
What Was the Industrial Revolution?
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.
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Start with this bookAbout 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.
Continue reading
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 Kids | 54% |
|---|---|
| Inventions | 50% |
| 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