10 Patriotic Books for Kids Ages 8-12

I love America and I want to make sure that my kids do too. So I’ve been collecting patriotic books for kids ages 8-12 for a few years now. My fact-loving oldest daughter absorbs these books like a sponge (and then teaches me what she’s learned, a service I greatly appreciate).

Since most patriotic books for kids seem to be in the form of picture books, I wanted to put together a roundup of middle-grade books that older kids will enjoy. These patriotic books help kids (and their immigrant parents like me) to learn more about their country and appreciate the men and women that made our freedom possible.

I collected the best patriotic books for middle-grade readers from my kids’ shelves. Whether you’re looking for something educational or just plain fun, here are our patriotic books for kids in the 8-12 age range.

*This blog post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of my links, I’ll receive a small commission at no cost to you.

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Patriotic Books for Kids Ages 8-12

This is Our Constitution by Khizr Kahn

The author grew up in Pakistan, immigrated to the United States with his family, became a citizen, and is on the bar of the United States Supreme Court. He takes his great love of this country and makes the constitution accessible for kids in middle school. Using anecdotes and research, he explains the important documents of our country so that they’re easy to understand.

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Kid Presidents: True Tales of Childhood From America’s Presidents by David Stabler, illustrated by Doogie Horner

It tells true stories of US presidents from when they were children. Some of the stories are funny, some inspiring, and all of them are interesting. Even presidents struggled with their weight, bullies, and disabilities. Many of the presidents had
passions for things other than politics, like animals, baseball, and arrowhead collecting. The stories in this book made our political leaders more human in the eyes of my kids.

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National Parks Guide U.S.A. (National Geographic Kids) by National Geographic Kids

If you do a lot of traveling, are planning a trip, or are simply looking for outdoor attractions in your area, this is a wonderful resource for your kids to have! My kids and I spend a lot of time looking through the different featured parks and deciding on fun things to see together. We also use it to plan our trips out to the western states. Most parks are listed in this book, along with information on things to see and do at each of them.

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50 States (America Handbooks, a Time for Kids Book) by the editors of Time for Kids

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing books like this. It’s fun and patriotic and has interesting tidbits of information about all 50 United States. Each state has a short history and an info box with quick facts. Learn which Native American tribes lived in each state before the Europeans arrived, how each state came into the union, and in what order they joined.

This would be a great addition to a classroom or school library.

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Presidents of the United States by Time for Kids

This book starts off with a bit of information on how the presidency was formed, then it dives right into the juicy stuff.

Each president has a 1-2 page summary of his life and presidency. These life snippets aren’t long. They cover the important themes, ideas, and major national events of each president’s time in the White House. This is a handy and informative book that covers each and every president of the United States.

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Awesome America by Katy Steinmetz

Awesome America is a great book for kids in the 8-12 age range. It covers a wide variety of topics, including history and geography. It also explains the different branches of the U.S. government, explores important landmarks (like the Statue of Liberty), and highlights moments that changed the country. Good and bad, it’s all there. Is your child interested in learning about slavery? Women’s rights? The constitution? Find information on those topics as well as what makes Americans happy, the military, and the Olympics.

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Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain in My… by Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel

The first book in the hilarious Benjamin Franklin series. A boy named Ike discovers that he can communicate across the centuries with Benjamin Franklin. The two start an interesting (and funny) pen pal relationship when Ike mails Ben Franklin his homework—and Ben writes back. This is a book for the middle school set. Kids who like history and love to laugh will appreciate these humor-packed pages.

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Benjamin Franklin: You’ve Got Mail by Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel

This is a funny and patriotic book about time travel, founding fathers, and harebrained ideas. In this installment, Ike decides to mail himself back to Benjamin Franklin’s era in order to save the founding father from a mess that Ike created in the first book. Of course, Ike ends up mostly causing more trouble and is generally a pest, but he comes up with some brilliant (if morally questionable) schemes along the way that could save the day.

It’s told through vignettes, letters, and Benjamin Franklin’s journal entries. Because of the unique format, readers get a look into the personality of each character and what they think of each other. It makes for a pretty funny book that kids in middle school will love.

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Weird But True Know-It-All: U.S. Presidents by Brianna DuMont, illustrated by Adrian Lubbers

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln was a great wrestler? That Ulysses S. Grant got a speeding ticket riding his horse – twice! Or that Benjamin Harrison was afraid of electricity? And let’s not forget that President McKinley had a pet parrot that whistled “Yankee Doodle Dandy” duets with him. Every president — from the 1st to the 45th — is spotlighted, featuring important historical information alongside vignette’s highlighting the oddities of each president.

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Benjamin Franklin’s Wise Words by K.M. Kostyal, illustrated by Fred Harper

Benjamin Franklin is commonly thought of as one of the wisest and most intelligent men in American history. This book features fifty of his famous sayings (accompanied by a modern translation for those of us that need it *raises hand*), cool stories, and awesome illustrations. Kids can take advice from the best on everything from manners and mindfulness to working hard and making friends.

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What are your favorite patriotic books for middle-grade readers?