Introducing Historical Fiction to Young Readers: Grades 4-8 »

JOHN T. GILLESPIE, former Dean and Instructor of Library Science, Long Island University, New York, has authored numerous books in the areas of library management, school libraries, and children's and young adult literature.

Enhance your historical fiction collection - and its popularity with readers and value in the classroom - with this wide-ranging guide. After discussion of various aspects of the genre (its importance, history, criteria for evaluation, and methods of presentation), the author takes an in-depth look at 80 of the best historical fiction novels published for this age group in the last 10 to 15 years. For each title there is a brief introduction discussing setting, historical background, and point of view; a list of characters; a detailed plot summary; and ways to introduce the book to students, including important passages for reading or retelling. This versatile tool, written by a recognized expert in children's literature, can be used for readers' advisory, curricular support, title selection, and collection development. Grades 4-8.

School Library Journal

Gillespie begins with chapters that suggest the criteria by which fiction, and historical fiction specifically, should be evaluated. He gives a detailed and enlightening look at the development of the genre that serves as a useful guide for building a collection of must-haves or classics. He also includes a generic chapter on how to bring books and children together, which feels a bit like "Children's Literature 101" with advice about attractive displays, book fairs, and knowing your readers. The strength of the volume is the in-depth coverage of the 81 featured novels, organized geographically, and then chronologically. Historical background, information about the author, a lengthy synopsis, passages for booktalking, and discussions of themes are all provided, giving librarians an arsenal of information to help get the right book into the right hands. The weakest section of featured novels is that of Africa, which includes only four titles. The strongest is on United States selections, bringing together a wide range of books with strong kid appeal. Overall, this is a solid resource for librarians new to the field, or for those looking to update their collections.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA

1 Introduction and criteria for evaluating historical fiction

2 A brief history of historical fiction for young readers in English

3 Bringing young readers and books together

4 Europe

5 Asia and Oceania

6 Africa

7 Latin America and Canada

8 United States

Author index

Title index

Subject index