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