Dickens dedicated the book to "My own dear children, whom I hope it may help, bye and bye, to read with interest larger and better books on the same subject". The history covered the period between 50 BC and 1689, ending with a chapter summarising events from then until the accession of Queen Victoria. [2]

A Child's History was included in the curricula of British School children well into the 20th century, with successive editions published from 1851 to World War II.