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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108 Items found Print
Active Filters: Realistic Fiction, 4th grade (Ages 9-10), New Books & Materials
Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1951 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Angel Knew Papa and the Dog
by Douglas Kaine McKelvey
from Rabbit Room Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.99
Apple and the Arrow
by Conrad & Mary Buff
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Fiction/Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Belles On Their Toes
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
Breadwinner, The
by Deborah Ellis
from Groundwood Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.99 $8.00 (2 in stock)
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Cabin Faced West
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
Historical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Cheaper By the Dozen
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Children of the Longhouse
by Joseph Bruchac
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Atheneum
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.99
Daniel's Duck
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Clyde Robert Bulla & Joan Sandin
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Door in the Wall
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1950 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Dutch Color
by Doug Jones
from Canon Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.00
Echo Mountain
by Lauren Wolk
from Dutton Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Elijah Of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
2008 Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner, 2008 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Emily
by Michael Bedard
from Dell Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Esperanza Rising
by Pam Munoz Ryan
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.99
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Fever 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
First Four Years
Little House Series #9
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
First Four Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.99 $8.00 (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)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Flood Friday
by Lois Lenski
from Open Road Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$14.99
Gathering of Days
by Joan Blos
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1980 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Glory Be
by Augusta Scattergood
Reprint from Scholastic Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99
Golden Goblet
by Eloise J. McGraw
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1962 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
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)
$8.99
Grandfather's Dance
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
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)
Hill of Fire
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Thomas Lewis & Joan Sandin
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Houseboat Girl
by Lois Lenski
Reprint from Open Road Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
I Am David
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
I Saw Three Ships
by Elizabeth Goudge
from David R. Godine
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
Indian Captive
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Island Boy
by Barbara Cooney
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Journey Home
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Journey to Topaz
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Heyday Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.00
Judy's Journey
by Lois Lenski
from Open Road Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$15.99
Letters from Rifka
by Karen Hesse
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Lily's Crossing
by Patricia Reilly Giff
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
1997 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Lion to Guard Us
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Little House - Softcover Boxed Set
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$79.91
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House Series #1
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House Series #1
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.99
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House Series #1
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Full Color from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Little House on the Prairie
Little House Series #2
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Little House on the Prairie
Little House Series #2
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.99
Little House on the Prairie
Little House Series #2
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
1st. from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Little House on the Prairie - 75th Anniversary Edition
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
75 Anv Rev from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.99
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Little Town on the Prairie - Audio CD
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$25.99
Long Winter
Little House Series #6
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Long Winter
Little House Series #6
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.99 $9.50 (1 in stock)
Long Winter
Little House Series #6
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Matchlock Gun
by Walter Edmonds
from PaperStar Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
1942 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Minstrel in the Tower
by Gloria Skurzynski
from Random House
Historical Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.99
Moccasin Trail
Puffin Newbery Library
by Eloise J. McGraw
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
More Stories from Grandma's Attic
by Arleta Richardson
from Cook Communications
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
My Favorite Songs
by Maria Trapp
from Veritas Press
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.00
Nacar the White Deer
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
from Bethlehem Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.95
Night Journey
by Kathryn Lasky
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.99
Ocean-Born Mary
by Lois Lenski
1st Edition Thus from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.99
On the Banks of Plum Creek
Little House Series #4
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1938 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
On the Banks of Plum Creek
Little House Series #4
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1938 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.99
On the Banks of Plum Creek
Little House Series #4
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Full Color Collector's Edition from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
1938 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
On the Way Home
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
On the Wings of Heroes
by Richard Peck
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
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)
$9.99
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)
$8.99
Penny for a Hundred
by Ethel Pochocki
from Bethlehem Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.95
Place to Hang the Moon
by Kate Albus
from Margaret Ferguson Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.99
Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein
by Jennifer Rozines Roy with Ali Fadhil
from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Prairie School
by Lois Lenski
Reprint from Open Road Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
by Eleanor Coerr
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Puffin Modern Classics
by Eleanor Coerr
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$5.99 $3.50 (2 in stock)
Scottish Seas
by Doug Jones
from Canon Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.00 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Second Mrs. Giaconda
by E. L. Konigsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Shakespeare's Scribe
Shakespeare Stealer #2
by Gary Blackwood
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Shakespeare's Spy
Shakespeare Stealer #3
by Gary Blackwood
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Snow Treasure
by Marie McSwigan
from Dutton Children's Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Snowshoe Thompson
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Nancy Smiler Levinson & Joan Sandin
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Soft Rain
by Cornelia Cornelissen
from Yearling
Historical fiction for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Swallows' Flight
by Hilary McKay
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Sword in the Tree
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.99
Texas Tomboy
by Lois Lenski
from Open Road Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$15.99
These Happy Golden Years
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
These Happy Golden Years
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.99
These Happy Golden Years
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
These Happy Golden Years - Audio CD
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$25.95
Three Names
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Toliver's Secret
by Esther Brady
from Yearling
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Trail of Tears
Step into Reading Level 5
by Joseph Bruchac
from Random House
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP)
$4.99
Twenty and Ten
by Claire Huchet Bishop
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
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