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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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51 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Print-on-demand paperback, New Books & Materials
Antoine of Oregon
America's Children
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Benjamin of Ohio
America's Children
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Book of Golden Deeds
by Charlotte M. Yonge
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.99
Boy Who Was
by Grace Taber Hallock, illustrated by Harrie Wood
2024 Reprint from Unknown Publisher
for 4th-8th grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99
Calvert of Maryland
America's Children
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Cats of Destiny
by Paul Brown and Fairfax Downey, illustrated by Paul Brown
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$11.99
Chaucer's Stories Simply Told
by Mary Seymour, illustrated by E.M. Scannell
from Hillside Education
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$14.95
Children of the New Forest
by Frederick Marryat
from Yesterday's Classics
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Children of the New Forest
by Frederick Marryat
from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Children of the Red King
by Madeleine Polland
from Hillside Education
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Chuiraquimba and the Black Robes
by Madeleine Polland, illustrated by Juan Carlos Barberis
from Hillside Education
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
City of the Golden House
by Madeleine Polland
from Hillside Education
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Dan Morgan, Rifleman
by Ernest E. Tucker
70th anniversary from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Escape from the Slave Traders
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave and Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Escape to King Alfred
by Geoffrey Trease
from Hillside Education
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.95
Fingal's Quest
by Madeleine Polland, illustrated by W.T. Mars
2019 Reprint from Hillside Education
for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.95
Gabriel and the Hour Book
by Evaleen Stein
from Yesterday's Classics
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.95
Great Quest
by Charles Boardman Hawes
from CreateSpace
for 5th-8th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.95
Hannah of Kentucky
America's Children
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
He Went with Champlain
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Christopher Columbus
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Drake
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with John Paul Jones
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Magellan
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Marco Polo
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Vasco da Gama
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
John of the Sirius
by Doris Chadwick
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.95
Kidnapped by River Rats
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99
King Arthur and His Knights
by Maude Redford Warren
2nd edition from Yesterday's Classics
Arthurian Legends and Myths for
$11.95
Little Duke
by Charlotte M. Yonge
from Living Book Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Marathon Looks on the Sea
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Erwin Schachner
from Hillside Education
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.95
Martha of California
America's Children
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Mary of Plymouth
America's Children
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Men of Athens
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Milton Johnson
from Hillside Education
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
1963 Newbery Honor Book
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$16.95
Night Watch
by Isabelle Lawrence
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.99
Otto of the Silver Hand
by Howard Pyle
from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Peter of New Amsterdam
America's Children
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Philip of Texas
America's Children
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Prince of the Double Axe
by Madeleine Polland, illustrated by Gareth Floyd
from Hillside Education
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.95
Queen without a Crown
by Madeleine Polland, illustrated by Herbert Danska
from Hillside Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Queen's Blessing
by Madeleine Polland; illustrated by Betty Fraser
from Hillside Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Richard of Jamestown
by James Otis
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.95
Richard of Jamestown
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Ruth of Boston
America's Children
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Seth of Colorado
America's Children
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Stephen of Philadelphia
America's Children
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Story of Mankind
by Hendrik Willem Van Loon
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
1922 Newbery Medal winner
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$19.95
Three Greek Children
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.95
Toward Morning
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from SeaWolf Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.95
Twelve Bright Trumpets
by Margaret Leighton
from Hillside Education
Historical Fiction for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
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