Chapter 10 : Historical Fiction

Summary :

Historical fiction is any story set in the past.  You need to be careful when considering historical fiction, since different groups have different views on what history is.  Younger students still think of history as "this morning," and YA students think of history as "when they were younger." Adults view history as "before they were born."  An example is that 9/11 is history to most of us, but to some it is still contemporary.  With historical fiction, the reader is able to vicariously experience life in a different time and place, which they wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.

The criteria for evaluating historical fiction is as follows :

1. Is it a good story that blends history into the story itself?
2. Are the facts accurate?  Since we are not a wealth of automatic knowledge, you can check the list of Notable Trade Books in Social Studies that is put out by the CBC and the National Council on Social Studies.
3. How are the values of the time brought to life?  The values of times in the past are different than contemporary, such as earlier in the century when women did not have a very high social standing.
4. Is everything consistent with the social milieu?  For instance, stories set far in the past should not have such modern day applicances as TVs, etc.
5. Does the theme of the story relate to contemporary readers?  The theme should be universal and apply to their lives.

Reflection :

I missed the book talks this time!  I would love to know what YA historical fiction titles you ladies would recommend!  

I have always been a fan of historical fiction, dating back to when I was a young child and was engrossed in the Little House on the Prairie series.  It part about historical fiction and living “vicariously” through it struck a cord, because part of me yearned to be back in that time period with Laura and just escape from everyday life.  Now that I am studying to be a librarian, I look at historical fiction as I am reading it through different eyes, and ones that are more critical.  I think the biggest criteria I need to pay closer attention to is if the facts are accurate. Though I have wondered that in books that I have read, I haven’t gone as far as to research the facts.  I need to utilize the list of trade books that the chapter talked about and carefully consider titles that I may recommend to YA readers.  

I also hadn’t really thought about how young readers may view history compared to how adults view history.  When I am planning lessons such as books clubs with YA readers, I need to make sure that they can make the proper connections with the books and that they can relate to the themes the books are trying to convey.