Time-Travel with Your Tween in These 6 Books of Historical
(a.k.a. Pre-Wi-Fi) Fiction
by Traci Cothran
I never used to like history — despite dear Johnny Tremain — but of late I’ve become strangely smitten with it. So as a good parent, I try to foist my new love of all things old onto my offspring. There is a trove of amazing books of historical fiction to help in this regard, and they bring eras, events, and people (real or imagined) to life in vibrant color. Some of these books are just plain fun with bits of history mixed in, while others will give you age-appropriate introductions to discuss complex topics such as racism, war, sexism, and the civil rights era with your child.
As a bonus, if your kids are complaining, perhaps it’s time to imagine living through the Depression (without electronics!), trying to find your mom who’s been captured by the Redcoats (without electronics!), or living in a sod house on the American frontier (without electronics!) to help put matters in perspective.
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Bud, Not Buddy
Available from:Author Christopher Paul Curtis knows how to craft enticing historical stories. In this one, it’s 1936 and 10-year-old foster care kid Bud is convinced his dad is musician Herman Calloway, so he takes off solo in search of him. It’s a poignant picture of the Depression (and jazz music) through one child’s eyes, and after reading it you’ll likely crave Curtis’s other novels, including The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 and The Mighty Miss Malone.
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Meet Kit: An American Girl 1934
There are many expensive entanglements in the American Girl franchise, but the historical fiction books are worth every (reasonably-priced) penny. Top-notch American period pieces, they entertain and educate — from Kit in Depression-era Ohio, to Addy during Reconstruction in Philadelphia, to Cecile and Marie-Grace in early 1900’s New Orleans, among others. To prove the education point, when I told my daughter I had been laid off, she asked, “Does this mean we’ll take in boarders, like Kit?” How adorable is that? (And, yes, the historical dolls are awesome.)
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War Comes to Willy Freeman
Available from:How about seeing the Revolutionary War through the eyes of a girl-dressed-as-a-boy? There’s intrigue, families divided, and sadness, but also adventure, making this an action-packed and relatable way to learn about this critical part of our nation’s history. I love that Willy found safe haven at the IRL historic meetinghouse, Frauncus Tavern, in New York City. Be sure to check out this writing duo’s other books, too, including My Brother Sam Is Dead.
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Fever 1793
A yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, anyone? Okay, I didn’t say history was going to be fun, but we need to learn about this stuff … something about not repeating past mistakes. My fourth-grader brought this book home from school — yay! — and author Laurie Halse Anderson has penned other great historical fiction gems that educators embrace as well.
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Little House on the Prairie
Does this need an introduction? Loved by kids for seventy-five years, the Little House series recounts the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the early years settling the West. Think life today is hard? Try surviving the wretched weather of 1880 in the Dakota Territory, as depicted in The Long Winter (hint: no food, extreme cold, no flushing toilets, no electricity).
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One Crazy Summer
Summer, 1968, Oakland, CA: When three precocious girls are sent from Brooklyn to visit their (absent) mother for a few weeks, they discover what seems like a whole new world, from the Chinese food restaurant down the street to the local community center run by the Black Panthers. Delphine, Vonetta, and little Fern will each steal your heart, as they struggle to find a connection with their civic-minded and independent but distant mom. Their story continues in P.S. Be Eleven and Gone Crazy in Alabama.
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