Book Series · 71 Books

What Was . . . ? Books

In order from What Was the Hindenburg? to What Was the Renaissance?. Part of Who Was . . . ?.

The What Was . . . ? series is a set of 71 chapter books by Who HQ, published between 2013 and 2025. Written for ages 7–12, most books run about 110 pages.

Where the story begins

First Book in the Series

Sale price

$574

Book #1 · Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 2013

What Was the Hindenburg?

By Janet B. Pascal, Who HQ, David Groff (Illustrator)

Discover the mystery behind the Hindenburg's fiery demise.

112 pages· 8,210 words· Est. 1 hour read

$5.99Save 4%

Paperback

Summary: On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg, a massive airship, burst into flames while landing in New Jersey. In less than a minute, it was destroyed, leaving only 62 survivors from 97 aboard. The cause of this tragic disaster remains a mystery. Dive into the historical enigma and explore the events leading to the catastrophe that shocked the world.

The complete set

What Was . . . ? Series

71 books · Published 2013–2025

Year	Title	Author	Illustrator	Pages
2013	What Was the Hindenburg?	Janet B. Pascal, Who HQ	David Groff	112
2013	What Was the Battle of Gettysburg?	Jim O'Connor, Who HQ	John Mantha	106
2013	What Was the Gold Rush?	Joan Holub, Who HQ	Tim Tomkinson	112
2013	What Was the March on Washington?	Kathleen Krull, Who HQ	Tim Tomkinson	112
2013	What Was the Boston Tea Party?	Kathleen Krull, Who HQ	Lauren Mortimer	112
2013	What Was Pearl Harbor?	Patricia Brennan Demuth, Who HQ	John Mantha	112
2013	What Was the First Thanksgiving?	Joan Holub	Lauren MortimerᐧJames Bennett	112
2013	What Was the Alamo?	Pam Pollack, Meg Belviso, Who HQ	David Groff	112
2013	What Was the Underground Railroad?	Yona Zeldis McDonough, Who HQ	Lauren Mortimer	112
2014	What Was Ellis Island?	Patricia Brennan Demuth, Who HQ	David Groff	112
2014	What Was Pompeii?	Jim O'Connor, Who HQ	John Hinderliter	112
2014	What Is the Statue of Liberty?	Joan Holub, Who HQ	John Hinderliter	112
2014	What Is the Panama Canal?	Janet B. Pascal, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2014	What Was the Lewis and Clark Expedition?	Judith St. George, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2015	What Was D-Day?	Patricia Brennan Demuth, Who HQ	David Grayson Kenyon	112
2015	What Is the World Series?	Gail Herman, Who HQ	David Grayson Kenyon	112
2015	What Was Hurricane Katrina?	Who HQ, Robin Koontz	John Hinderliter	112
2015	What Were the Salem Witch Trials?	Joan Holub, Who HQ	Dede Putra	112
2015	What Is the Super Bowl?	Dina Anastasio, Who HQ	David Groff	112
2015	What Was the Great Depression?	Janet B. Pascal, Who HQ	Dede Putra	112
2016	What Was Woodstock?	Joan Holub, Who HQ	Gregory Copeland	112
2016	What Are the Summer Olympics?	Who HQ, Gail Herman	Stephen Marchesi	112
2016	What Is the Declaration of Independence?	Michael C. Harris, Who HQ	Jerry Hoare	112
2016	What Were the Twin Towers?	Jim O'Connor, Who HQ	Ted Hammond	112
2016	What Was the San Francisco Earthquake?	Thomas Hoobler, Dorothy Hoobler, Who HQ	Ted Hammond	112
2016	What Was the Great Chicago Fire?	Janet B. Pascal, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2017	What Was the Age of the Dinosaurs?	Megan Stine, Who HQ	Gregory Copeland	112
2017	What Was the Wild West?	Janet B. Pascal, Who HQ	Stephen Marchesi	112
2017	What Is Rock and Roll?	Jim O'Connor, Who HQ	Gregory Copeland	112
2017	What Was the Ice Age?	Nico Medina, Who HQ	David Groff	112
2017	What Are the Ten Commandments?	Yona Zeldis McDonough, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2018	What Is the World Cup?	Bonnie Bader, Who HQ	Stephen Marchesi	112
2018	What Was the Titanic?	Who HQ, Stephanie Sabol	Gregory Copeland	112
2018	What Was the Holocaust?	Who HQ, Gail Herman	Jerry Hoare	112
2018	What Is the Constitution?	Patricia Brennan Demuth, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2018	What Is Climate Change?	Who HQ, Gail Herman	John Hinderliter	112
2018	What Is the Women's Rights Movement?	Deborah Hopkinson, Who HQ	Laurie A. Conley	112
2018	What Were the Roaring Twenties?	Who HQ, Michele Mortlock	Jake Murray	112
2019	What Was Stonewall?	Nico Medina, Who HQ	Jake Murray	112
2019	What Is the Stanley Cup?	Who HQ, Gail Herman	Gregory Copeland	112
2019	What Is NASA?	Who HQ, Sarah Fabiny	Ted Hammond	112
2019	What Was the Vietnam War?	Jim O'Connor, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2019	What Was the Berlin Wall?	Nico Medina, Who HQ	Stephen Marchesi	112
2019	What Were the Negro Leagues?	Varian Johnson, Who HQ	Stephen Marchesi	112
2020	What Was the Bombing of Hiroshima?	Jess Brallier, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2020	What Are the Paralympic Games?	Gail Herman, Who HQ	Andrew Thomson	112
2020	What Is LEGO?	Jim O'Connor, Who HQ	Ted Hammond	112
2020	What Is the Civil Rights Movement?	Sherri L. Smith, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2021	What Is Nintendo?	Gina Shaw, Who HQ	Andrew Thomson	112
2021	What Was the Age of Exploration?	Who HQ, Jake Murray, Catherine Daly		112
2021	What Is Congress?	Who HQ, Jill Abramson	David Malan	112
2021	What Are the Winter Olympics?	Who HQ, Gail Herman	Jake Murray	112
2021	What Was the Plague?	Roberta Edwards, Who HQ	Dede Putra	112
2021	What Was the Harlem Renaissance?	Sherri L. Smith, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2022	What Are Castles and Knights?	Sarah Fabiny, Who HQ	Dede Putra	112
2022	What Is Juneteenth?	Who HQ, Kirsti Jewel	Manuel Gutierrez	112
2022	What Is the AIDS Crisis?	Nico Medina, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2022	What Is the Supreme Court?	Jill Abramson, Who HQ	Gregory Copeland	112
2022	What Was Reconstruction?	Sherri L. Smith, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2023	What Was the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921?	Caleb Gayle, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2023	What Is the Women's World Cup?	Gina Shaw, Who HQ	Ted Hammond	112
2023	What Was World War I?	Nico Medina, Who HQ	Dede Putra	112
2023	What Was the Donner Party?	Ben Hubbard, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2023	What Was the Children's Blizzard of 1888?	Who HQ	Dede Putra	112
2024	What Was the Great Molasses Flood of 1919?	Who HQ, Kirsten Anderson	Dede Putra	112
2024	What Were the Shark Attacks of 1916?	Nico Medina, Who HQ	Tim Foley	112
2024	What Is a Presidential Election?	Douglas Yacka, Who HQ		112
2025	What Was the Renaissance?	Roberta Edwards, Who HQ	Gregory Copeland	112
	What Are Taylor Swift's Eras?			112
	What Is Lunar New Year?	Vivian Jun Kirklin, Who HQ	Gregory Copeland	112
	What Was the Industrial Revolution?			112

