The twentieth century began with horses in city streets and ended with spacecraft leaving the solar system. In between came radio, motion pictures, jazz, television, jet travel, modern computers, and a human footprint on the Moon. Children’s books are especially good at restoring the people inside that astonishing list: the puppeteer testing an upside-down marionette, the physicist chasing a thought experiment, the musician tinkering with sound, the athlete practicing one more lap, and the family making an ordinary home in a fast-changing world.
Drawing from Bookroo’s collection of 1,547 books about the 20th century, our editors chose fifteen that keep their attention on what people made, discovered, attempted, and passed on. The shortlist pairs Newbery and Caldecott classics with excellent true stories about Apollo 11, Jane Goodall, Albert Einstein, Hedy Lamarr, Wilma Rudolph, Fred Rogers, and the birth of the Macy’s parade balloons. Start there, then use the age shelves for sturdy first biographies, richly illustrated history, and chapter books that let young readers inhabit the 1900s rather than merely memorize them.
A puppeteer who loves impossible problems invents the enormous floating balloons of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Three astronauts climb into a spacecraft about the size of a car and ride a thirty-story rocket off the planet.
A suitcase, a handful of clues, and a jazz-band flyer send ten-year-old Bud across Depression-era Michigan in search of his father.
Claudia plans a first-class runaway to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, then finds a mystery too good to leave unsolved.
Before the chimpanzees of Gombe came a backyard, a notebook, and a girl who never stopped watching.
A shy, musical child grows into the neighbor who made television slower, kinder, and far more attentive to children.
A great-grandfather who could not write kept his journey from Italy to America in matchboxes, one tiny object at a time.
A boy imagines riding beside a beam of light and follows the question until it changes physics.
Five sisters turn library trips, penny treats, household chores, and Jewish holidays into a warm portrait of Lower East Side life.
The girl once told she might never walk becomes the fastest woman in the world and wins three Olympic gold medals.
A movie star spends her evenings at a drafting table, designing a radio signal that cannot be jammed.
A curious musician takes guitars, microphones, and recording machines apart until popular music can do things it never did before.
Apollo 11’s lunar module pilot explains the machines, maneuvers, checklists, and teamwork behind the first Moon landing.
A boy who sees numbers everywhere grows into a wandering mathematician who solves problems by thinking alongside other people.
Four children and their hardworking mother make one year in a yellow house into a hundred small adventures.
Friendly first biographies of artists, athletes, explorers, inventors, and other remarkable people from the 1900s. Ages 0–4.
Discover how a dream led Audrey Hepburn from war-torn Europe to Hollywood stardom.
Discover Marie Curie's journey from childhood dreams to groundbreaking scientific achievements.
Discover 18 women who defied odds and changed history.
A girl and her pony face a drought threatening their family farm.
A young dreamer defies expectations to become a country music icon and philanthropist.
Discover the journey of a musical icon who transformed rock and roll with his unique sound.
Discover a trailblazer who revolutionized education and changed children's lives.
A rebellious youth becomes a symbol of peace, uniting a nation.
Discover how a stolen bike led to a boxing legend's rise.
A young martial artist defies Hollywood's barriers to become a film legend.
Discover how a working-class girl revolutionized fashion with her bold designs.
A young dancer defies odds to become a ballet legend.
True stories and historical fiction about big ideas, ingenious machines, spaceflight, music, sport, family life, and everyday work across the century. Ages 4–10.
Three siblings face personal struggles as the Challenger launch looms, altering their lives forever.
Discover how a determined leader defied odds to protect nature.
Discover how peaceful protest changed history.
A man invents a new kind of colored crayon that brings joy to children all around the world.
A young girl living in the White House during World War II wants to do her part to help with the war effort
A woman defies societal norms to fight for voting rights, changing history forever.
A young boy helps his mother put together a care package for a family in need, and finds a way to give something special to a girl his age.
A teacher transforms plantation kids into Olympic swimmers using innovative techniques.
A little girl witnesses the first Juneteenth, marking freedom's arrival.
Discover the power of a dream that changed history.
Discover how Maya Angelou found her voice and became a beloved writer and activist.
A cook's secret efforts fuel a pivotal civil rights movement.
Enduring classics and modern historical fiction set in the cities, small towns, concert halls, museums, and changing homes of the 1900s. Ages 7–13.
Three siblings seek a forever home amidst wartime chaos and secrets.
A family's land is their lifeblood amidst racism and turmoil.
In the wilderness, Ellie seeks healing secrets to save her comatose father.
A friendship forged in imagination faces a tragic test, altering two worlds forever.
A library prank spirals into a quest to uncover a ghost and a missing stamp collection.
A young girl helps hide her friend from Nazi forces in occupied Denmark.
A young girl finds her voice amidst the echoes of Jim Crow and Civil Rights awakening.
A dragon and a child unravel Vienna's forgotten mystery: the fate of missing dragons.
In 1957 Madrid, a young photographer uncovers dark secrets beneath a sunny facade, risking everything for truth and love.
A poetic memoir challenges societal silence on sexual assault.
A girl uses art to survive a Siberian work camp and reunite her family.
A young girl navigates hardship and family drama in early 20th-century Brooklyn.
