Books about Christopher Columbus

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It’s important to teach children about the people who helped shape our world. These books about Christopher Columbus are a great place to start.

Christopher Columbus plays an integral part in the founding of the Americas. Whether you study Christopher Columbus in October leading up to Columbus Day or you study him in addition to other famous explorers, these picture books are a great way to introduce him to kids in kindergarten through early elementary grades. 

Whether you’re looking to share a classic from your childhood or you’re looking for something new, this collection of picture books is a great place to begin your book basket.

Books about Christopher Columbus

Below, I’ve featured just a handful of picture books that will help your young readers learn about Christopher Columbus.

You should be able to find them at your local library or book store. If you can’t find them locally, you can click each image cover to purchase them on Amazon.

 

All About Christopher Columbus – All hail to the man who discovered America and placed it in the map. If it weren’t for Christopher Columbus, America wouldn’t be known throughout the world. Do you know how he made such astonishing discovery? This book tells his tale, in all facts and no fiction.

You Wouldn’t Want to Sail with Christopher Columbus!  – Get ready…as a poor boy living in Spain you dream of exploring the world by sea. You manage to get on board a ship heading west, under the command of Christopher Columbus. It’s a Rough Ride!

Encounter – Told from a young Taino boy’s point of view, this is a story of how the boy tried to warn his people against welcoming the strangers, who seemed more interested in golden ornaments than friendship. Years later the boy, now an old man, looks back at the destruction of his people and their culture by the colonizers.

 

A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus – Born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451, Christopher Columbus dreamed of going to sea. He knew the earth was round, and planned a voyage west into the unknown waters of the Atlantic to reach the Indies. But it wasn’t until he was 41 years old that Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain gave him the funds, the three ships, and the men to make a voyage.

Christopher Columbus and the Age of Exploration for Kids – Kids will gain a fuller picture of the seafarer’s life, his impact, and the dangers and thrills of exploration as they learn about all four of Columbus’s voyages to the New World, not just his first, as well as the year that Columbus spent stranded on the island of Jamaica without hope of rescue.

Christopher Columbus – With simple, lyrical text and bold, kid-friendly illustrations, this book introduces Christopher Columbus to the youngest readers and inspires them to follow their dreams.

 

Follow the Dream – Imagine a boy who lives at a time when many people still believe the world is flat…Imagine him standing on a sea wall, gazing at the horizon and wondering, listening to merchants and sailors as they unload their cargo…Imagine him dreaming of faraway places and people, like those he’s read about in The Travels of Marco Polo.

Where Do You Think You’re Going, Christopher Columbus? – Christopher Columbus thought he knew where he was going. He had planned to be the first to cross the ocean and reach the rich lands of the Indies. And when he returned to Spain, he insisted to everyone who would listen that he’d succeeded. But that wasn’t exactly true. Little did Columbus know that his mistake would come to be known as America!

Columbus – Readers will learn that it was the saga of Leif Erickson that was one of the inspirations for Columbus’s voyage to the East. They will also learn that Columbus was such a skilled astronomer that he knew the exact date when the next eclipse of the moon was and used that knowledge to his advantage.

 

Who Was Christopher Columbus? – Christopher Columbus was a brave and curious man. He was an explorer who went out to the unknown to discover new lands. It was Christopher Columbus who discovered the Americas, which he dubbed as the New World. 

Christopher Columbus – Christopher Columbus was looking for a faster trade route to China. Instead of finding spices, he opened the way to a part of the world no one in Europe even knew existed!

In 1492 – An informative, rhyming text and illustrations offer young readers a fun way to learn about Christopher Columbus’s journey to North America and his encounter with the continent’s native peoples.

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