Kids History
THE ENDLESS STEPPE: GROWING UP IN SIBERIA by Esther Hautzig
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Esther had a beautiful childhood. She shared a large home with her parents and extended family in their Polish town of Vilna. They had beautiful garden that Esther tended with her grandfather, and she attended a wonderful school. But that all ended with the German invasion. As the Polish army fought valiantly against the Germans, the Soviets began to wage war against what they considered to be internal enemies. Labeled as capitalists, Esther, her parents, and her grandparents are shuttled into cattle cars and taken to labor camps in Siberia. From age ten to age fifteen, Esther learns to survive working in the harsh, barren landscape. But as she grows and builds friendships and a life for herself, it becomes difficult to imagine ever leaving.
Esther Hautzig tells her life story in beautiful and evocative prose. Her experiences of joys and hardships are both shocking and accessible; in many ways, childhood in Siberia is no different from childhood anywhere else. There is sadness in this story, as you can imagine, but ultimately, Esther’s story is hopeful. I highly recommend this book to middle grade readers and teens who enjoy historical novels and memoirs and who are interested in hearing a less-often-told side of the Second World War.
ONE DEAD SPY: THE LIFE, TIMES, AND LAST WORDS OF NATHAN HALE, AMERICA’S MOST FAMOUS SPY by Nathan Hale
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Revolutionary Captain Nathan Hale is about to be executed for spying on the British. While the British officer is fetching the hanging orders, the jovial hangman helps Nathan brainstorm some awesome Last Words. But when Nathan says “I regret that I have but one life to give for my country,” he is immediately swallowed by a giant book. It turns out those Last Words were so awesome that Nathan Hale made history! And his brief visit to the history book gives him a glimpse of some fascinating events that happen in the future. When the British officer returns, Nathan Hale delays his hanging by telling the story of the Revolutionary War and its outcome. And he promises to delay his hanging even further by telling about other dramatic historical events as the series of Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales continues.
This graphic novel series is great! Author/Artist Nathan Hale (illustrator of Rapunzel’s Revenge) brings American history to life with his artwork and infuses it with humor through the great framing story of the character Nathan Hale, the pompous British officer, and the comedic hangman. One Dead Spy is currently on the NYT Bestselling Graphic Novels list. Two sequels have been published so far (Big Bad Ironclad! and Donner Dinner Party). A fourth (Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood) comes out next month.
TITANIC: VOICES FROM THE DISASTER by Deborah Hopkinson
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On April 15, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, resulting in the deaths almost 1500 people (over 2/3 of those on board). Deborah Hopkinson brings the Titanic’s tragic story to life by focusing on the stories of individual survivors. Using their memories and words, she reconstructs the narrative of the Titanic from its initial departure to its sinking and the aftermath for the 700 survivors—most of them women and children whose husbands and fathers perished in the wreck. Titanic: Voices From the Disaster is engaging, horrifying, and informative. Although the book is marketed to upper-elementary school-aged children, I highly recommend it to anyone (children, teen, or adult) who is interested in learning more about the Titanic or who enjoys survival stories.
If you liked Titanic: Voices From the Disaster, you might also like Revenge of the Whale.
WRITTEN IN BONE: BURIED LIVES OF JAMESTOWN AND COLONIAL MARYLAND by Sally M. Walker
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Skeletons speak to forensic anthropologists, the scientists who study the bones found in archaeological digs. Simply from looking at bones which have spent hundreds of years buried underground, forensic anthropologists can determine the age, sex, race, and sometimes even profession of the person to whom they belonged. By comparing to historical records the information gleaned from the bones, they may even be able to pinpoint the skeleton’s name.
Sally M. Walker describes archaeological digs in Colonial Virginia and Maryland that uncovered a number of graves from the 17th and 18th centuries. She frames her story almost as a mystery, as the scientists seek to uncover the identity of the person whose bones they have rediscovered, and she describes both the science and the history that surround their process. Written in Bone is a fascinating and engaging nonfiction story. I highly recommend this book to middle grade and teen readers who enjoy science and/or history.
If you liked Written in Bone, you might like Phineas Gage: a Gruesome But True Story About Brain Science or Extreme Scientists.
GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES!: VOICES FROM A MEDIEVAL VILLAGE by Laura Amy Schlitz
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What was life like for children growing up in Medieval times? Some were peasants, tied to the land they farmed, so poor they had to trick and steal from their lords and masters just to make sure they had food to eat. Others were apprenticed to tradesmen in the village, working as blacksmiths or falconers. And others were children of the lords living in luxury inside their palace halls.
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! tells the stories of over twenty Medieval children and their variety of dreams, fears, pranks, mistakes, and achievements. The stories are written as monologues and dialogues which could be read aloud as a play. They can also be read silently as short first-person narratives. The monologues are interspersed with more information about each of the time periods to keep readers informed about the history and culture surrounding the characters. A Newbery Award winner, these plays are a fun read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. If you would like a more dramatic experience, listen to the audio book which has each character read aloud by a different actor!
If you liked Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! you might like Crispin by Avi.
BAD NEWS FOR OUTLAWS: THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF BASS REEVES, DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
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In the late 1800s, Bass Reeves was one of the most famous lawmen in the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Though many gunmen—outlaws and lawmen alike—were known for their ruthlessness and deadly accuracy with a weapon, Bass Reeves was known for his strict sense of justice and duty, and he never killed a man unless he had to. He was both feared and respected by the men and women he arrested, despite the fact that many white men and women in this time period were hesitant to respect African Americans in positions of power.
Bad News for Outlaws tells the story of Bass Reeves’ life and career in the style of a Western. Although in the format of a picture book, this book will be enjoyed most by upper-elementary age readers who enjoy history and tales of the Old West. The book won a Coretta Scott King Book Award in 2010 and appears on the Virginia Reader’s Choice Award list for 2012-2013.
Susan the Librarian 