“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
– George Santayana’s ‘The Life of Reason.’ 1905
Winston Churchill paraphrased this quote in a 1948 speech to the House of Commons when he famously said, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” We agree that history is important, and so does DK. That’s why we’re taking a look at these bestselling reference books from DK’s Back in Time Boutique that bring to life the stories of remarkable women, scientists, and explorers who changed the world, as well as the deadliest conflict in history.
Read on to see what we thought and to enter our giveaway to win one of these historical reference books!
Click on the titles or covers to see these books on Amazon.
History!: The Past As You’ve Never Seen It Before
DK’s newest book in the Knowledge Encyclopedia series provides kids with a visual overview of human history over millions of years from our earliest hominid ancestors into modern times.
Organized into five broad chapters – The Ancient World, The Medieval World, The Age of Exploration, The Age of Revolution, and The Modern World – this hefty volume explores historical events and milestones through illustrated timelines, maps, detailed CGI images and cutouts, fascinating sidebars, and accessible text.
In between the big picture historical dates, figures, and events, readers will also learn about daily life, culture, religion, clothing, and architecture. A strip along the top of the pages offers interesting short facts and statistics. This book packs a lot of information into its pages and would be a great resource for any children’s reference library.
100 Women Who Made History
As a parent of two young girls, it’s really important to me that my daughters learn about the vital roles that women have played in history and in modern times. Traditional histories tend to gloss over the contributions of women, but this book is part of a growing body of books that aims to teach girls and boys about the accomplishments of women throughout the world.
Some of these historical women are familiar figures like Amelia Earhart and Florence Nightingale. Others aren’t as well-known, but they should be! From figures of ancient history to current day heroes like Malala Yousafzai, this visual guide offers a celebration of women who have changed our world, while providing context with “Who came before…” and “Who came after…” panels showing readers how these women were influenced and how they in turn influenced others.
Information is presented in easily digestible paragraphs that share each woman’s story in a way that children can relate to. Kids will enjoy the fun factor of the cute and quirky bobble head characters, each with a comic-style speech bubble sharing an additional fascinating fact.
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I would have liked to see more women of colour, and the organization would have been improved with a text box for each remarkable woman containing basic information like when and where they lived and their area of expertise. Despite these oversights, this book is inspiring for all children and a creative way of helping girls see their potential in ways they may not have before.
100 Scientists Who Made History
This children’s reference book brings science and innovation to life through these stories of 100 scientists whose discoveries changed the world. Learn about the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates and the origin of the Hippocratic Oath that doctors still take. Read about key figures in the development of quantum physics. Discover Inge Lehmann, the geologist who discovered the solid core at the centre of the Earth.
However, with only 19 women in these pages and less than half that number of people of colour, there’s a distinct lack of representation in these pages. Despite this, the book does offer great examples of how scientists build on the work of people who came before, as illustrated in the “Who came before…” and “Who came after…” panels on each page.
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This is a great resource to have around the house or in the classroom covering giants in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, computer science, and astronomy, you’ll see plenty of familiar names like Pythagorus, Charles Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, along with a few that were new to us like Stephanie Kwolek and Ali Javan. Like its companion book, 100 Women Who Made History, this would have been improved with a quick reference box summarizing the basic demographics of each scientist.
Explorers
This beautifully illustrated children’s reference book includes in-depth features of 60 explorers from around the world, plus maps, drawings, fact boxes, and accounts in the explorers’ own words. We were thrilled to see explorers represented from around the world including many female explorers. From Xuanzang, a Chinese Buddhist monk in the 7th century, to Jeanne Baret, the first woman to sail around the world (disguised as a man!), decorated pages invite readers to learn more about each explorer and the characteristics that make them adventurers.
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In the modern era, read about Sung-Taek Hong, a South Korean mountaineer, and Mae Jemison, the first female African-American into space. These stories inspire the spirit of exploration and show kids that there is no limit to how far they can travel. Besides features on the explorers themselves, several spreads in the book dig deeper like a look into the supplies Robert Falcon Scott took with him to the South Pole, and an overview of some of Charles Darwin’s most important natural discoveries.
Backmatter includes mini-biographies of even more explorers and a glossary of terms.
World War II: Map by Map
Trace the epic history of World War 2 across the globe with more than 100 detailed maps.
World War II: Map by Map is a visually stunning history book that will take you on a tour of all the significant events before, during, and after the war. From the sociopolitical antecedents of the conflict, to key events and significant events during the war years, through to the aftermath and historical developments in the years following.
Over 100 maps illustrate key events and battles in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and in the Pacific. Maps, timelines, and other graphics help break down the events that changed the world, including the Battle of Britain, Operation Barbarossa, Pearl Harbour, the Holocaust, and the atom bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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An attractive book with silver foil on the cover, this impressive tome would make an incredible gift for military history buffs and students of history.
Win World War II: Map by Map!
Learn more about one of the most significant periods of world history. One of my readers will win a copy of World War II: Map by Map. Enter in the giveaway widget below. This giveaway is open to residents of Canada, 18+. All the winner’s entries will be verified.
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Disclosure: I received sample items to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ. This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Another title I would like in my home is First History Encyclopedia.
I think the book called World History would be very interesting to read.
A Street Through Time look really interesting.
There are so many I’d love to have, however I’ve chosen First History Encyclopedia as I think that would appeal to children too.
There are so many good books here, One of the ones I would like have would be “Explorers”.
oh man I love the DK books , they are fabulous. Love the details in these books, so informative, so many great books, can’t just name a few to many good ones
A city through time would be very interesting.
I would pick 100 Women Who Made History
My grandkids have recently taken an interest in dinosaurs – I think they would enjoy the Dinosaurs book.
Would love the First History Encyclopedia because my daughter loves history.
All of these books look like they’d be great for my Littles! So does the Greta and the Giants book you posted about on FB. I commented on that post!
These are amazing books for drench to earns about such important people and things that happened in the past , and this grandma would love to read along with them and learn as well !
Other books that I’d also love to have in my home are Explorers, History Year by Year, 100 Women Who Made History and A Child Through Time.
I would be interested in History Year by Year as I enjoy retrospectives of years gone by.
Explorers looks like an interesting and informative book.
I would also love to have their book Where on Earth?. It looks like a great book filled with interesting fact and 3D maps that we would all love.
I’d really like the History Year by Year book. It would help me get my even timeline sorted in my head a little better! My daughters would really love the Stephen Biesty’s Cross-Sections Castle one. The World War II Map by Map is a perfect one for my nephew!
We would love to have Stephen Biesty’s Cross-Sections Castle and A Street Through Time. My children would love them.
I think History Year by Year sounds interesting
I’d love to also take a look at Smithsonian Dinosaur or A Child Through Time.
Stephen Biesty’s Cross-Sections Castle would be really good and interesting book!
Our family would love World History and any of the cross section books from Stephen Biesty. This selection of books is incredible!