Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie Kingsley
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Exceptional, relevant series brings history to life.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
The WHAT WAS? SERIES profiles historically significant events, giving readers a closer look at some of the most talked-about events in history, such as the Holocaust, the great Chicago fire, the Panama Canal, D-Day, the Summer Olympics, Ellis Island, NASA, and many more. Each book has a bibliography and a fold-out, glossy timeline of events at the end, and sidebars throughout the book give additional details related to the main topic.
Is It Any Good?
The books in this series are fabulous, giving the historical details that are interesting to both young readers and adults. The writing in the What Was? series, as in the other series by the Who HQ authors, is fast-paced and packed with facts and background information, and makes the topics relevant today. With such a breadth of topics, even reluctant readers will find topics in the series to catch their interest. There's a ton of great vocabulary and trivia, and lots of extra (but related) information tucked into the pages.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the What Was? series is relevant today. Have you seen the impact of these historical events in your lifetime?
What fascinates you about this topic? Do you know anyone else who is interested in this?
What details did you learn about the topic that you didn't know before?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : History
- Topics : History
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Penguin Workshop
- Publication date : April 19, 2018
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 112
- Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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