History/Social Sciences books for a 4 year old

[SundayCrepes]

My son loves the Magic School Bus books. I'd like to start reading him some history and social science books, but I don't know any titles. So far our attempts at chapter books haven't been successful so the Little House books will have to wait.

Any good picture book/history books out there?

thanks

[LuxPerpetua]

Have you seen the new Little House picture books? We've gotten a few of those and have liked them. Other than that, I try and focus our history reading around holidays--like 4th of July, Thanksgiving, etc. You get lots of selection that way. I don't know if your library has a website, but a lot of times I'll get on ours and type in a subject like, "Native Americans" and then just browse through and see which picture books would be most appropriate. I try and get ones that have a story attached and are not just dry fact books.

[Daffodil]

If he likes Magic School Bus, he might like the Ms. Frizzle's Adventures history books. There's one about Ancient Egypt, one about Ancient China, and one about a medieval castle. There may be others, but I haven't seen them. My 4 year old loved the castle one, but didn't want me to read all the informative sidebar stuff about castles.

Jan Reynolds's Vanishing Cultures books are good, too. Short, with lots of interesting pictures.

[PGTlatte]

Do you have specific areas you would like to find books for ? ie, prehistory, ancient civilizations, middle ages, early American history, etc ? Or specific social studies topics you want to get into ?

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by laundrycrisis

Do you have specific areas you would like to find books for ? ie, prehistory, ancient civilizations, middle ages, early American history, etc ? Or specific social studies topics you want to get into ?

All the above. He's only 4 so I just want to show him the world.

I just ordered a couple Little House picture books and Ms. Frizzle's China book.

ETA: Also got one of the Vanishing Culture books. The review says it's for grade 3, but for $4 including shipping I'll give it a try. We may just have to hang onto it for a few years.

[crunchy_mama]

Just watching here- kids love Magic School House so love that suggestion. We have been reading Magic Tree House books and that is an interesting way to introduce them to new areas, but they are chapter books(they also have companion guides I just learned).

[Momma Aimee]

subbing as i have a 4 yo boy

will read later

[lach]

My library has a whole shelf in the children's section of picture book biographies. There are a lot of really great gems there, that teach about important people and add context about their times. They tend to be beautifully illustrated, too.

[greenmamapagan]

Subbing, my DD has just become curious about Ancient Rome and also Vikings. We are reading Farmer Boy atm - how different are the picture books?

[ASusan]

Martin's Big Words and Little Stevie Wonder have been recent bedtime requests in our house.

[SundayCrepes]

I just ordered Martin's Big Words. I'm curious to how I'll find the book, it's so well reviewed.

I'm not ready to introduce my son to violence and battles and weapons, etc. So the idea that this book talks about the bombing deaths of the 4 little girls and MLK's murder makes me wonder. Will I read it to him now or later? Either way, it sounds like a great book to have in our library. MLK is one of my heroes.

[PGTlatte]

I am digging into ancient history books for our kids right now and I am doing my best to avoid books that put too much focus on anything that is violent or disturbing. Here are some titles I have purchased recently:

Prehistory:
The Best Book of Early People by Margaret Hynes
Cave People by Belinda Hayward

Ancients:
Let's See Ancient Rome by Lucia Raatma
Curious Kids Guides Ancient Egypt (Kingfisher)
Curious Kids Guides Ancient Greece (Kingfisher)
The Best Book of Ancient Rome (the paperback - the cover of the hardback has a picture I don't like)
The Best Book of Ancient Greece
I Wonder Why Greeks Built Temples by Fiona MacDonald (the Roman one from this series I did not care for)
Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs: A Book About Ancient Egypt by Gail Gibbons

Geography:
As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps by Gail Hartman
Me on the Map (Dragonfly Books) by Joan Sweeney
Miranda the Explorer: A Magical Round-the-World Adventure by James Mayhew
Ready to Read: has a whole bunch of books on North American landmarks and features; Mount Rushmore, Grand Canyon, Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountains, Mississippi River, etc. These are easy to search and get the whole list on Amazon.

Biography (not really looked much yet):
More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby
Booker T. Washington (On My Own Biography) by Thomas Amper
If you do a search on Amazon for "ready to read biography", a whole list from the series comes up, and then if you go into any book, down at the bottom, tons of other titles in that and other series also come up.

General "social rules" books I like:
The Golden Rule by Ilene Cooper and Gabi Swiatkowska
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud and David Messing

[SundayCrepes]

laundrycrisis (love that name) great list. I'll have to see if my library has any of those. Too many to afford to buy right now.

[Stacey B]

We're are doing a lot of map stuff right now, family lives all over the place and he's gotten really interested. So we went to our local learning bookstore (ie the most dangerous place in the world) and picked up an atlas. There were a lot of great kids ones to choose from (DK and Kingfisher had interesting ones) but we ended up with the Cambridge one, he chose it and it'll last us for years because it isn't just for little kids.

On that note the DK books are great for beginning to explore a topic.

[PGTlatte]

I have been able to get most of these through our library system to preview; the ones I decide to buy, I first check paperbackswap.com - I can purchase credits for very cheap (3.40 I think) and that includes the book and shipping - and I also check Amazon for used books that are "fulfilled by Amazon" so they are eligible for free shipping if I get $25 worth of them together in my cart. The other way I keep costs down is to look at Half.com - if you buy multiple books from the same seller you get a shipping discount (which Amazon does not do for independent sellers).

Originally Posted by SundayCrepes

laundrycrisis (love that name) great list. I'll have to see if my library has any of those. Too many to afford to buy right now.

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by laundrycrisis

I have been able to get most of these through our library system to preview; the ones I decide to buy, I first check paperbackswap.com - I can purchase credits for very cheap (3.40 I think) and that includes the book and shipping - and I also check Amazon for used books that are "fulfilled by Amazon" so they are eligible for free shipping if I get $25 worth of them together in my cart. The other way I keep costs down is to look at Half.com - if you buy multiple books from the same seller you get a shipping discount (which Amazon does not do for independent sellers).

Those are good suggestions. I often preview books too, but the reviews on the ones previously recommended here were so good I took the leap of faith. I've been buying them off amazon, but I'm glad to hear that half.com gives you reduced shipping rates with multiple books.

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by Stacey B

On that note the DK books are great for beginning to explore a topic.

We have one DK book and it's basically an encyclopedia and he isn't interested in it. Are they all like that?

[Just1More]

I know you said he's not quite into chapter books yet, but my dd, since age 3 or so has LOVED the Childhood of Famous Americans series.

[ChinaDoll]

You might like some of the Core P 4/5 and Core K items from Sonlight

PA09 Stories from Around the World
PA03The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book
PG01People
PA08Milly-Molly-Mandy Story Book
PG04Things People Do


KH03Living Long Ago
KH10Usborne Internet-Linked Children’s Encyclopedia

FA61Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day?

They're all favorites here!

[Momma Aimee]

Originally Posted by laundrycrisis

I have been able to get most of these through our library system to preview; the ones I decide to buy, I first check paperbackswap.com - I can purchase credits for very cheap (3.40 I think) and that includes the book and shipping - and I also check Amazon for used books that are "fulfilled by Amazon" so they are eligible for free shipping if I get $25 worth of them together in my cart. The other way I keep costs down is to look at Half.com - if you buy multiple books from the same seller you get a shipping discount (which Amazon does not do for independent sellers).

That is my method too -- -- I ask our lib to get books (all books ) ILL i they don't have to so i can review beore i choose to buy. I am so much happier now that i do that -- i make much much much better choices -- in books for the boys adn ME too