Historical fiction can sometimes be a hard sell in the library when placed next to an especially popular zombie/vampire/goth novel. That’s why a historical fiction book must be able to transport the reader to another place and time while also making the actions, thoughts and desires of the characters accessible and believable to a modern child or young adult. Here are a few more books that will tempt all ages.
For younger readers:
Red Kite, Blue Kite written by by Ji-li Jiang and illustrated by Greg Ruth. A heart-breaking, yet hopeful story of a young boy and his father who are caught up in chaos of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. A great book to introduce this time period to older children but also a way to reach children whose parents or close relatives have been incarcerated. Appropriate for all ages.
For older readers:
The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson. In 1927, fifty-eight exquisite hand-made dolls were sent from Japan to the United States to foster friendship and understanding between the two countries. Four stories set during the Great Depression and one in present-day bring to light a little remembered historical event. The writing is lyrical and engaging for readers eight years and up.
The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats. Told from the point of view of Cecily, a spoiled teenage girl whose father has just moved the family into occupied Wales in order to improve the family fortune and Gwenhwyfar, the teenage former inhabitant and now servant of the castle manor. A compassionate and vivid picture of early medieval life with two main characters that can at times display very modern wants and desires. There is some violence in the novel.
ReaderKidZ guest Melissa Buron has worked as a librarian and teacher for young people in Africa, Europe, and the United States for the past twenty years. She is an author, blogger and journalist. You can find her at www.melissaburon.com, or on Facebook, LinkedIn and on Twitter (@melissaburon).
I’ve always loved historical fiction, even if at the moment it’s a hard sell in the library when placed next to an especially popular zombie/vampire/goth novel. That’s why a historical fiction book must be able to transport the reader to another place and time while also making the actions, thoughts and desires of the characters accessible and believable to a modern child or young adult. Here are a few books that can tempt even the most devout fantasy lover.
For younger readers:
Unspoken: A Story of the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole. When a young girl finds a runaway slave in her barn, she must decide if she has the courage to do what she believes to be right. A wordless picture book illustrated in soft pencil, this book is is especially useful for explaining the concept and history of the Underground Railroad to very young children. Appropriate for all ages.
A Boy Called Dickens written by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated by John Hendrix. Hopkinson offers a fictionalized account of Charles Dickens’ childhood complete with hints concerning the inspiration of some of his famous novels. A great introduction to the author for younger children and a good complement to students already familiar with Charles Dickens’ work. Ages 6 and up.
For older readers:
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. Although not a recent publication, the depth of historical details and character development make The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle a must-read for all lovers of historical fiction. In 1832 Charlotte, a prim and proper young lady sets off from England to return to her family in Rhode Island. Along the way Charlotte discovers that her strictly defined rules of behavior must change if she is to survive the voyage. A wonderful tale of empowerment and growing-up. Ages 9 and above.
For the past twenty years Melissa Buron has worked as a librarian and teacher for young people in Africa, Europe and the United States. In addition, she is an author, blogger and journalist. You can find her at www.melissaburon.com, or on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@melissaburon). Contact her with your favorite historical fiction books or just to say “hi!”.
In 2007, debut novelist Leah Pileggi toured the Idaho Penitentiary in Boise, Idaho. She discovered that the youngest prisoner incarcerated had been ten years old in the 1880s. Caught in a wave of disbelief, she was inspired by the boy’s story. She knew she wanted to write about his survival, and the seeds for her historical novel took root.
In Prisoner 88, Jake Oliver Evans celebrates his eleventh birthday in the Idaho Territorial Penitentiary. He is sentenced to five years for shooting a man who threatened his father. A father who could barely take care of his son after his wife died.
Life in prison is rough for Jake. It’s summertime and there is no air conditioning and the stench is worse than that of a pig farm. Burly, unclean, hardened criminals are housed in three rows of cells, one on top of the other. Every day, Jake makes the most of his life. He mucks pig stalls and eats three square meals, more food than he’s seen in a lifetime. A couple of inmates befriend him and teach him to read and write. They watch his back. When his release date arrives; his pa disowns him. Jake has no place to go. But the kind warden isn’t about to see this courageous young boy drift through life without a second chance, and soon Jake’s ripping up his past and embracing his future. Pileggi tells a riveting story about a boy’s coming-of-age, friendship, and how family can be found in the most unusual places. She skillfully creates a heroic protagonist that will live on in young readers’ hearts—long after—the last page has been turned. For ages 10 and up.
To see pictures of the Idaho Penitentiary nicknamed “Old Pen,” click HERE.
