Historical Fiction Archives - House full of Bookworms

The Inquisitor’s Tale: Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz

by Carolyn | Adventure, Boys, Cultural Diversity, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Middle School, Middle-grade

Rarely have a been more conflicted about a book. There is so much to love about The Inquisitor’s Tale. In fact, it just won the 2016 Newberry Honor Book as well as the Cybil audiobook of 2016. But I have a few concerns about it, particularly for Christian...

Guard Your Children’s Hearts With Diverse Books

by Carolyn | Book Lists, Chapter Books, Character Training, Cultural Diversity, Early Readers, Education, Historical Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Middle-grade, Newbery, Parenting, Read Alouds

This isn’t what I had planned on posting this month. But my heart has been heavy reading responses from friends on both sides of the aisle to the recent presidential election. There is fear of racism and persecution (and now actual occurrences of such). There...

The Prairie Thief: A Pioneer Fantasy

by Carolyn | Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle-grade

Pioneer and fantasy are not two words I would normally put together. But Melissa Wiley does a charming job melding these two genres in The Prairie Thief. But the fantasy element still surprised me. I knew Wiley had written some of the extension books for the Little...

Five Thanksgiving Themed Books to Read With Your Kids

by Carolyn | Biography, Book Lists, Education, Historical Fiction, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Read Alouds

If you are looking for some Thanksgiving themed books to read with your kids, I think you’ll enjoy the five I’ve selected. I’ve tried to add some variety to my recommendations. Some books tell the Thanksgiving story, one talks about the season, and...

The Moffats

by Carolyn | Audiobooks, Chapter Books, Classics, Girls, Historical Fiction, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Read Alouds, Recommendations

The Moffats, by Eleanor Estes, is listed on several wonderful book lists for children. My oldest daughter has enjoyed this book, along with the rest of the series, but I had never read it. I thought it was about time to rectify this omission. The Moffats is the first...

The Night Gardener: Not Just A Scary Story

by Carolyn | Adventure, Character Training, Girls, Historical Fiction, Imagination, Middle School, Middle-grade, Mystery, Read Alouds, Scary Stories

How do you feel about scary stories for kids? When I was a kid, Goosebumps was a popular series, but, honestly, Nancy Drew was too suspenseful for me! On the other hand, my daughter loves “scary” books (at the same age that I couldn’t handle them)....

The Sign of the Beaver Will Broaden Your Child’s Perspective

by Carolyn | Adventure, Boys, Character Training, Classics, Cultural Diversity, Historical Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Newbery, Read Alouds

How would you feel if you were 13, left alone in a cabin in the wilderness, responsible to take care of it until your family arrived? That’s the situation Matt finds himself in at the beginning of The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare. Through...

The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency (Get This Book for Your Girls!)

by Carolyn | Adventure, Girls, Historical Fiction, Middle-grade, Mystery, Recommendations, Steampunk

Let me just say, if you have girls, go get this book! When I first heard the premise for The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, I was intrigued. Jordan Stratford has taken two historical figures (plus a few others), squashed their timeline and given them a fictional...