DIY Homeschooler

A series of histories by Jacob Abbott is next on The Hundred Best Books for Children list found in The Book-lover.

Jacob Abbott was an extremely prolific writer of children’s books in the 19th century. He wrote histories, moral tales, and the more famous Rollo series of books that many home educators are familiar with. He came from a family of authors including his brother John S.C. Abbott, who also contributed to the histories.

Abbott’s histories were illustrated books sold in sets. Eventually there were 32 books in the series.¹ These comprise Baldwin’s 30 along with the additional two.

Jacob Abbott (1803–79) was a wise and understanding minister and educator, possessing one of the finest intellects of his day. He believed that every book for children should have two objects — entertainment and instruction. One of the first to write books in series, he began the famous Rollo books in 1834. Among other series which he wrote for children were the Franconia Stories and the Lucy books (Lucy was Rollo’s cousin). In addition, he wrote American histories and short stories. Little Rollo was the best-known literary character of his time, and children are said to have learned more geography and European history from Rollo’s travels than they did from their school books.

“American Writers for Children,” The Book of Knowledge

Free eBooks

1. History of King Charles the First of England 
2. History of Mary Queen of Scots 
3. History of Alexander the Great 
4. History of Julius Caesar 
5. History of Hannibal the Carthaginian 
6. History of William the Conqueror
7. History of King Charles the Second of England
8. History of Elizabeth, Queen of England
9. History of King Alfred of England 
10. History of Xerxes the Great 
11. History of Cyrus the Great
12. History of Darius the Great 
13. History of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt 
14. History of Romulus
15. History of Nero
16. History of Pyrrhus
17. History of King Richard the First of England 
18. History of King Richard the Second of England
19. History of King Richard the Third of England
20. History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia
21. History of Ghenghis Khan
22. History of Margaret of Anjou Queen of Henry VI of England
23. History of Maria Antoinette
24. History of Madame Roland 
25. History of Josephine
26. History of Hernando Cortez
27. History of Henry the Fourth, King of France and Navarre 
28. History of King Philip, Sovereign Chief of the Wampanoags 
29. History of Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples and of Italy
30. History of Hortense, Daughter of Josephine, Queen of Holland, Mother of Napoleon III Queen Hortense

LibriVox Versions
22 audio titles.

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Additional Resources

History of Louis XIV 

Louis Philippe 

Other Histories by John S.C. Abbott

Rollo and Lucy Series

Author Notebooking Pages {Free Download}
Use this free set to create an author notebook for our 100 Best Books for Children series.

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¹ ReadSeries.com. And many, many thanks.