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I stumbled upon the book series “Ordinary People Change the World” earlier this year. This series of books is inspiring for children and adults of all ages! They are educational, informative, and fun for children!

About the Book Series:

This book series is about ordinary people that followed their dreams, beliefs, and ambitions to change the world. They weren’t just famous people, they were / are heroes that truly impact/ed the world to make it better. This series of books published by Penguin Random House, LLC is written by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos.

Heroes like:

• Abraham Lincoln
• Albert Einstein
• Alexander Hamilton
• Amelia Earhart
• Anne Frank
• Benjamin Franklin
• Billie Jean King
• Bronte Sisters
• Cleopatra
• George Washington
• Ghandi
• Harriet Tubman
• Harry Houdini
• Helen Keller
• Jackie Robinson
• Jane Goodall
• Jim Henson
• Leonardo Di DeVinci
• Lucille Ball
• Marie Curie
• Martin Luther King
• Neil Armstrong
• Rosa Parks
• Sacagawea
• Sonya Sotomayor
• Susan B. Anthony
• Theodore Roosevelt
• Walt Disney

Check out many of the series of books here!

These books are written in such a way that children can relate to the characters and take away different ideas while watching, like how Rosa Parks dealt with bullies, for example. These books come to life in the PBS series titled, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. The children in the show go back in time to meet and learn about these important heroes.

These books are geared toward kids ages 5-9 or perhaps some advanced readers that are slightly below age 5. My 3 year old loves these books and will sit and listen when we read but she doesn’t yet grasp all the verbiage and details in the books quite yet. Regardless, she loves watching Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, so she was very interested in listening to the stories and looking through the books. My 5 year old loves the series! It’s perfect for her age and its primed some really great dialogue in our home about history, how to treat other people, and also how heroes start out as ordinary people like ourselves!

Each character is introduced as child. Children learn about each characters life growing up, what their motivations and ambitions were, how various experiences molded their interests, and what challenges they faced along the way. The illustrations in the books (like those in the PBS series) really help children relate to the characters.

What we LOVED about this series:

• We loved that the stories are totally relatable to children. My children could relate to the stories about these heroes because they learned so much about their childhood and how they grew up. The language in the book also is perfect for ages 5-9.
• The historical elements from this series of books are incredibly fascinating to young and adult readers! I loved learning about the characters just as much as my children!
• We loved the fun illustrations, how well they aligned with the story, and how relatable they were for children.
• I loved that my children can learn about these incredible role models from history, learn that they were ordinary like themselves, and know that they, too, can follow their own interests and ambitions in life to achieve greatness!

For the fun of it, I used the PBS Hero Maker app to make my own hero! Check it out below and I hope that you check out this fun and inspiring book series! We’ve started a small collection and I hope to either add to it or find more of these books at our local library!

-Kristen