Uncover the Past: Learning History through Children's Literature

"Values and ideologies, human actions and reactions are not trans-historical; they are contingent on the historical context of the era and are radically different from the present." - Kim Wilson, Re-Visioning Historical Fiction for Young Readers (1) “Historical novels are always products of a particular historical context. As a result, their characters and historical arguments reflect the knowledge, politics, and worldview of authors at a particular moment in time.” - Sara Schwebel, Child-Sized History (2) Below is a selection of classic children’s historical fiction published between the years of 1951 and 1985. While the “history” displayed in these novels has not changed, the context has. What Wilson and Schwebel say is true: historical fiction is a product of one’s own time. An historical story written in the 1950s will be different from one written in the 2000s. Many factors can contribute to this. As time passes, roles, attitudes, and expectation...

There are two main roadblocks that hinder effectively sharing of children’s historical fiction. The first roadblock was discussed in the previous article . The second barrier, unfortunately, comes from library and education professionals themselves. In my research, I have read about and observed a parallel, yet unconnected objective in how children’s historical fiction is used in the classroom and promoted in libraries. From the perspective of educators, the library has not been the best resource for gathering historical fiction. At the same time, public librarians (in particular) will emphasize that “teaching” history is not within their job description. These arguments are often true, but casting blame is not the solution. Both professions have the same goal: to pair young readers with the right books. Librarians will recognize this as S.R. Ranganathan’s 2nd and 3rd laws of library science ; educators have their own pedagogical canon to refer to. Yet the point r...

Reading historical fiction opens young readers' minds to a whole world of historical awareness. However, it is important to note that historical fiction can only go so far. Even if an author has spent years and years looking at primary sources in archives, traveling to historically relevant places, and read countless books about their topic, historical fiction is still fiction . As much as we love and encourage these books, it is just the starting point. While this is an exciting opportunity for educators and librarians to use and promote children’s historical fiction, there are two main roadblocks getting in the way. The first, and more obvious one, is the strict limitations of the Common Core State Standards . The second, which will be addressed in the next article, comes from library and education professionals themselves: the existence of a parallel, yet unconnected objective in how children’s historical fiction is both used in the classroom and promoted in libra...

Great historical fiction is time travel, we feel we are in another place, seeing more than the record of the past allowed us to know. - Marc Aronson (1) Blending stories into a study of history turns the past into a dynamic place. – Tarry Lindquist (2) Think back to when you were 10 or 11 years old. Can you remember browsing the library shelves for your next favorite chapter book? In school and public libraries across the county, so many of the middle grade chapter books sitting on the shelves have some sort of historical connection. Some are defined by their historical characters and events, while others rely on just a pinch of historical surroundings. Some are considered good historical fiction (even great literature!), while some are judged as fictionalized history. As librarians and educators seeking ways to promote and teach with historical, we must learn how to differentiate between good and “just ok” historical fiction. It is not enough to say that you ...