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Historical Fiction

The best way to learn history is not always in a textbook. (That's probably the worst way, really, but more on that elsewhere.) While learning history through novels can be taken too far (it is fiction after all), there's much to be said for getting a feel for the Civil War through books like The Red Badge of Courage or Across Five Aprils, or learning about the deep rifts between Saxons and Normans in Medieval England through Scott's Ivanhoe.

A well-researched historical novel imparts something no list of names and dates can—a picture of life among a particular people at a particular time, the way they thought, the way they ate, who they admired, how they traveled. Sometimes readers are introduced to real historical figures and events from an intimate perspective, not the stale cardboard presentations common in schools.

There's plenty of nonsense available, of course, and just because the cover says a book takes place in Renaissance Italy or ancient Egypt doesn't mean it's a good book, or even that it's historical fiction in the true sense. A writer who simply transposes stories on different time periods isn't really saying anything about that time period, they're just trying to inflate sales with an appeal to the exotic and unfamiliar.

Such bogus historical fiction is really just fantasy. The good stuff is real and bright and dusty and loud, just like an old Roman city or a battle between Roundheads and Cavaliers. It reflects the religious sentiments of the characters as they would have been, such as in Lilli Thal's brilliant Medieval epic Mimus. It shows how one small action can lead to many much larger events, as happens frequently in C.S. Forester's Hornblower series.

