I read Caleb Carr’s The Alienist in 1995. Carr’s mystery about a serial killer was compelling, but the novel’s historical fiction intrigued me even more. Prior to reading The Alienist I had not known, for example, that President Theodore Roosevelt had been Police Commissioner of New York City in 1895. I have really enjoyed reading children’s picture books that feature historical fiction and have begun a small collection of such books to read with my preschooler. I know that both of us will learn and far better remember historical facts that are enveloped by wonderful storytelling. Here are five books in this genre that I’d like to recommend:
Mailing May by Michael O. Tunnell (Greenwillow, 2000, ages 4-8) is based on a true incident. The setting is Idaho, 1914, and five-year old May longs to visit her grandmother. Unable to afford the fare for a 75-mile train trip, May’s parents come up with the unusual and ingenious idea of sending their daughter by train, yet as a parcel of mail. A family relative manages the train’s mail car and is therefore able to chaperone (and ultimately deliver) May on her trip to see her grandmother. Checked in by the postmaster as a package, May cost fifty-three cents (the cost of a baby chick) to travel.
Set in a World War II internment camp, Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki (Lee & Low Books, 1995, ages 4-8) is the story of a Japanese-American boy in 1942. Sports as a metaphor for life’s trials and tribulations has been often portrayed, yet in this award-winning book, the protagonist’s sports triumph while in captivity provides the reader with significant food for thought. I met Ken Mochizuki this Spring and asked him to dedicate a copy of Baseball Saved Us for my nephew Travis. Ken signed his name with the line, “Attitude inspires altitude.” I don’t think I’ll ever forget that inscription as I feel it is so apt for life and Ken’s wonderful story, which is based on the experiences of his Japanese-American parents’ internment in Idaho.
Ellen Levine’s Caldecott Honor Book, Henry’s Freedom Box (Scholastic Press, 2007, ages 4-8) retells the story of Henry “Box” Brown, a man born into slavery. I recommend this important story for slightly older children not because of the terrible injustice and indignities Henry suffers as a slave, but because he is permanently, tragically separated from family, not once, but twice. Illustrations by Kadir Nelson are moving and I find the story impossible to read without crying. Ultimately, inspired by grief and adversity, Henry, HenrHenry, with the assistance of another slave and an abolitionist, courageously and inventively mails himself in a wooden crate from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and thus, to freedom. Henry’s crated trip took twenty-seven hours.
Tomás and the Library Lady by Pat Mora (Dragonfly Books, 2000) concerns Tomás Rivera, whose life began as a migrant worker and ended as Chancellor of the University of California at Riverside. Mora’s fictionalized story tells of a librarian in Iowa who fostered both Tomás Rivera’s ability to read and love of books. Earlier this year, I saw a play based on the book at the Seattle Children’s Theatre and it was wonderful. If the production travels near you, don’t miss it.
In The Scarlet Stockings Spy by Trinka Hakes Noble (Sleeping Bear Press, 2004, ages 9-12), the Revolutionary War has begun in Philadelphia, 1777, and American colonists await British attack. Maddy Rose’s brother Jonathan has gone to fight with General Washington. By hanging stockings and petticoats on a clothesline at night, Maddy sends signals to Jonathan about the location of suspicious British ships in the harbor.
Additional reading: A Big Cheese for the White House: The True Tale of a Tremendous Cheddar by Candace Fleming (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2004, ages 4-8); Katie’s Trunk by Ann Warren Turner (Aladdin, 1997, ages 4-8); Train to Somewhere by Eve Bunting (Sandpiper, 2000, ages 4-8); Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson (Dragonfly Books, 1995, ages 4-8); and Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression by Kate Lied (National Geographic Children’s Books, 2002, ages 4-8).
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