The purpose of this article is to introduce text sets of picture books that address 10 ancient civilizations commonly taught in middle school and also offer instructional strategies that could be used for critical and multicultural literacy exploration. Beginning with discussion of the importance of picture books and text sets in the middle school classroom, the article highlights the importance of reading pictures along with words. Additionally, this article showcases 10 ancient civilizations by providing picture book titles that will engage students and concludes by sharing literacy strategies and reflection that will assist social studies teachers in implementing the various text sets described throughout.