Books Like Horrible Histories for Kids Who Like Their History Gross

If your kid has read the same Horrible Histories book three times — mostly for the parts about Tudor toilets and Roman battlefield surgery — you already know what works: history delivered with jokes, gross-out facts, and a total absence of “memorize these dates.” The trick is finding what to hand them next.

Here are 9 books like Horrible Histories, from other gross-and-funny series to story-driven alternatives that keep the same “tell me the real story” energy.

1. Smart Kids Ask Why: The History of the World

To be upfront: this isn’t a gross-out book, and it won’t try to be Horrible Histories. What it shares is the thing that makes Horrible Histories work — it treats history as a string of “wait, why did that happen?” moments instead of a list to memorize. Across 101 full-color pages and 17 chapters, a recurring kid explorer travels from ice-age campfires to the Moon landing. Every page covers one big moment with a full-page illustration, four bite-sized facts, and a fun fact at the bottom. It’s the right pick when your kid has finished the series and you want one book that ties all those separate eras into a single timeline. Ages 7 and up.

2. Horrible Histories by Terry Deary

The original, and still the benchmark. Terry Deary’s long-running series covers eras and topics one volume at a time — the Romans, the Tudors, the Victorians, and many more — in a cartoon-heavy, joke-a-page style that focuses on the grim, weird, and embarrassing side of the past. If your kid hasn’t read all of them, more Horrible Histories is genuinely the best next book.

3. You Wouldn’t Want to Be… series

These flip the perspective: instead of “here’s what happened,” they say “here’s what it would have been like to be you, and it would have been terrible.” Each volume drops the reader into a historical role — a Roman gladiator, an Egyptian mummy, and so on — and walks through the unpleasant details in a comic-style layout. It’s the closest format match to Horrible Histories on this list.

4. The Worst Children’s Jobs in History by Tony Robinson

From the presenter of TV’s Worst Jobs in History, this one focuses on the work kids their own age were once expected to do. It’s the “be glad you only have to do chores” book, funny and grim at the same time, and a good fit for kids who love the human, everyday side of history more than kings and battles.

5. Who Was…? series

Short, illustrated biographies of real people, from explorers and inventors to presidents and artists. They’re less jokey than Horrible Histories, but each one is a quick read built around a person’s most interesting moments, which suits kids who like their history in story form. A good bridge for readers moving from comic-style to chapter books.

6. Horrible Science by Nick Arnold

Same irreverent, cartoon-packed style, applied to science instead of history. If your kid’s favorite part of Horrible Histories was the gruesome-but-true facts, this is where that appetite goes next: bodies, bugs, chemistry, and forces, all with a sense of humor.

7. Smart Kids Ask Why: Dinosaurs!

Prehistory is the original “gross and dangerous” era, and kids who love Horrible Histories usually love giant meat-eaters too. Across 112 full-color pages, every page starts with a “why” question, and about 20 famous dinosaurs — including T. rex and Giganotosaurus — get their own profile-card spreads. It’s a strong pick for the kid who wants the facts behind the monsters, not just the pictures. Ages 6 and up.

8. History Comics (First Second)

A graphic-novel series that tackles one real historical event or subject per volume. The comic format keeps reluctant readers turning pages, and each book is built around a single story, which makes it a natural next step for kids who like Horrible Histories’ illustrated style but want something a little more narrative.

9. A Little History of the World by E. H. Gombrich

A classic that tells the whole sweep of history as one continuous story in short, readable chapters. It’s text-heavy and has no cartoons, so it suits older readers — roughly ages 9 and up — who have outgrown the joke-a-page format but still want history told like a story rather than a textbook.

How to Pick

• Wants more gross and funny: more Horrible Histories, then You Wouldn’t Want to Be… and Tony Robinson.
• Wants the whole timeline in one place: Smart Kids Ask Why: The History of the World, then Gombrich once they’re ready for more text.
• Likes monsters and big dangerous facts: Smart Kids Ask Why: Dinosaurs! and Horrible Science.
• Prefers comics or short stories: History Comics and Who Was…?

Most kids who love Horrible Histories don’t love it because it’s gross — they love it because someone finally told them the real story. Pick the book that keeps telling it.

Daniel Bulmez is the author of the Smart Kids Ask Why book series, available on this store and on Amazon.