What Was the Renaissance?

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

Discover all there is to know about the Renaissance, the period in history that took Europe from the Middle Ages to modern times!

Beginning in Italy, the Renaissance was a cultural movement that spread throughout Europe and affected art, science, technology, politics, and thought. From the 1300s to the beginning of the 1600s, scholars started to question what they knew and looked to literature and historical texts to develop new ideas for why things were the way they were. In just a short amount of time, the foundations for European life were uprooted and examined, leading people, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to explore new ways of thinking and being. Readers will learn why the Reinassance was such a pivotal time in European history and how it still influences us.

Series Overview: A natural expansion of the exceptional Who Was? series, What Was? focuses on compelling historical events, great battles, protests, and discoveries.

About the Author

Roberta Edwards has written several books for young readers, including a number in the Who Was? series. She lives in New York.

Author Residence: New York, NY