What Was the Industrial Revolution? by Jim E. Gigliotti

What Was the Industrial Revolution?

Jim E. Gigliotti

Penguin Young Readers Group · Paperback · December 2, 2025

The groundbreaking people, ideas, and inventions of the Industrial Revolution, spanning from 1760 to 1840, are brought to life in this fascinating addition to the New York Times bestselling What Was? series.

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Who it’s for
Explore the inventions, people, and ideas that reshaped work and economies from 1760 to 1840.
Themes
Industrialization, Technological innovation, Changing labor and economies
Genres
Modern History for Kids, Inventions, 19th Century U.S.

About this book

The groundbreaking people, ideas, and inventions of the Industrial Revolution, spanning from 1760 to 1840, are brought to life in this fascinating addition to the New York Times bestselling What Was? series. Following the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution was a global period of economic and industrial progress in Europe and the United States.

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In just eighty years, the Industrial Revolution introduced new inventions and ideas that transformed labor and the economy. This included the industrial use of new materials like steel, the transition of means of production from human hands to machines, and the adoption of new processes like steam power. These innovations dramatically improved factory output, increased the population, and set a new precedent for standard of living for the average person. In this illustrated book, which features sixteen pages of black-and-white photographs, readers will learn about the inventions, people, and ideas that made this period one of the most important and exciting times in modern history—one that still impacts our lives today.

Steel and Steam

Explore the inventions, people, and ideas that reshaped work and economies from 1760 to 1840.

Come here for

  • Steel, steam power, and the move from human labor to machines
  • People and ideas behind changes to work and the economy

Expect

  • Coverage of Europe and the United States
  • Sixteen pages of black-and-white photographs

Where it sits

Modern History for Kids54%
Inventions50%
19th Century U.S.36%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • History
  • 19th Century U.S.
  • Machines & Tools
Authors
Jim E. Gigliotti
Publisher
Penguin Young Readers Group
Published
December 2, 2025
Format
Paperback
Theme
Industrialization · Technological innovation · Changing labor and economies
Reading lane
History