Historical Fiction - Exodus Books

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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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Historical Fiction

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4th grade (Ages 9-10)

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	Adam and His Kin The Lost History of Their Lives and Times by Ruth Beechick from Mott Media Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies Hornblower Series #11 by C. S. Forester from Little, Brown & Company Nautical fiction for 8th-Adult in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $18.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	All Sail Set by Armstrong Sperry from David R. Godine Nautical Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1936 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Alone Yet Not Alone Based on the True Story of Barbara and Regina Leininger by Tracy M. Leininger Mti from Zonderkidz Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.00 (1 in stock)
	Beggars' Bible by Louise Vernon from Herald Press Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $13.99 $8.50 (1 in stock)
	Beyond the Desert Gate Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf by Mary Ray 2^nd edition from Bethlehem Books Historical Fiction for in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
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	Bold Journey West With Lewis and Clark by Charles Bohner from Houghton Mifflin Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C) $4.00 (2 in stock)
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	Boy of the Pyramids A Mystery of Ancient Egypt by Ruth Fosdick Jones from The Good and the Beautiful for 3rd-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $4.00 (2 in stock)
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	Facing Death Hero of Vaughan Pit: A Tale of the Coal Mines by G. A. Henty from Robinson Curriculum Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN) $11.50 (1 in stock)
	Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston from Houghton Mifflin for 7th-11th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	First Four Years Little House Series #9 by Laura Ingalls Wilder Reprint from HarperCollins for 3rd-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $12.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
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	Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz 2^nd edition from Candlewick Press for 5th-9th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.50 (2 in stock)
	Great Trouble A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel by Deborah Hopkinson Reprint from Yearling for 5th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	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) $9.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
	Great Wheel by Robert Lawson from Scholastic Inc. for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $2.00 (1 in stock)
	Heart Strangely Warmed by Louise A. Vernon from Herald Press for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
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	Hittite Warrior Bethlehem Books Living History Library by Joanne Williamson from Bethlehem Books Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $14.95 $9.50 (1 in stock)
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	I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño from Square Fish Publishing Realistic Fiction/Slavery for 5th-8th grade 1966 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
	I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño from Farrar, Straus and Giroux Realistic Fiction/Slavery for 5th-8th grade 1966 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.00 (2 in stock)
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	Men of Iron by Howard Pyle 2^nd edition from Bob Jones University Press Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
	Midshipman Bolitho by Alexander Kent from McBooks Press for 8th-Adult in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.00 (1 in stock)
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	Sarah Bishop by Scott O'Dell from Houghton Mifflin for 6th-9th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Seaman The Dog Who Explored the West with Lewis and Clark by Gail Karwoski & James Watling from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd. Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C) $9.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
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	Shakespeare Stealer Shakespeare Stealer #1 by Gary Blackwood from Puffin Books Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
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	Young Huguenots Huguenot Inheritance Series #4 by Edith Floyer from Inheritance Publications Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade in Huguenot Inheritance Series (Location: FIC-WH02) $11.95 $7.00 (1 in stock)

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