We Were There Series

The We Were There books are a series of historical novels written for children. The series consists of 36 titles, first released between 1955 and 1963 by Grosset & Dunlap. Each book in the series is a fictional retelling of an historical event, featuring one or more children as primary characters. The books were written by a number of different authors, each writing from one to seven of the books; the authors included Benjamin Appel, Jim Kjelgaard, Earl Schenck Miers, William O. Steele, and others. Each book's byline also lists a separate "historical consultant," who was ostensibly a specialist in the historic topic covered by that particular book. The historical consultants were typically college professors or, in the case of war-related stories, retired military officers; among the more noteworthy consultants for the series were the historians Bruce Catton, Walter Prescott Webb and A. B. Guthrie, Jr.. The books are illustrated with black-and-white line art, with color drawings on the dust jackets.

The dust jackets of the original printings of the books describe the series as follows:

"We Were There books are easy to read and provide exciting, entertaining stories, based upon true historic events. Each story is checked for factual accuracy by an outstanding authority on this particular phase of our history. Though written simply enough for young readers, they make interesting reading for boys and girls well into their teens."

The original hardbound editions of the books were issued in a slightly oversized format and were followed by several other printings, including editions for book clubs and libraries. In the mid-1960's, the books were reissued with hardbound picture covers (using the original dust jacket artwork), and softcover editions of some books became available in the 1970s. Currently, some are being reprinted by Dover Publications, American Home School Publishing or under different titles by other publishers.

We happily buy copies of these books that are in decent shape, with or without dustjackets. We have never had a complete set to sell (and find unlikely we ever will). This list is meant to aid you as you search used bookstores and online. About half of the entries below link to free versions of the books online.

List of We Were There books:

