Stone Age to Iron Age history topic booklist

Stone Age to Iron Age Britain features in the history curriculum for primary schools across England and Wales, and children are often curious to learn more about this fascinating era. We have hand-picked a selection of books which connect with this period, and which would work well alongside a history topic.

An illustration from the front cover of Stone Age Boy - two children standing at the entrance to a cave, one holding a spear and the other a flaming torch
  • Mo’s Best Friend

    by Bridget Marzo 

    2024 4 to 9 years 

    • Historical
    • Picture books

    Mo finds a new four-legged friend in this energetic and accurate story about Stone Age life and the domestication of dogs. 

  • Cave Baby

    by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Emily Gravett 

    2011 2 to 9 years 

    • Funny
    • Picture books
    • Poetry and rhyme

    Cave Baby is restless and sets about amusing himself. But he is warned that being naughty will mean A mammoth’s going to throw you to the big brown bear!’

  • Gretel the Wonder Mammoth

    by Kim Hillyard 

    2022 2 to 7 years 

    • Picture books

    This book follows Gretel, the very last mammoth, as she tackles her anxiety with the help of her friends and learns her place in the world.

  • Stone Age Boy

    by Satoshi Kitamura, illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura 

    2008 4 to 14 years 

    • Adventure
    • Around the world
    • Funny
    • Historical
    • Picture books

    This beautifully illustrated book is packed with fascinating facts about the Stone Age, presented in an accessible and interesting way

  • Stone Age Beasts

    by Ben Lerwill, illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith 

    2023 5 to 9 years 

    • Historical
    • Non-fiction

    Three million years ago, humans had just started making stone tools. This was the beginning of the Stone Age, which only ended about 4000 years ago – not very long, in the grand scheme of things.

  • 24 Hours in the Stone Age

    by Lan Cook, illustrated by Laurent King 

    2021 5 to 14 years 

    • Historical
    • Non-fiction
    • Picture books

    This fictional account of a Stone-Age family enables young readers to imagine what life may have been like for a child of their age. The comic strip illustrations are colourful, humorous and informative.

  • Stig of the Dump

    by Clive King 

    2014 5 to 14 years 

    • Adventure
    • Classics

    Exploring an old chalk pit, Barney meets a strange boy who wears a rabbit skin and speaks in grunts.

  • The Wild Way Home

    by Sophie Kirtley 

    2020 9 to 14 years 

    • Adventure
    • Coming-of-age
    • Fantasy

    A thrilling time-slip adventure in which a scared boy runs into an ancient forest and falls into the Stone Age.

  • Wolf Brother

    by Michelle Paver 

    2014 9 to 14 years 

    • Adventure
    • Around the world
    • Classics
    • Coming-of-age
    • Fantasy
    • Myths and legends

    Twelve-year-old Torak sees his father murdered by a terrible demon in the form of a bear. With his dying breath, Torak’s father tells his son that he is the only one who can stop it.