Historical Fiction for Young Readers (Grades 4-8): An Introduction [Hardcover]

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.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.

Gillespie has been putting together collections of reviewed and recommended books for many years and teacher-librarians are probably using them as selection tools either in print like this book or as a part of an automated selection system. Teacher Librarian

Gillespieauthor of several readers' advisory books for young readers, among thenClassic Teenplots: A Booktalk Guide to Use with Readers Ages 1218, Libraries Unlimited, (2006)selects 80 of the best from 15 years. Each entry includes bibliographic information, an introduction, a thorough historical background, a list of characters, a detailed plot synopsis, suggestions for booktalking, and a short discussion of themes and subjects. The historical background and detailed summaries will be especially useful for teachers looking to select texts for classroom use. Librarians should be pleased with the multiple suggestions of passages lcŠ