CC Cycle 2 Fantastic Picture Book List

Written by Annette in Cycle 2

Here is the list of picture books for Foundations I am doing this year for Cycle 2 for my kids grades K-4th grade. (Actually, my 5th grader is super excited about reading them too…in addition to her Essentials literature). It is mainly history and science books with a few English ones too. I wanted a list that wasn’t overwhelming for each week–maybe a couple books, and ones that my kids actually get excited about. I keep them all on a shelf and only let each week’s books come out after community day. Usually that afternoon/evening after community day is spent by my older kids, who can read, devouring these books. My younger ones love spending that time just looking at the lovely pictures. Then later in the week, I read them aloud to the children. I opted to actually purchase them this year. I find it easier to just pull them off the shelf when I get to that week instead of trying to get from the library (and hopefully they come in by the week I need them). But do what works for your family. Blessings on your cycle 2 year!

I organize my books with a color code for each cycle using wasabi tape on the spine (Yellow for cycle 1, Purple for Cycle 2, Red for Cycle 3). Books that can go with more than one cycle, get multiple colors of tape. This has saved me so much time when looking for books when a new cycle comes around again.

I also do these easy crafts and activities that go along with each week of cycle 2 history and science memory work. Found in these guides: Classical Cycle 2 History Guide and Classical Science Exploration Cycle 2 Guide.

Week 1 (Charlemagne)

  • Saint George and The Dragon by Margaret Hodges. History. Legend of Saint George and The Dragon, takes place in England.
  • Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry by Danna Smith. History. Medieval Castle and life: Story of a girl and her dad, who was a falconer at a medieval castle. Many kings and lords practiced hunting with raptors and castles housed falconers (whose only job was to train birds so they were ready for the noblemen to hunt with). 
  • God’s Very Colorful Creation by Tim Thornborough. Science. Wonderful Children’s book about days of creation and different shades of colors that God has made in His creation. 

Week 2 (William the Conqueror)

  • A Medieval Feast by Aliki. History. Medieval Castle and life: the lord and lady of the castle prepare for a feast when the King comes, great pictures of what happens in a castle.
  • The Boreal forest: A Year in the World’s Largest Land Biome by L. E. Carmichael. Science. Travels the seasons in the world’s largest land biome. Used again for science week 6 natural cycles, longer book but can read in sections for littles.
  • I and You and Don’t Forget Who: What is a Pronoun? by Brian Cleary. English. Cute book that gives pronoun definition and different types in a fun, silly format. My kids beg for all the books in this series (Words are CATegorial). Used for English weeks 2-13.

Week 3 (The Crusades)

Week 4 (Magna Carta)

  • Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow by Robert San Souci. History. Stories of Robin Hood take place in England, they were popular about the 1300s (same time period as our history sentence).
  • Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs by Patricia Lauber. Science. Let’s Read and Find Out book: nonfiction book with simple text and pictures to explain food chains and webs.

Week 5 (Hundred Years’ War)

  • Plauge, Pox, and Pestulence by Richard Platt. History. Black Death and other diseases told from the viewpoint of the bugs. My boy loved this book.
  • Joan of Arc: Heroine of France by Ann Tompert. History. Picture book telling the story of Joan of Arc (caution: does talk about the “voices” Joan heard and that the church thought she was a witch….in case you aren’t ready to discuss that with your child. But for 2nd grade and older it was a good discussion with my kids).
  • The Boreal forest: A Year in the World’s Largest Land Biome by L. E. Carmichael. Science. Travels the seasons in the world’s largest land biome, talks about natural cycles, longer book but can read in sections for littles. Also used for science week 2.

Week 6 (Renaissance)

  • Leonardo and The Flying Boy by Laurence Anholt. History. Delightful story of Leonardo and his flying invention.
  • Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft and Richard Van Gelder. Science. Let’s Read and Find Out Book: nonfiction book about hibernation and migration.

Week 7 (Reformation)

  • Martin Luther: A Man who Changed the World by Paul Maier. History. Beautiful picture book about the life of Martin Luther. We read this one on Reformation Day (Halloween) every year, the day Martin Luther nailed the 95 these on the door of the church.
  • The Boy Who Grew a Forest by Sophia Gholz. Science. True story of a boy in India, who saw the forest disappearing and did something about it. Tie into science, pollution and taking care of the earth.