  1. We Were There on the Oregon Trail, by William O. Steele
  2. We Were There at the Battle of Gettysburg, by Alida Sims Malkus
  3. We Were There at the Boston Tea Party, by Robert N. Webb
  4. We Were There with Byrd at the South Pole, by Charles S. Strong
  5. We Were There at the Normandy Invasion, by Clayton Knight
  6. We Were There in the Klondike Gold Rush, by Benjamin Appel
  7. We Were There with the Mayflower Pilgrims, by Robert N. Webb
  8. We Were There with the Pony Express, by William O. Steele
  9. We Were There with the California Forty-Niners, by Stephen Holt
  10. We Were There with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, by Robert N. Webb
  11. We Were There with Jean Lafitte at New Orleans, by Iris Vinton
  12. We Were There at the Oklahoma Land Run, by Jim Kjelgaard
  13. We Were There at the Battle for Bataan, by Benjamin Appel
  14. We Were There on the Chisholm Trail, by Ross McLaury Taylor
  15. We Were There at Pearl Harbor, by Felix Sutton
  16. We Were There with Richard the Lionhearted in the Crusades, by Robert N. Webb
  17. We Were There when Washington Won at Yorktown, by Earl Schenck Miers
  18. We Were There at the Battle of the Alamo, by Margaret Cousins
  19. We Were There at the Opening of the Erie Canal, by Enid Lamonte Meadowcroft
  20. We Were There at the Battle of Lexington and Concord, by Felix Sutton
  21. We Were There with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea, by Robert N. Webb
  22. We Were There with Lewis and Clark, by James Munves
  23. We Were There when Grant Met Lee at Appomattox, by Earl Schenck Miers
  24. We Were There at the Battle of Britain, by Clayton Knight and Katherine Sturges Knight
  25. We Were There with Cortes and Montezuma, by Benjamin Appel
  26. We Were There with the California Rancheros, by Stephen Holt
  27. We Were There with Caeser's Legions, by Robert N. Webb
  28. We Were There at the First Airplane Flight, by Felix Sutton
  29. We Were There on the Santa Fe Trail, by Ross McLaury Taylor
  30. We Were There with Charles Darwin on H.M.S. Beagle, by Philip Eisenberg
  31. We Were There at the Driving of the Golden Spike, by David Shepherd
  32. We Were There at the Opening of the Atomic Era, by James Munves
  33. We Were There with the Lafayette Escadrille, by Clayton Knight and Katherine Sturges Knight
  34. We Were There at the Battle of the Bulge, by David Shepherd
  35. We Were There on the Nautilus, by Robert N. Webb
  36. We Were There with Lincoln in the White House, by Earl Schenck Miers
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43 Items found Print
We Were There at Pearl Harbor
We Were There #15
by Felix Sutton, illustrated by Frank Vaughn
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Battle for Bataan
We Were There #13
by Benjamin Appel, illustrated by Irv Docktor
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Battle of Britain
We Were There #24
by Clayton Knight & Katherine Sturges Knight
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Battle of Gettysburg
We Were There #2
by Alida Sims Malkus, illustrated by Leonard Vosburgh
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Battle of Gettysburg
by Alida Sims Malkus
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.94
We Were There at the Battle of Lexington and Concord
We Were There #20
by Felix Sutton, illustrated by H. B. Vestal
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Battle of the Alamo
We Were There #18
by Margaret Cousins, illustrated by Nicholas Eggenhofer
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Battle of the Bulge
We Were There #34
by David Shepherd, illustrated by George Kraynak
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Boston Tea Party
We Were There #3
by Robert N. Webb, illustrated by E. F. Ward
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Boston Tea Party
by Robert N. Webb
from Dover Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
We Were There at the Driving of the Golden Spike
We Were There #31
by David Shepherd, illustrated by William K. Plummer
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Driving of the Golden Spike
by David Shepherd, William K. Plummer
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
We Were There at the First Airplane Flight
We Were There #28
by Felix Sutton, illustrated by Lazlo Matulay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
We Were There at the First Airplane Flight
by Felix Sutton, illustrated by Lazlo Matulay
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.94
We Were There at the Normandy Invasion
We Were There #5
by Clayton Knight
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Oklahoma Land Run
We Were There #12
by Jim Kjelgaard, illustrated by Chris A. Kenyon
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Opening of the Atomic Era
We Were There #32
by James Munves, illustrated by Charles Brey
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Opening of the Erie Canal
We Were There #19
by Enid Lamonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by Gerald McCann
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There in the Klondike Gold Rush
We Were There #6
by Benamin Appel, illustrated by Irv Docktor
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There on the Chisholm Trail
We Were There #14
by Ross McLaury Taylor, illustrated by Charles Banks Wilson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There on the Nautilus
We Were There #35
by Robert N. Webb, illustrated by Frank Vaughn
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There on the Oregon Trail
by William O. Steele
from American Home-School Publishing
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
We Were There on the Oregon Trail
We Were There #1
by William O. Steele, illustrated by Jo Polseno
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There on the Santa Fe Trail
We Were There #29
by Ross McLaury Taylor, illustrated by Albert Orbaan
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There When Grant Met Lee at Appamattox
We Were There #23
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Leonard Vosburgh
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There When Washington Won at Yorktown
We Were There #17
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Herman B. Vestal
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with Byrd at the South Pole
We Were There #4
by Charles S. Strong, illustrated by J. Graham Kaye
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There With Caesar's Legions
We Were There #27
by Robert N. Webb, illustrated by Fabian Zaccone
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with Charles Darwin on H.M.S. Beagle
We Were There #30
by Philip Eisenberg, illustrated by Herman B. Vestal
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with Cortes and Montezuma
We Were There #25
by Benjamen Appel, illustrated by Reynold Pollack
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
We Were There #10
by Robert N. Webb, illustrated by Robert Pious
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea
We Were There #21
by Robert N. Webb, illustrated by Evelyn Copelman
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with Jean Lafitte at New Orleans
We Were There #11
by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Robert Glaubke
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with Lewis & Clark
by James Munves
from American Home-School Publishing
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
We Were There With Lewis and Clark
We Were There #22
by James Munves, illustrated by Robert Glaubke
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There With Lincoln in the White House
We Were There #36
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Charles Geer
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with Richard the Lionhearted in the Crusades
We Were There #16
by Robert N. Webb, illustrated by Leonard Vosburgh
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with the California Forty-Niners
We Were There #9
by Stephen Holt, illustrated by Raymond Lufkin
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with the California Rancheros
We Were There #26
by Stephen Holt, illustrated by William Reusswig
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with the Lafayette Escadrille
We Were There #33
by Clayton Knight & Katherine Sturges Knight
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with the Mayflower Pilgrims
We Were There #7
by Robert N. Webb, illustrated by Charles J. Andres
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with The Pony Express
by William O. Steele
from American Home-School Publishing
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
We Were There with the Pony Express
We Were There #8
by William O. Steele, illustrated by Frank Vaughn
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)