“MAYBE YOU HAVE never read a book written by a ghost before. I am a ghost…I should tell you something else. I see things before they happen. You are probably thinking, ‘I wish I could see things before they happen.’
Be careful what you wish for.”
Author Tim Tingle is a masterful storyteller on stage or in a book with the written word. With this newest book, I warn you that you might have the same experience I did. You begin the first chapter, intending to read for a little while, but you can’t stop. One surprise happens on the heels of another. To create HOW I BECAME A GHOST, Tim Tingle re-walked the steps of his great-great-grandfather, recorded the stories of tribal elders, and then wrote this incredible page-turner for young readers (and adults as well). Yes, this book is about the Choctaw Trail of Tears but no, it will not leave you sad or depressed, instead, you will be amazed at the strength of community and the courage and of many individuals – even a talking dog!
Once you read one of Tingle’s books, you will want to read more. I encourage you to look at CROSSING BOK CHITTO, praised by Publishers Weekly as “…a moving and wholly original story about the intersection of cultures.” One more suggestion: SPIRITS DARK AND LIGHT which was given this description: “Tingle is a master storyteller, his flow and timing are superb. Young readers will feel like he’s talking directly to them,” by American Indians in Children’s Literature.
BUFFALO BIRD GIRL written and illustrated by S.D. Nelson, is a very different book, but one filled with images and information that give a rich account of the daily life of the Hidatsa people of the Dakotas. The actual words and stories once told by Buffalo Bird Girl are illustrated with archival photographs, maps, drawings, and the brilliant, startling images painted by S. D. Nelson.
These two books offer two very different stories, two Native perspectives, of American history told in engaging voices and accessible formats. What an opportunity to discuss with young readers the impact of “western expansion” on these two tribal nations.
Based on the true story of a young Jewish girl living in Paris during the horrific days of the Nazi invasion, Odette’s Secretsis a poignant and thoughtful depiction of one child’s life and death experience. As is stated on the flap copy, “Inspired by the life of the real Odette Meyers – and written in moving free-verse poetry – this is a story of determination to survive, and of a young girl forced to hide in plain sight.”
Inspiration struck author Maryann Macdonald when she read the a plaque placed near an old Parisian elementary school in honor of the Jewish children who had been deported from France during World War II. She was compelled to know more about these children. After much research, Maryann came across Doors to Madame Marie, the autobiography of Odette Meyers, one of those children who had been deported! She then became fascinated with this remarkable story, so much so that she returned to Paris to walk where Odette’s feet once tread. As a result of her quest to fully understand Odette, Maryann has tenderly told an amazing tale of trauma and triumph through the point of view of a young girl, a survivor like no other.
In hopes of guiding readers and educators to a better understanding of Odette’s experience, Maryann is offering a free, downloadable CCSS Annotated Teacher’s Guide as a pictorial companion for the novel. In it you’ll find writing activities, discussion questions, a map foldable, a timeline activity, and more.
Earlier this week, we learned about the real Odette on whom the historical fiction Odette’s Secrets was closely based. Today, author Maryann MacDonald tells ReaderKidZ more about writing this book.
How long did it take you to write Odette’s Secrets?
A long time. I discovered Odette’s book in the autumn of 2006, and met Daniel, Odette’s son, shortly afterwards. In 2007, I went to the Vendee to explore Odette’s life there. Afterwards, I began writing the book at my kitchen table in Paris. I wrote many drafts as the book evolved. In 2008, I found my agent, Steven Chudney, whose own father had been a hidden child in Poland. About two years later, we found the perfect editor at Bloomsbury, and after more revision, the book was scheduled to come out in 2012. However, it was delayed until 2013 for various reasons.
I have learned, as a writer, the importance of patience and of believing in my work. I have also learned not to put all my eggs into one basket. My picture book, The Christmas Cat(Dial, 2013), based on a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, was also written during this time, as was another picture book published in 2010, How to Hug(Marshall Cavendish, 2011). The Christmas Cat won’t be out until later this month!
Where do you work?
I tend to work at home or at the library. Coffee shops don’t really work for me…too distracting. Now that I’m back in New York I often go to the wonderful New York Society Library on 79th Street. They have a whole floor reserved just for writers and the atmosphere there, with everyone else around me working, makes me feel like I should be busy, too.
What were you like as a child? How were you and Odette similar? Different?
Odette was an only child, doted on by her parents and godmother. While she was in Paris, she lived the supervised life of a city child.