Week 8 (European Explorers)

Week 9 (Absolute Monarchs)

  • Peter the Great by Diane Stanley. History. Wonderful book about Peter the Great of Russia. Longer picture book, but worth the read. I even learned a lot with this book. Also used for week 10 history.
  • The Sun by Seymour Simon. Science. Nonfiction book about parts of the sun, great pictures and descriptions. Caution: big bang and millions of years on one page. 
  • The New Astronomy Book by Danny Faulkner. (Wonders of Creation). Science. Great for pictures and read aloud content for weeks 9-12, creation perspective.

Week 10 (History of Russia)

  • Peter the Great by Diane Stanley. History. Wonderful book about Peter the Great of Russia. Longer picture book, but worth the read. I even learned a lot with this book. Also used for week 9 history.
  • The Littlest Matryoshka by Corinne Demas Bliss. History. The story of a set of Russian Nesting Dolls (or Matryoshka). Russian Nesting Dolls are a traditional symbol of Russia. This was such a cute story.
  • Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. Science. Ms. Frizzle and the class journey to all the planets and learn a bit about each one. Caution: millions of years.

Week 11 (French Revolution)

  • Stone soup by Marcia Brown. History. Classic story of soldiers and  peasants in a French village making a soup.
  • The Moon book by Gail Gibbons. Science. Nonfiction book about phases of the moon, eclipses, orbits etc. (Also use for Cycle 3 Week 21.)
  • Glow in the Dark Constellations by C.E Thompson. So this isn’t part of the science memory work, but the community day science activity is constellations. This glow in the dark constellation book is a hit at our house. Tells how to find the constellation and story of why its called that name….and of course, charge the page in a light and watch the constellation glow in the dark!

Week 12 (Battle of Waterloo)

  • The Heroic Symphony by Anna Harwell Celenza. History. Story of the creation of Beethoven’s symphony no. 3 for Napoleon. (Also used Cycle 1 Week 24).
  • The Boy Whose Head Was Filled With the Stars by Isabelle Marinov. Science. Beautiful story about Edwin Hubble and his journey to look at stars. Caution: one page has billions of years. The book poses questions about where we came from (great time for discussion about God creating the universe).

Week 13 (Industrial Revolution)

  • The Bobbin Girl by Emily Arnold McCully. History. Story of a young girl working in a cotton factory during the Industrial Revolution.
  • Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca. Science. Story of Apollo 11 told for kids, describes life in space, waiting back home. (Also used Cycle 3 week 21).
  • Meet Rembrandt van Rijn (Meet the Artist Series). This Meet the Artist Series is my new favorite series of artist books for kids ages 4-8. It tells a bit about the artist and shows one of the artist’s painting on each page. I love exposing kids to the artist’s works from an early age. This is great for this.

Week 14 (WWI Leaders)

  • Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick. History. Story of the bear that inspired Winnie the Pooh, set in World War 1. This is a favorite book we take out every cycle.  (Also used Cycle 1 Week 22, Cycle 3 Week 16).
  • DK Findout World War I. History. Great book for general information on WWI. (Also used Cycle 3 Week 16).
  • Dearly, Nearly, Insincerely: What is an Adverb? by Brian Cleary. English. Funny, cute way to introduce adverbs, their definitions and different types. My kids love this series (Words Are CATegorical).
  • Matter: Physical Science for Kids by Andi Diehn. Science. This is my new favorite physics series for littles: geared for ages 5-8  years. This book on Matter describes it in easy terms. Also see other titles in this series: Energy ,Forces, Waves (recommended below for other weeks).
  • Meet Thomas Gainsborough (Meet the Artist Series). Wonderful pictures on each page of his paintings and descriptions of what he liked to paint best. This series is wonderful for ages 4-8.

