Like many of you, I was lucky enough to have parents who read to me, which led to my becoming a lifelong reader. After I got past The Bobbsey Twins, I was highly focused on historical fiction, with the exception of Nancy Drew mysteries and the teen romance stories of Betty Cavanna. By fourth grade, I typically read one book a day, and I know I read more than 300 books in fifth grade because my teacher, Hester Shackleford of Fayetteville, required that we keep a list.
Over and over, I read tales of pioneers heading “west,” overcoming dangers and challenges, and often wished I had lived during those times. I now see that this trait is closely related to my interest in early Southern West Virginia history. The time period I find most interesting is the mid-1700s through the Civil War. The nice thing about Southern West Virginia is that it’s so “compact”. A lot of important things happened in a relatively small area, and my dad’s family were all there from the earliest settlement until he left in 1945. When I think about them, I consider, most of all, their character.
In contrast, most lines of my mom’s family left eastern Virginia by the early 1800s and meandered through Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana before finally getting to Texas between 1839 and 1885. It’s a little harder to develop an attachment to the history of all those places, except Texas, of course. Nevertheless, these ancestors were no less honorable than my West Virginia forebears.
Besides my interest in historical fiction, I am drawn to stories of survival, and that became very evident to me as an elementary teacher from 1971-2000 (and beyond) when I had to decide what books to read to my students. Let me clarify that historical fiction includes a clear historical context, which could certainly involve stories of survival. However, without a significant historical context, such “survival” stories would be considered realistic fiction. I like both genres. Most of these books are now available for free on archive.org, and that shocks me. Are kids not buying and reading these books anymore? I am glad that there are many new books to choose from, but I think the ones that I shall mention should still be read because they present universal truths and lessons about courage, resilience, survival, and self-reliance—exactly the characteristics our early Southern West Virginia Settlers had to have.
Rifles for Watie, clearly historical fiction, is a Civil War story by Harold Keith, recommended to me by my mother, who was our school librarian when I was in the 6th grade. It had won the Newbery Award. I remember being surprised that I enjoyed it because a boy was the main character. I never read it to my students because it’s so long, but there are certainly important lessons in the book for both children and adults.
Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George, also won the Newbery Medal and is the story of a native Alaskan girl who survived alone in the Arctic tundra by joining a pack of wolves. I first read it in a graduate class in Children’s Literature. It is rather long, but I did read it to at least one class of gifted fourth-graders. I would consider it more realistic fiction than historical fiction, even though there is a clash between old and new ways of life.
Queenie Peavy, by Robert Burch, was another book I first read in an education class at the University of Houston, but I read this book year after year to my students. Fourth and fifth graders, especially, loved it. Queenie had personal shortcomings and family issues to overcome—making it realistic fiction— but she also had to face the challenges of living through the Great Depression in Georgia. Resilience was definitely required.
Island of the Blue Dolphins came out as a movie in 1964. It’s based on a true story of an Indian girl who had to survive alone on an island for 18 years. Even though it is based on a historical figure, the main plot of the story involves survival, not history. I would say it’s more realistic fiction than historical fiction, but I would accept other viewpoints. I read this to many of my classes, but this was not the only book I read by author Scott O’Dell.
Sing Down the Moon, also by Scott O’Dell, was very useful for teaching history to fourth and fifth graders. The character was fictional, but the historical events portrayed were very real, so this is clearly historical fiction. The main character has to first deal with being captured by Spanish slavers; then, after returning home, she has to endure the Long Walk of the Navajo as the United States federal government, under Kit Carson, brutally forces the Navajo Indians off their lands and herds them mercilessly into crowded conditions at Fort Sumner, many miles away.
The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare, came out in 1983, and I immediately knew I wanted to read it and share it with my students. I can’t even count the number of classes I read it to; this book was always a favorite.
I had read Witch of Blackbird Pond by the same author as an elementary student and had also read her books Calico Captive and The Bronze Bow. All of these books are historical fiction and feature strong main characters who have to overcome the challenges of the times to survive.
The Cabin Faced West is another book I read to numerous classes. The setting is the early settlement of Washington County, Pennsylvania, which is near the border of West Virginia. It’s based on a true story involving George Washington, and was written by Jean Fritz, who has made a fabulous contribution to children’s literature in the genres of historical fiction and biography. Jean Fritz has two commonalities with writer Pearl Buck: they were both daughters of Presbyterian missionaries and lived in China.
The Big Wave is about learning to face danger and loss amid the constant threat of tsunamis in Japan. This is realistic fiction because the historical context really doesn’t matter. It is by Pearl Sydenstricker Buck, who was born in Hillsboro, Pocahontas County, West Virginia. This is a very short book, easy to read and easy to understand, but it doesn’t sugarcoat the necessity of resilience in coming to terms with tragedy.
Finally, one my favorites and one I’ve read to many classes, all of whom were completely entranced despite the very advanced vocabulary, was Call It Courage, by Armstrong Sperry. “Based on a Polynesian legend, this is the story of a youth who overcomes his fear of the sea and proves his courage to himself and his tribe,” clearly realistic fiction. Apparently, Armstrong Sperry wrote other works that were historical fiction, but I have not read them.
What kind of heroism and courage will children find in literature about the decade of the 2020s? Will there be books about children escaping sex and/or drug trafficking? Books about heroic resistance to mandates and/or injustice? Books about the fight to save our Constitution and free speech? Books about championing truth and destroying “fake news”? Books about escaping forced conscription in Ukraine? I wonder.
Whatever challenges you are facing in your life, I hope you gain inspiration from the heroes and heroines of the past, be they real or fictional. Courage can be found everywhere every day. It is certainly found in most books of the Bible, and this verse is just one example meant to give us the strength to carry on: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified . . . , for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deut. 31:6)
Kitty, thank you for sharing about your history of reading. Unfortunately, I didn’t read like you did growing up. We need more teachers like you. I am so concerned about our educational system today, and the negative impact technology is having on our children. I’m going to get some of the books you mentioned and start reading them.