Step into Reading, Step 5)
Sitting Bull (Penguin Young Readers, Level 3)
Wagon Train (Penguin Young Readers, Level 3)
Prairie School (I Can Read Level 4)
Daniel’s Duck (I Can Read Level 3)
Buffalo Bill And The Pony Express (I Can Read Book, Level 3)
Bronco Charlie and the Pony Express (On My Own History)
Wagon Wheels (I Can Read Book, Level 3)
Journey of a Pioneer (DK Reader, Level 2)
Slavery, Civil War, & Abraham Lincoln
Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman (Step-Into-Reading, Step 4)
Harriet Tubman (Hello Reader!, Level 2)
Harriet Tubman and the Freedom Train (Ready-to-Read Level 3)
Sojourner Truth: Path to Glory (Ready-to-Read Level 3)
The Drinking Gourd: A Story of the Underground Railroad (I Can Read! 3)
National Geographic Readers: Frederick Douglass (Level 2) (Readers Bios)
From Slave to Soldier: Based on a True Civil War Story (Ready-to-Reads Level 3)
Great Black Heroes: Five Bold Freedom Fighters (Hello Readers, Level 4)
Long, Tall Lincoln (I Can Read Level 2)
Abe Lincoln’s Hat (Step into Reading, Step 3)
Abraham Lincoln: Lawyer, Leader, Legend (DK Reader, Level 3)
Abe Lincoln and the Muddy Pig (Ready to Read Level 2)
Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln: The Story of the Gettysburg Address (Penguin Young Readers, Level 4)
National Geographic Readers: Abraham Lincoln (Level 2)
National Geographic Readers: George Washington Carver (Level 1)
Clara Barton: Spirit of the American Red Cross (Ready-to-read Level 3)
Civil War Sub: the Mystery of the Hunley (Penguin Young Readers, Level 4)
Civil War Battleship: The Monitor: The Monitor (Penguin Young Readers, Level 4)
The Daring Escape of Ellen Craft (On My Own History)
Robert Smalls Sails to Freedom (On My Own History)
Allen Jay and the Underground Railroad (On My Own History)
Willie Mclean and the Civil War Surrender (On My Own History)
Other Events in the 1800s
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie (On My Own History)
Theodore Roosevelt
Take a Hike, Teddy Roosevelt! (Step into Reading, Step 3)
Teddy Roosevelt: The People’s President (Ready-to-read, Level 3)
Inventions & Industry
Listen Up!: Alexander Graham Bell’s Talking Machine (Step into Reading, Step 4)
Eat My Dust! Henry Ford’s First Race (Step into Reading, Step 3)
First Flight: The Story of Tom Tate and the Wright Brothers (I Can Read Level 4)
First Flight: The Wright Brothers (DK Readers, Level 4)
Fire at the Triangle Factory (On My Own History)
Immigration
The Statue of Liberty (Step-into-Reading, Step 2)
The Long Way to a New Land (I Can Read Level 3)
National Geographic Readers: Ellis Island (Level 3)
The Copper Lady (On My Own History)
The Titanic: Lost and Found (Step-Into-Reading, Step 4)
Scholastic Reader: Remembering the Titanic (Level 3)
Titanic: The Story Lives On! (Penguin Young Readers, Level 4)
Women’s Suffrage
Susan B. Anthony: Fighter for Women’s Rights (Ready-to-Read Level 3)
Easy Reader Biographies: Susan B. Anthony: Fighter for Women’s Rights
Teacher Created Materials – TIME For Kids Informational Text: Susan B. Anthony – Grade 2 – Guided Reading Level M
Susan B. Anthony: Her Fight for Equal Rights (Step into Reading)
Wars
Disasters at Sea (DK Readers, Level 3: Reading Alone)
D-Day Landings: The Story of the Allied Invasion (DK Reader, Level 4)
Pigeon Hero (Ready to Read Level 2)
Pearl Harbor : Ready To Read Level 3
Gabe: The Dog Who Sniffs Out Danger (Hero Dog)(Ready to Read Level 2)
Civil Rights & Desegregation
Free At Last: The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. (DK Readers Level 4)
Martin’s Dream (Ready-to-Read Level 1)
A Lesson for Martin Luther King Jr. (Ready-to-read Level 2)
National Geographic Readers: Martin Luther King, Jr. (Level 3)
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington (Penguin Young Readers, Level 3)
National Geographic Readers: Rosa Parks (Level 2)
I Am Rosa Parks (Penguin Young Readers, Level 4)
Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story (Scholastic Reader, Level 2)
Cracking the Wall: The Struggles of the Little Rock Nine (On My Own History)
Space Race
Moonwalk: The First Trip to the Moon (Step-Into-Reading, Step 5)
Spacebusters: The Race to the Moon (DK Reader, Level 3)
Space Heroes: Amazing Astronauts (DK Readers, Level 3)
DK Readers L2: Astronaut: Living in Space
Famous Americans
The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3)
Helen Keller: Courage in the Dark (Step-Into-Reading, Step 4)
DK Readers L3: Helen Keller
A Girl Named Helen Keller (Scholastic Reader Level 3)
National Geographic Readers: Helen Keller (Level 2)
Dr. Seuss: The Great Doodler (Step into Reading, Step 3)
The Great Houdini (Step-Into-Reading, Step 4)
Babe Ruth Saves Baseball! (Step into Reading 3)
Great Black Heroes: Five Brave Explorers (Scholastic Reader, Level 4)
Great Black Heroes: Five Brilliant Scientists (Scholastic Reader, Level 4)
John F. Kennedy the Brave (I Can Read Level 2)
National Geographic Readers: Thomas Edison (Level 2)
National Geographic Readers: Albert Einstein (Level 3)
Albert Einstein: Genius of the 20th Century (Level 3)
Thomas Edison to the Rescue! (Ready-to-Read Level 3)
Thomas Edison: The Great Inventor (DK Readers, Level 4)
Mark Twain at Work!
National Geographic Readers: Amelia Earhart (Level 1)
Jackie Robinson: He Led the Way (Penguin Young Readers, Level 3)
Other
Paul Bunyan: My Story (Step Into reading, Step 3)
Wonders of America Value Pack: The Grand Canyon; Niagara Falls; The Rocky Mountains; Mount Rushmore; The Statue of Liberty; Yellowstone (Ready-to-Read Level 1)
Need a printed version? A printable list is available in our Cycle 3 Planning Packet and/or American History Reading Plans.
If you’re looking for chapter books, we’ve started to compile a list of books from the Adventures in Odyssey, Magic Tree House, and Who Was series. Visit this post for the list!
If you’re in Classical Conversations and are searching for our American History Reading Plans (Cycle 3), click here.