A fascinating series in our Children's Department is the 'You Wouldn't Want To' series from Scholastic.  Written by a variety of authors, each one explores a part of history from the viewpoint of how it would have been to have had to live in those times.  We currently have twenty-seven books from this line in our collection ranging from ancient history ('You Wouldn't Want to be a Slave in Ancient Greece! A Life You'd Rather Not Have') to early American history ('You Wouldn't Want to be a Pony Express Rider! A Dusty, Thankless Job You'd Rather Not Do') to more modern times ('You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Titanic! One Voyage You'd Rather Not Make').

All of the books contain a timeline, handy hints for the era in question and a glossary.  The details they pull out of the daily lives of the everyday people that were a part of history brings the past to life in a way that is as interesting to adults as well as children.