Week 15 (WWI Countries)

  • In Flanders Field: the Story of the Poem by Linda Granfield. History. Classic Poem written during WW1. Has drawings and lines of poem on each page (and more in depth history of the poem if you want to read that too). 
  • Shooting at the Stars: The Christmas Truce of 1914 by John Hendrix. Great story about a truce on the battlefield at Christmas time during WWI. Shows trench warfare used in WWI. (Also used Cycle 3 Week 16).
  • Energy: Physical Science for kids by Andi Diehn. Easy introduction to Energy for littles. Also used in Week 19 Science. I love this series for physics for younger kids.
  • Meet Edgar Degas (Meet the Artist Series). Pictures of his famous paintings with movement. Told in first person. This series is wonderful for ages 4-8.
  • Degas and the Little Dancer by Laurence Anholt. Story of a dancer that Degas painted and ultimately made a sculpture of. Helps bring this artist to life.

Week 16 (How WWII Began)

Week 17 (WWII Leaders)

  • Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco. History. Touching story of a Christmas Tapestry that brings a husband and wife back together after being separated in WWII into concentration camps. (Also used Cycle 3 Week 18).
  • The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II by Michael Foreman. Story of how fishing boats helped evacuated the Allied troops trapped on the shores of Dunkirk (in northern France) by German troops.
  • Newton and Me by Lynne Mayer. Science. Story of a boy and his dog Newton who discover the relationships between mass, force and acceleration (put in kid friendly terms).
  • A Mink, A Skink, and A Skating Rink: What is a Noun? by Brian Cleary. English. Funny way to introduce nouns. My kids love this series (Words Are CATegorical) (also used for English week 18).
  • Meet Berthe Morisot (Meet the Artist Series). Love how this book has so many Morisot paintings in one place (this has been hard to find in other books) and bonus its written for kids! This series is wonderful for ages 4-8.

Week 18 (United Nations)

  • United Nations Come Along with Me by Nane Annan. History. Easy book for kids about what the UN does (keeps peace, fights poverty, helps children get in school) told from the perspective of Secretary-General of the UN’s wife.
  • Forces: Physical Science for kids by Andi Diehn. Science. Easy introduction to Forces (pushing, pulling, gravity) for littles. I love this series for physics for younger kids.
  • Meet Vincent van Gogh (Meet the Artist Series). Great introduction for kids to van Gogh. Lot of his painting all in one book. This series is wonderful for ages 4-8.
  • Camille and the Sunflowers by Laurence Anholt. Story of a little boy who picks sunflowers for van Gogh to paint. (Caution in the information panel on the back page it says that van Gogh shot himself.)

Week 19 (Korean War)

  • Peacebound Trains by Haemi Balgassi. History. Story of a family fleeing from Northern Korean at the start of the Korean War, escaping on a train.
  • Energy: Physical Science for kids by Andi Diehn. Science. Easy introduction to Energy for littles. I love this series for physics for younger kids. Also used in Week 15 Science.
  • Sir Cumference and The First Round Table by Cindy Neuschwander. A Math story about diameter, circumference, and radius, set in a medieval time. My kids love this book to help understand these math terms. Also usde for Week 20 Math.
  • Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander. Math. Story that explains what a pi is. My kids love this series of books. Also used for Week 20 Math.

Week 20 (Vietnam War)

Week 21 (End of the Cold War)

  • Flight to Freedom by Kristen Fulton. History. Set in the Cold War, this is a story of a family trying to escape East Germany by building a hot air balloon. True Story. (Also used cycle 3 week 19).
  • Melting and Freezing by Lia Greathouse. Science. Nonfiction book that explains states of matter and what happens inside when matter gets cold.
  • But and For, Yet and Nor: What is a Conjunction? by Brian Cleary. Fun book to introduce conjunctions. (Also used for week 22). My kids love this series (Words Are CATegorical).

Week 22 (Fall of Communism)

Week 23 (Gulf War)

  • Getting to know George Bush by Mike Venezia. History. Nonfiction book about President Bush’s life and presidency, includes Cold War and Gulf War.
  • Where’s the heat Thief? by Min-soo Kwak. Cute story about Grandma loosing heat from her house and trying to find the “Heat Thief.” Great explanations for conduction , convection, radiation, and insulation.
  • Hairy, Scary, Ordinary, What is an Adjective? by Brian Cleary. Funny way to introduce adjectives. My kids love this series (Words Are CATegorical).

Week 24 (End of Apartheid)

For additional easy open and go activities and crafts to go with each week of history and science memory work, check out my Classical Cycle 2 History Guide and Classical Science Exploration Cycle 2 Guide.

Recent Posts