Good to know

Common Questions

How many books are in the What Was . . . ? series?

There are 71 books in the What Was . . . ? series. It began with What Was the Hindenburg? in 2013, and the newest book, What Was the Renaissance?, was published in 2025.

What ages are the What Was . . . ? books best for?

The series is best for ages 7–12, based on the age ranges of the individual books.

The people

The Creatives Behind the Books

The authors and illustrators who bring What Was . . . ? to life.

What Was . . . ? Books

First Book in the Series

What Was . . . ? Series

Common Questions

How many books are in the What Was . . . ? series?

What ages are the What Was . . . ? books best for?

The Creatives Behind the Books

Jake Murray

Janet B. Pascal

Who HQ

Jim O'Connor

Joan Holub

Kathleen Krull

Patricia Brennan Demuth

Pam Pollack

Meg Belviso

Yona Zeldis McDonough

Judith St. George

Gail Herman

Robin Koontz

Dina Anastasio

Michael C. Harris

Thomas Hoobler

Dorothy Hoobler

Megan Stine

Nico Medina

Bonnie Bader

Stephanie Sabol

Deborah Hopkinson

Michele Mortlock

Sarah Fabiny

Varian Johnson

Jess Brallier

Sherri L. Smith

Gina Shaw

Catherine Daly

Jill Abramson

Roberta Edwards

Kirsti Jewel

Caleb Gayle

Ben Hubbard

Kirsten Anderson

Douglas Yacka

Vivian Jun Kirklin

David Groff

John Mantha

Tim Tomkinson

Lauren Mortimer

James Bennett

John Hinderliter

Tim Foley

David Grayson Kenyon

Dede Putra

Gregory Copeland

Stephen Marchesi

Jerry Hoare

Ted Hammond

Laurie A. Conley

Andrew Thomson

David Malan

Manuel Gutierrez

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