Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

Historical Fiction
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

Non Fiction
Historical Fiction ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This site is part of a class project for LS 5603, a graduate level children's literature course offered at Texas Woman's University. On this page I review historical fiction for children. See Below: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paulsen, Gary. 1991. The Cookcamp. New York: Dell Publishing. ISBN 0440407044. This book tells the story of a young boy whose father is off to war during World War II and whose mother gets a job to support them. His mother meets a co-worker, Casey, and has an affair with him. When the boy accidentally discovers the affair, his mother sends him to live with her mother, his grandmother, in Minnesota. His grandmother runs a ‘cookcamp’ for men who work every day at clearing the land in order to make a road to Canada. She cooks the meals for the men, and happily takes in her young grandson, whom she calls her ‘Little Thimble.’ The book centers around the events that occur at the cookcamp, including the boy’s relationship with his grandmother, his learning how to drive the heavy machinery with the men, and his ambivalence about going back to be with his mother while ‘Uncle Casey’ is still there. It is told from the boy’s perspective and gives the reader the sense that that was what life was really like in the 1940’s in Minnesota. The author authenticates this work of fiction by stating that he consulted Patricia Reilly Giff, who has a Master’s degree in history and experience in writing children’s books. He dedicated the book to his grandmother. I would recommend this book for older children interested in what life was like in the Northern area of the Midwest during World War II for White Americans who stayed home and did not go overseas to war. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paterson, Katherine. 1996. Jip: His Story. New York: Dutton. ISBN 0525675434. This book tells the story of a young boy, Jip, whose parentage is a mystery, from his perspective. He is raised on a farm supported by the town in Rural Vermont during the pre-Civil War 1800’s. He has a gift for calming animals, and helping others. He makes friends with two men who live with him; one who has mental retardation, and the other mental illness. The man with mental illness lives in a cage. Jip also befriends newcomers to the farm – a widow and her three children. Jip and the girl of that family attend a one-room school and he begins to learn how to read. One day, Jip is spotted by a stranger who asks him questions about his parentage. The stranger is a slave hunter and suspects that Jip is the son of a runaway slave. According to the laws of that time, children of slaves were considered the property of the slave owner, and the slave hunter wants to capture Jip and enslave him. Jip is helped to escape by his Teacher’s fiancé, who is a Quaker, and also part of the Underground Railroad. After a desperate chase, Jip successfully reaches Canada and is safe. The author states in her acknowledgments that the gentleman with mental illness in the book is based upon an actual person. I would recommend this book for older children interested in the Underground Railroad and how society dealt with orphans, those with mental differences, and widows in the pre-Civil War 1800’s. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curtis, Christopher Paul. 1999. Bud, Not Buddy. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 0358323069. This book tells the story of a young African American orphan, Bud, living in Flint, Michigan during the Depression. He runs away from a foster home after being mistreated by the family. He has a suitcase in which he keeps his belongings, including brochures that feature a famous bass player and his band; flat, smooth stones with writing on them, and a picture of his mother when she was a child. Bud gets the idea that the bass player in the brochure photo is really his father. He begins to walk to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the brochure says the bass player is located. On the way there he meets up with an African American man, Lefty, who works as a porter for the railroad. The man knows that it is dangerous for an African American boy to be walking alone in the middle of the night. Bud lies that the bass player is his father and he ran away from Grand Rapids. Lefty recognizes the bass player’s name and drives Bud ‘home’ to be reunited with his ‘father.’ The band takes in Bud, and they discover that the bass player is actually the father of Bud’s deceased mother. This story is told with humor and from Bud’s perspective. The characters of Lefty and the bass player are based upon the author’s own grandfathers. I would recommend this book for older children interested in what life was like for African American families during the Depression. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stanley, Diane.2000. Michelangelo. Hong Kong: HarperCollins. ISBN 0688150853. This picture book tells the life story of Michelangelo, the famous sculptor, artist, and architect. It is written in the third person. It is illustrated by the author. The illustrations are detailed paintings depicting Michelangelo chronologically during the different stages of his life and with his many different artistic creations. One of the illustrations in the beginning of the book is a map of Italy, showing what Italy looked like when Michelangelo was alive. The action in this story occurs during the Renaissance, as that is the period of time in which Michelangelo lived. During the book, the reader is provided with an understanding of the challenges and triumphs of Michelangelo’s life. Some unexpected insights about Michelangelo can also be found in this book. For example, Michelangelo considered himself to be more of a sculptor than a painter, and only received one year of training as a painter. And yet he painted the entire ceiling of the Sistine Chapel! Another surprising bit of information was that he did not paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel lying down, but rather standing up with his back arched backwards. The author authenticates her work by offering a bibliography at the back of the book. I would recommend this book for young and older children and adults alike for its beautiful illustrations and detailed information about Michelangelo’s life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brooks, Bruce. 2002. Dolores: Seven Stories About Her. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0060294736. This book tells the story of a modern-day girl named Dolores by providing seven short vignettes of her life from ages seven to sixteen. The character and the story of Dolores are both described in each of the vignettes from the perspective of a different person or set of people, and thus the reader is able to get a well-rounded idea of who Dolores really is. For example, Dolores’ story is first told from the perspective of her doting older brother Jimmy. In a later vignette, when Dolores is thirteen, the reader gets a different perspective of Dolores while she interacts with her mother, who is exasperated with her. Themes that recur in the book include Dolores’ intelligence, outspokenness and creativity, her love for her father and brother, and her getting herself in and out of trouble. Family issues are prominently displayed in this book. At first, Dolores’ parents are married, if unhappily so. In the middle of the book, they have divorced. And by the end of the book, her father has remarried and he and his second wife have had a new baby together. Other issues raised in the book include Dolores’ successful coping with mean kids at school, making good choices about substance use, eluding the unwanted overtures of males while finding a young man that she can admire and care for, and valuing self-expression. I would recommend this book for teens as it addresses many of the issues facing them in this current age. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here are Some Links To Pages about Children's Literature (On this Website)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Home ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Picture Books ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Traditional Literature ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Poetry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Non Fiction ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Study about Lloyd Alexander ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fiction and Fantasy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

Counter Sign Guestbook View Guestbook 1