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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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47 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 2nd grade (Ages 7-8), Trade Paperback
AIO Imagination Station Book #08
by Marianne Hering & Wayne Thomas Batson
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$6.79
AIO Imagination Station Book #14
by Marianne Hering, Nancy I. Sanders
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$6.79
American Army of Two
On My Own History
by Janet Greeson
Reprint from First Avenue Editions
for 1st-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Amon's Adventure
by Arnold Ytreeide
from Kregel Publications
Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$18.99
Angel Knew Papa and the Dog
by Douglas Kaine McKelvey
from Rabbit Room Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.04
Apprentice
by Pilar Molina Llorente
Reprint from Sunburst Book
for 2nd-4th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Arctic Son
by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Wendell Minor
from Disney-Hyperion
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Audrey of the Outback
by Christine Harris
for 1st-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Boy of Old Prague
by S. Ish-Kishor
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.39
Clearing Weather
by Cornelia Meigs
Repint from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Clown of God
by Tomie dePaola
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Earthquake!
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Titanic & 20th Century Disasters (Location: HISW-20DIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Emily
by Michael Bedard
from Dell Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
F is for Freedom
by Roni Schotter
from Scholastic Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$1.20 (2 in stock)
Island Boy
by Barbara Cooney
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Journey with Jonah
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Kaya and Lone Dog
American Girl: Kaya #4
by Janet Shaw
from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Kaya's Hero
American Girl
by Janet Shaw
from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie
by Peter & Connie Roop
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79
Little Maid of Massachusetts Colony
Little Maid Historical Books
by Alice Turner Curtis
from Applewood Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little Maid of New Orleans
Little Maid Historical Books
by Alice Turner Curtis
from Applewood Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little Maid of Provincetown
Little Maid Historical Books
by Alice Turner Curtis
from Applewood Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little Maid of Virginia
Little Maid Historical Books
by Alice Turner Curtis
from Applewood Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Making of a Knight
by Patrick O'Brien
from Charlesbridge
Picture Books/Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$7.64
Medieval Feast
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$9.99 $5.50 (1 in stock)
Meet Kaya
American Girl
by Janet Shaw
1st edition from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
by Henry W. Longfellow
Reprint from National Geographic
for 1st-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Mieko and the Fifth Treasure
by Eleanor Coerr
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.99
Mr. Revere and I
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
New Coat for Anna
by Harriet Ziefert
from Random House
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Nory Ryan's Song
by Patricia Reilly Giff
from Yearling
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
Obadiah the Bold
by Brinton Turkle
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.46
Penny for a Hundred
by Ethel Pochocki
from Bethlehem Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.46
Pilgrim Stories
by Margaret Pumphrey
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$11.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Player King
by Avi
from Atheneum
for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Rachel and Obadiah
by Brinton Turkle
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.46
Ranch of the Golden Flowers
by Constance Lindsay Skinner
from Bethlehem Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.95
Riding the Pony Express
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Avyx, Inc.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Sailing Home
by Gloria Rand, illustrated by Ted Rand
from North-South Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Saint Valentine
by Robert Sabuda
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Sea Beggar's Son
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
from Inheritance Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.31
Thanksgiving Story
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
1955 Caldecott Honor Book
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$8.99
Three Names
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Thy Friend, Obadiah
by Brinton Turkle
from Beautiful Feet Books
Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1970 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.46
Tim in Danger
by Edward Ardizzone
from Oxford University
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Underground Railroad: An Interactive History Adventure
by Allison Lassieur
1st edition from Capstone Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
War Horse
by Michael Morpurgo
from Scholastic Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.79
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