Whether you're into the technical descriptions of battles found in Henty's boy-versus-the-world stories, or prefer the romance of The Scarlet Pimpernel, or like to break your heart over and over with books like Amos Fortune, Free Man, historical fiction is above all fiction of the present—not to be kept in the annals of the past, it shows us that the people of long ago (or not so long ago) are not so different than the people of today.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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155 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 20th Century America, 6th grade (Ages 11-12)
After the War
by Carol Matas
from Simon Pulse
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
Anna's Fight for Hope
Sisters in Time
by JoAnn A. Grote
from Barbour Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Sisters in Time (Location: SER-SIS)
Archie's War
by Marcia Williams
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Art of Keeping Cool
by Janet Taylor Lisle
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
2001 Scott O'Dell Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Beckoning Hills
Land of the Free Series
by Joseph H. Gage, illustrated by Floyd Torbert
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Radishes
by Susan Lynn Meyer
from Yearling
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Bletchley Riddle
by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
from Viking Books for Young Readers
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Blowing-Wand
Land of the Free Series
by Elsie Reif Ziegler, illustrated by Jacob Landau
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Boris
by Jaap Ter Haar
from Inheritance Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.95
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.84
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.04
Brother's Keeper
by Julie Lee
from Holiday House
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Chariot in the Sky
Land of the Free Series
by Arna Bontemps, illustrated by Cyrus Le Roy Baldridge
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Child Star
by Lydia Weaver
from Viking Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Climb a Lofty Ladder
by Marion & Walter Havighurst, illustrated by Jill Elgin
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Code Talker
by Joseph Bruchac
from Speak
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.19
Come on Seabiscuit
by Ralph Moody
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Coming Evil
by Vivian Vande Velde
from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.86
Daniel's Story
by Carol Matas
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Day the World Stopped Turning
by Michael Morpurgo
from Square Fish Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Deep Treasure
by Charles Blackford, illustrated by Alexander Key
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Desert Harvest
Land of the Free Series
by Vanya Oakes, illustrated by Isami Kashiwagi
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Devil's Arithmetic
by Jane Yolen
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Don't You Know There's a War On?
by Avi
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
Door to the North
Land of the Free Series
by Elizabeth Coatsworth, illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Echo Mountain
by Lauren Wolk
from Dutton Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Echoes of the White Giraffe
by Sook Nyul Choi
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.31
Elephant Run
by Roland Smith
Reprint from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Endless Steppe
by Esther Hautzig
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Enemy Brothers
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Constance Savery
from Bethlehem Books
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Escape From Warsaw
by Ian Serraillier, illustrated by Irwin Hoffman
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Esperanza Rising
by Pam Munoz Ryan
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Eyes of the Emperor
by Graham Salisbury
from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Eyes of the Emperor
by Graham Salisbury
from Ember
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Father's Promise
by Donna Hess
from Bob Jones University Press
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Fortunate Grandchild
by Miss Read
1st US Edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Glory Be
by Augusta Scattergood
Reprint from Scholastic Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.94
Gone Crazy in Alabama
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Reprint from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
Coretta Scott King Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Great Wheel
by Robert Lawson
from Walker and Company
Realistic fiction for 4th-8th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $4.80 (2 in stock)
Green Glass Sea
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Grim Reaper
Shadow Series #3
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16
Hideout in the Swamp
Shadow Series #2
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16
Hiroshima
by Laurence Yep
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.09 $2.40 (1 in stock)
House of the Red Fish
by Graham Salisbury
from Ember
Historical Fiction for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Hull-Down for Action
by Armstrong Sperry
from Doubleday & Company
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Hunt for the Bamboo Rat
Prisoners of the Empire #4
by Graham Salisbury
from Ember
Historical Fiction for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
I Am David
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
I Heard of a River
Land of the Free Series
by Elsie Singmaster, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
In This Hour
by Rudolf Van Reest
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.56
Inside Out & Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
Reprint from HarperCollins
Narrative Poetry / Novel-In-Verse for 4th-8th grade
2012 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Inside Out & Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
Reprint from HarperCollins
Narrative Poetry / Novel-In-Verse for 4th-8th grade
2012 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
It Began with a Parachute
by William Rang
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.31
Jar of Dreams
by Yoshiko Uchida
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.94
Jazz Man
by Mary Hays Weik
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
Newbery Honor Book 1967
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.94 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Journey Home
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
Journey to Topaz
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Heyday Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Journey to Topaz
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Heyday Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.20
Land I Lost
by Quang Nhuong Huynh
from HarperTrophy
Memoir for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.94 $3.20 (3 in stock)
Last Fort
Land of the Free Series
by Elizabeth Coatsworth, illustrated by Edward Shenton
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt
by C. Coco De Young
from Yearling
Historical fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79 $3.20 (3 in stock)
Letters from Rifka
by Karen Hesse
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Lily's Crossing
by Patricia Reilly Giff
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
1997 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
Little Riders
by Margaretha Shemin
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Lonely Sentinel
Shadow Series #1
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16
Lost in the Pacific, 1942
by Todd Olson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Macaroni Boy
by Katherine Ayres
Reprint from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Mississippi Bridge
by Mildred D. Taylor
from Bantam-Skylark
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool
from Yearling
for 6th-10th grade
2011 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Moonshiner's Son
by Carolyn Reeder
from Aladdin Paperbacks
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
Moved-Outers
by Florence Crannell Means
from Walker and Company
for 4th-6th grade
1946 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Moved-Outers
by Florence Crannell Means, illustrated by Helen Blair
for 6th-10th grade
1946 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
No Promises in the Wind
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
North of Danger
by Dale Fife, map and decorations by Haakon Saether
1st edition from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
North to Freedom
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
North to Freedom
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (2 in stock)
Nothing to Fear
by Jackie French Koller
from Harcourt
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
Reissue from Sandpiper Books
for 5th-8th grade
1990 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Oak's Long Shadow
by Olive W. Burt, illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
On the Edge of the Fjord
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Bethlehem Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
On the Wings of Heroes
by Richard Peck
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Reprint from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
2011 Newbery Honor Book, National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
One Crazy Summer Trilogy
by Rita Williams-Garcia
from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$24.62
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1998 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
P.S. Be Eleven
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Reprint from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
Coretta Scott King Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Parallel Journeys
by Eleanor Ayers, Helen Waterford, & Alfons Heck
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Partisans
Shadow Series #4
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16 $5.60 (1 in stock)
Pearl Harbor is Burning!
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski, illustrated by Ronald Himler
from Viking Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Place to Hang the Moon
by Kate Albus
from Margaret Ferguson Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.14
Place to Hang the Moon
by Kate Albus
from Margaret Ferguson Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.04
Quake!
by Gail Karwoski
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Raid of No Return
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #7
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Resistance
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Rose's Journal
by Marissa Moss
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Runner in the Sun
Land of the Free Series
by D'Arcy McNickle, illustrated by Allan Houser
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Sabotage
Shadow Series #5
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16
Sea of Lemon Trees
by Maria Dolores Aguila
from Roaring Brook Press
2026 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.29
Seek the Dark Gold
Land of the Free series
by Jo Evalin Lundy, illustrated by Edward Shenton
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Seven Beaver Skins
Land of the Free Series
by Erick Berry
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
Junior Literary Guild
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
12
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