My life growing up as one of eight children in the Detroit suburbs was quite different. Most of the time, no one knew where we were or what we were doing. Odette had the experience of living in big family and having a lot of freedom when she lived in the Vendee. She liked it, and so did I, although sometimes I dreamed of being a pampered only child. Like Odette’s Papa, my father introduced me to the world of books and reading. And like her, I loved exploring and playing games. I suspect we could have been friends.
You mentioned that you grew up in a neighborhood where there were many WWII stories. Do you remember any that stuck with you especially? Did your own parents or grandparents have any stories?
My best friend’s father was in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during WWII. He escaped but was recaptured, and weighed only 80 pounds when he returned home. He didn’t talk much about what had happened to him, but instead spent a lot of time in his garage working alone on radios. It seemed to be understood that his wartime experiences set him apart.
By contrast, my petite Aunt Dorothy was proud of her WWII factory work. She was so small she was able to crawl inside airplane wings to solder the pieces together. Dorothy was an elegant woman whose fingers were always painted bright red. I loved imagining her as Rosie the Riveter.
Leave a comment to be entered to win a free copy of Maryann MacDonald’s ODETTE’S SECRETS. We’ll draw one lucky winner Friday, October the 11th and contact you by email. Good luck!
ODETTE’S SECRETS is a story for younger readers told in verse (Bloomsbury, 2013), about a Jewish girl named Odette living in Paris during World War II. While classified as fiction, it is based very closely on a true story about a real girl named Odette. When the Germans occupied Paris, Odette was sent to the country to live with a family where she had to pretend to be a Christian child, while many of her family and friends were sent to concentration camps. Happily, her mother was able to join her eventually, while her father fought for the French army. He, too, survived.
The photo above is of Odette and her Mama in 1942.
Madame Marie, a close family friend who helped get Odette out of Paris to safety.
The apartment in Paris where Odette lived with her family before the war.
Maryann McDonald is the author of over 25 books for young readers (including The Christmas Cat , out this month from Dial). She grew up outside of Detroit, lived in England and France for many years, and now lives in New York City.
Why do you think Odette’s story spoke to you?
I was fascinated with the idea that many thousands of French Jewish children survived WWII by hiding in plain sight. I wondered what effect hiding in this way might have on a child. What would be the cost of impersonating someone else at a tender age?
Odette’s memoir, Doors to Madame Marie, told about this experience. She explained, in simple terms, how her childhood conscience developed, and how she came to terms with what she understood as necessary lies. She also discussed the consequences these lies had on her developing sense of self. This, in addition to the many intimate details of Odette’s life experience in Paris and the Vendee during WWII, made her story come alive for me.
Papa, in the image Odette carried with her throughout war, wearing his soldier’s uniform.
What makes this historical fiction rather than a biography?
The story is written in the first person, in free verse. I made the choice to write it this way because I wanted it to sound as if Odette herself was telling the story. Odette did tell her story many times in schools, churches and synagogues. And she loved poetry, and thought it contributed to her survival. But my choice to write the story in first-person verse took it out of the realms of biography. Nevertheless, I was extremely careful to keep the facts straight and to refer only to situations and conversations I knew took place. I wanted everything to be as accurate as possible.
Jacques Raffin, the man you met in the village of Chavagnes-en-Paillers, lived with Odette when they were children and she first escaped Paris. How did he remember Odette? Did he know her secret? Why was Odette safer there than in Paris?
Jacques Raffin was a very old man when I met him. He welcomed me and my husband, showed us around his house and garden, and reminisced about playing with Odette there, but did not say anything in particular about her except that she had later come to visit his family. I never thought to ask Monsieur Raffin if he knew her secret as a child…I wish I had!
The place where Odette lived in the Vendee was considered a remote backwater. Although there were German soldiers in the region, the main focus of the war was elsewhere. Life moved along in the slow, traditional ways it always had in this conservative Catholic community. Even Odette and her friends thought they were the only Jewish children hidden there. In fact, as they discovered after the war, there were more than forty.
There was an interesting statistic in your notes about the large number of children saved in France during the war years. Can you tell us more about that?
In 1940 there were about 70,000 Jews younger than eighteen years-old living in France. About 11,400 of them were deported. Almost all of the deported children died. However, the other 84% survived.
I was astonished when I first learned this. One hears often about how the French were collaborators with the Nazis during WWII, and on the official level this was true. But on the personal level, many French either looked the other way or assisted Jews to survive. About 76% of the French Jewish population in total survived. They could not have done this without people like Madame Marie, Monsieur Henri, and the Raffins.
Part 2 next!
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